Practice Focus

Jean-Marc is a partner in the Litigation Department. Prior to joining Sotos LLP in 2012, Jean-Marc was a partner in the litigation department of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.

Jean-Marc has a broadly-based practice in a number of areas, including class actions, franchise, antitrust, appellate advocacy, and public interest litigation.

He has represented clients in many different industries, including Cadbury Adams Canada Inc., Dell Canada Inc., Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Royal Bank of Canada and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. He defended one of the few class action merits cases to go to trial in Canada. He obtained one of the largest costs award in Canadian history ($4.8 million).

From 1999-2001, Jean-Marc was a law clerk at the Federal Court of Appeal for Justice Sexton and at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice Major. Jean-Marc has also been a sessional instructor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario where he taught appellate advocacy.

Jean-Marc has been involved in a number of pro bono public interest litigation projects, including acting on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Representative Cases

• Acting in respect of a regulatory investigation and parallel antitrust class proceedings throughout Canada.
• Beaverbrook Art Gallery in a public arbitration heard by Peter Cory, Q.C., former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, regarding the ownership of works of art valued in excess of $100 million, located at The Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
• Dollar Financial Group, the parent company of National Money Mart, in a class action trial alleging Criminal Code interest rate violations.
• Dell Canada Inc. in a product liability class action: Griffin v. Dell Canada Inc., 2009 CanLII 18222 (S.C.), appeal dismissed 2010 ONCA 29.

Recent Publications and Media References

• “Big Suits: SCC Refuses Leave to Appeal in Smith v. Inco”, Lexpert, April 26, 2012
• “Why franchise class actions cannot be ousted by arbitration clauses”, OBA Class Action Law newsletter, March 2012
• “Brown’s critique of province’s document-management system reflects larger problem” Law Times, March 26 2012 edition
• Dodd v. Prime Restaurants of Canada Inc., 2012 ONSC 1578 case summary, Ontario Bar Association Franchise Law Section
• “Third Party Litigation Financing of Class Actions in Ontario”, OBA Class Action Conference, December 2011
• “Defence Prior to Certification – the Pros and Cons” (co-author), OBA Class Action Newsletter, December 2011
• “The man who got passed over for the Supreme Court”, Macleans Magazine, October 24, 2011
• “Judicial Review or Damages? The Supreme Court of Canada’s Decision in Canada (A.G.) v. Telezone Inc. (co-author), Annual Review of Civil Litigation 2011
• “Art of the Case: The Shortened Trial”, Lexpert Magazine, September 2011
• “Benchmark hearing set on summary judgments”, Financial Post, June 20, 2011
• “Trust, not reasons, required in leave application process”, Canadian Lawyer (May 2011)
• “Jean-Marc Leclerc on Ontario’s Professional Development Rules”, National Post Legal Blog, March 1, 2011
• Parsing the Law Society’s CPD requirements, slaw.ca, February 24, 2011
• “Franchising in the Courts”, Osler Franchise Review, February 10, 2011
• A Judge’s Outcry Over Toronto’s Superior Court System, slaw.ca, January 27, 2011
• “Franchisors Facing Class Action Certification Should Consider Summary Judgment Option”, Osler Update, January 6, 2011

Specialties

Practice Areas

• Civil litigation
• Class Actions
• Franchise Law

News