Listening, advising, and helping.

A century of history,
a century of expertise.

At the beginning of the 20th century, as industrialization accelerated and Québec experienced a period of economic growth, Samuel Chait founded his first law firm in downtown Montréal in 1928. Withstanding the Great Depression of 1929, Samuel Chait continued his real estate law practice for a few years before joining forces with his university friend, lawyer A. M. Klein, also recognized as one of Canada’s greatest poets.

A powerful union of cultures.

In the wake of the Quiet Revolution, five predominantly francophone law firms decided to take a bold step by uniting and forming the firm Deschênes, De Grandpré, Deschênes, Colas, Godin, Lapointe, Paquette and Lasnier. This firm, specializing in litigation, insurance law, real estate law and business law, thus became the largest French-speaking law firm in the world.

In 1993, the firm—now known as De Grandpré Godin—moved from its premises in the Stock Exchange Tower to 1000 De La Gauchetière, a new building that prospered during that decade. Seeking allies that were equally experienced in their field of expertise, De Grandpré Godin joined forces with Chait Amyot in 1999. This powerful union between the Francophone and Anglophone communities gave rise to De Grandpré Chait as we know it today.

The firm’s metropolitan character is firmly ingrained in its DNA.

Our lawyers have collaborated on major projects that have shaped Montréal’s landscape, including the expansion of the Concordia University Campus in downtown Montréal, the construction of the John Molson School of Business Building, the construction of the well-known Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre), the impressive Turcot Interchange, and the construction of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).

Important judgements.

The firm has won many important cases, leading to judgments that have marked Canadian legal history. For example, Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise, a landmark decision on directors’ liability, ranked as the second most important decision in Canada in 2004 by Lexpert® Law Magazine.

More recently, in a class action suit against three major Canadian tobacco companies, the Québec Court of Appeal handed down a landmark decision that brought justice to thousands of victims that had been fooled by tobacco companies.

These cases are just a few examples that demonstrate the talent of our lawyers. In fact, several lawyers who have gone on to work in the judiciary started out at our firm, including:

• The Honourable Carol Cohen, J.S.C.
• The Honourable Christiane Alary, J.S.C.
• The Honourable Martin Castonguay, J.S.C.
• The Honourable Yves Poirier, J.S.C.
• The Honourable Pierre Labelle, J.S.C.
• The Honourable Jeffrey Edwards, J.S.C.
• The late Honourable Normand Amyot, J.C.Q.
• The Honourable Christian Tremblay, J.C.Q.
• The Honourable Gilles Lareau, J.C.Q.
• The Honourable Daniel Bourgeois, J.C.Q.
• The late Honourable Vincent Piazza, J.C.Q.
• The Honourable Martin Tétreault, J.C.Q.
• The Honourable Martin Bergeron, J.C.Q.

Finally, our lawyers have distinguished themselves on the local, Canadian and international scene by garnering prestigious awards on an annual basis.