Jean-François practices corporate law, with a particular emphasis on mergers & acquisitions and corporate financings. He has also developed a keen interest for the private equity and venture capital industry. He joined Fasken Martineau in 2006 as a student and was seconded to the London (UK) office in the summer of 2008.
Jean-François is currently a member of the board of directors of the Opéra de Montréal, MUTEK, the Americas Club and the Québec-Asia Law & Business Association. Active in the community, he is also founder and president of the Young Associates of the Opéra de Montréal, member of the organizing committee of the Concert to fight Cancer and President of the organizing committee of the Casino to fight Cancer, two major fundraising initiatives of the Montréal Cancer Institute, chair of the Canadian chapter of the NYU Law Alumni Association and member of the Alumni Regional Committee of the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.
Jean-François holds advanced degrees in law and business and has acquired significant international exposure and experience. He received his LL.M from New York University where he has also studied MBA-level finance and banking at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business. At NYU, he was a graduate editor of the NYU Journal of Law & Business and he was elected president of the New York chapter of Phi Delta Phi. He previously received with distinctions a MBA and a LL.B from the University of Sherbrooke. Additionally, he studied Chinese law at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, he was a government-sponsored intern-scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and he completed a course in valuation and financial modeling at the Investment Banking Institute of New York.
During his studies, Jean-François participated in the organization of a trade mission to Mexico, he wrote his MBA thesis on the competitiveness of the BRIC economies in the biopharma industry and he was a consultant in strategic business development for the executive management of Desjardins. He also represented his university at the Charles Rousseau International Moot Court Competition held in Tunisia and he was a delegate for the Immigration Detention Monitoring Program of the Canadian Red Cross.
Jean-François speaks French, English and Spanish fluently.
Honours and Awards
- Weinfeld Fellow, NYU School of Law
- The Washington Center Scholarship, Ministère des Relations Internationales du Québec
- Gilles Joncas Award, Canadian Association for Co-operative Education
- Provigo Excellence Award for MBA studies
- Fraser Milner Casgrain Excellence Award
Community Involvement
- Health-Arts Society (SAMS) (2012)
- Montréal Cancer Institute (Since 2011)
- Institute for Governance of Public and Private Organizations (2011-2012)
- Mutek (Since 2010)
- Montréal Children Hospital's Foundation (2010)
- Financial Angels Challenge of the Montréal Junior Board of Trade (2010)
- Opéra de Montréal (Since 2009)
- Americas Club (Since 2009)
- Regional Alumni Committee of the Washington Center (Since 2008)
- NYU Journal of Law & Business (2008-2009)
- Phi Delta Phi (2008-2009)
- Québec-Asia Law & Business Association (2007-2008, and since 2009)
- Arlington Refugees Services (2007)
- Immigration Detention Monitoring Program of the Canadian Red Cross (2005-2007)
- Law-MBA Promotion Committee of the University of Sherbrooke (2005-2007)
- Magna International's "As PM Awards Alumni Community" (2003-2005)
Membership/Affiliations
- International Bar Association
- University Club of Montréal
- St. Lawrence Consortium
- Montréal Junior Board of Trade
- Young Directors Network of the Montréal Junior Board of Trade and Leadership Montréal
- Americas Club
- Quebec-Asia Law & Business Association
- NYU Law Alumni Association
- NYU Weinfeld Fellow
- Phi Delta Phi