Julie Lessard

Expertise

Business Immigration

• Complete Immigration Outsourcing
• Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions
• Global Immigration and Visa Services

Strategic team

• Business Immigration

Professional background

Julie Lessard specializes in business immigration law. Having co-founded Lessard Tremblay Attorneys in 1998, she joined BCF as a partner in 2007 and heads the strategic Business Immigration team.

Ms. Lessard provides strategic advice for the planning, implementation and management of global personnel mobility to numerous Fortune 500 companies as well as emerging leaders across a variety of industries. She also acts as a counsellor in due diligence and immigration during organizational corporate restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. She assists businesses, senior management, executives and specialized employees in the choice of implementation of immigration and/or expatriation strategies, regardless of the country of origin or destination.

Ms. Lessard is regularly invited to speak at seminars across the world and is also a frequent speaker on topics in the fields of immigration law and workforce mobility.

Named as one of the 2010 Lexpert® Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40, in 2009 Ms. Lessard was also a finalist in the Young Chamber of Commerce of Montreal’s ARISTA competition in the "Young Quebec Professional" category and has been an Honoured Member of Continental Who’s Who since 2009.

Publications

• "Exporter notre savoir-faire en construction : pas si simple!", Savoir exporter, Développement économique Longueuil, October 2012.
• "Étude de cas sur la mobilité des travailleurs", Perpective magazine, Canadian Employee Relocation Council, Fall 2011.
• "Vous avez des projets aux États-Unis? Votre premier défi : Traverser la frontière canado-américaine...," Revue de la Corporation des Entrepreneurs généraux du Québec, Montreal, 2010
• "Attirer des cerveaux", La Presse, Montrea, April 8, 210.
• "Les développements récents en droit des affaires internationales - Le travail international," Journal du Barreau du Québec, Montreal, 2009
• "Capital Investments in the Province of Quebec: The Human Factor," L'Expert CCCA/ACCJE, 2008/2009.
• "Capital Investments in the Province of Quebec: The Human Factor," L'Expert CCCA/ACCJE, 2008/2009.
• "Immigration," a chapter in the Guide Establishing Yourself in Canada, published by the French Commercial Representation Mission in Canada, 2008.
• "Montreal Law Firms Go A-Courting in India," Interview with Kathryn Léger, The Montreal Gazette, 2008
• "Socio-economic Point of view and the Impact of Immigration Legislation on Temporary and Permanent Workers on the Competitiveness of Our Businesses," a White Paper, Quebec, 2008
• "Impact of the Free Trade Agreement on Immigration Policy," The Quebec Bar Association, 2008
• "The Free Exchange of Workers in North America - Myth or Reality?", Action Canada-France, 2007.
• "Demystifying Immigration," Échanges Internationaux, 2007
• "Temporary Expatriation to Quebec," Classe Export, 2004

Involvement

• BCF LLP, co-head of the Audit Committee 2010-2011
• BCF LLP, Administrative Council 2008-2009
• The Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI)

Professional affiliations

• Quebec Bar Association
• Canadian Bar Association
• Quebec Immigration Lawyers Association (AQAADI)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
• French Chamber of Commerce in Canada
• American Chamber of Commerce in Canada (Montreal Chapter) (AmCham)
• Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
• Quebec Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters
• Montreal International Relations Council
• Border Trade Alliance (BTA)
• Financial Executives International (FEI), Quebec Chapter
• Canadian Employment Relocation Council (CERC)
• Rezo
• Meritas
• Conference Board of Canada

Conferences

• "S'implanter au Canada : les visas, les aspects juridiques, l'investissement…",4th Mondissimo International Mobility Conference, Place de la Bourse Paris, March 14, 2012
• "Les travailleurs expatriés au Québec : Guide pratique pour une intégration juridique et économique réussie",4th Mondissimo International Mobility Conference, Place de la Bourse Paris, with Elsa Agostinho, March 14, 2012.
• "Émigration et immigration des particuliers/éléments périphériques", APFF, January 2012.
• "Business Travelers Beware: The Pitfalls of Extended Business Travel",Link to the Future of Talent Mobility CERC 2011 Conference, September 27th, 2011
• "Intervention sur la ville d’Ottawa," 24H Chrono de l’International, TV5 Monde, Paris, January 2011.
• "Faire des affaires à l'international : Éviter les pièces juridiques," HEC, Montreal, 2010.
• "Legal/Immigration Challenges - Focus on the Family," Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC), Montreal, 2010.
• "La mobilité internationale des cadres, exécutifs et autres professionnels et spécialistes : une expertise ", Paris, France, 2010.
• "Canned Knowledge – Non-compete Agreements and Labor Mobility of Highly Skilled Employees in Innovation Industries," McGill University, Montreal, 2009
• "Capital humain – Envoi de personnel à l’étranger," APFF, Montreal, 2009
• "Développements récents en immigration en Amérique du Nord," CERC, Montreal, 2009.
• "Doing Business in Québec: Legal and Cultural Background," U.S. Commercial Service- U.S. Consulate General Montréal, 2009.
• "Mobilité des personnes: portes ouvertes sur le monde," Ministère du Développement économique, Innovation et Exportation (MDEIE), Montréal, 2009.
• "Businesspersons and Professionals’ Mobility in Trade NAFTA Zone," Barreau du Québec, 2009.
• "Canada and Quebec," Seminar, CCI-International Nord-Pas de Calais, Lille, France, 2008.
• U.S. Immigration, Conference, HEC and the Délégation générale du Québec à New York, New York, 2008.
• "Achieving Success in Canada : The Case for the French PME," Chambre de Commerce française, Paris, 2008
• "Cross-Border M&A : The Human Factor," The American-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Montréal 2008
• "Workforce Mobility under NAFTA – Myth or Reality?", NAFIC Forum, Montreal 2007.
• "Border Searches of Laptops and Other Electronic Storage Devices," in collaboration with BCF, the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada and the Canadian Border Services Agency, Montreal 2007.
• Symposium on the Asia-Pacific region in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Groupe MI, Montreal, 2006.

Current affairs

• News > Workshop Canada event /S’implanter mode d’emploi à Paris November 23rd, 2012
• Articles, News > Exporter notre savoir-faire en construction : pas si simple ! November 16th, 2012
• News > Julie Lessard Appointed to the CERC November 1st, 2012