Description
A partner of our firm, Jean-François De Rico practices in the areas of civil and commercial litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency, disciplinary law and information technology law.



He represents businesses and financial institutions before civil courts and arbitration tribunals, and has been involved in commercial litigation involving matters as diverse as IT services outsourcing, professional liability, the enforcement of security, and corporate restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.



In information technology law matters, Jean-François advises on governance and compliance, the negotiation and drafting of contracts for the development and implementation of applications, the outsourcing of IT services, information and document management and issues involving the storage of electronic documents.

Jean-François is president of the National Law Practice Management and Technology Section of the Canadian Bar Association, and a member of the executive committee of Sedona Canada. He frequently speaks at conferences on various subjects related to the legal framework of information technologies and their use in the practice of law, and e-discovery.

Associations & Achievements
2010 - Chair, National Law Practice Management and Technology Section of the
Canadian Bar Association

2010 - Member of the management committee, Sedona Canada Working Group 7

Since 2008 - Executive Committee of the Media, Information & Intellectual Property section of the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Bar Association

Since 2008 - Fédération de l'informatique du Québec (Quebec Information Technology Federation)

Since 2007 - Sedona Canada - WG7

2005 - 2009 - Constitutional Law Association (Quebec)

2000-2006 - Forces Avenir Inc. (leadership program for young people)

Presentations & Conferences
2011 - "Installation of an electronic document management system: law and IT at close quarters"; presentation at a mini-symposium organized by the Regulatory Compliance and Ethics section of the Canadian Bar Association - Québec Branch

2011 - "The admissibility of electronic documents as evidence" presentation to Québec Superior Court judges, Mont Tremblant

2011 - "Creating and Managing an Individualized Legal Practice" – Canadian Bar Association – Canadian Legal Conference & Expo, Halifax

2011 –  “The legal framework of information technology” to a continuing legal education conference of the Quebec Bar, Québec City

2011 – “E-discovery: identification, preservation, analysis and production of electronic documents” to a Canadian Institute conference entitled “Enquêtes internes”, Montréal

2010- "Risks associated with information technology: Compliance with the various requirements is a matter of security and good governance" - Canadian Institute conference on best practices for regulatory compliance in the
financial services industry, Montréal

2010 - "Demystifying the legal aspects of archiving and storing electronic documents while maximizing your understanding of the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology" - Canadian Institute conference
on managing information technology in the public sector, Montréal.

2010 - "Electronic signatures: Objectives, technology and validity criteria" - Canadian Institute conference on managing information technology
in the public sector, Montréal.

2010 - "Paperless trials - objecting to documentary evidence on paper" to the 2010 annual meeting of the Lanaudière regional bar.

2010 - "The Paperless Office", with D. Jaar, to the Leg@lIT 4.0 conference, Montréal.

2010 - "Collaborative Tools", with O. Fisher, to the Leg@lIT 4.0 conference, Montréal.

2009 -  "The use of technology by administrative judges, from the litigant's point of view" at the 2009 Symposium of Quebec Administrative Judges in Boucherville, Quebec.

2009 - “Mock E-Discovery Session – Key Steps and Processes” at an Insight Conference on E-Discovery and E-Documents, in Halifax.

2009 - "The obligation to preserve evidence under Quebec and Canadian law" at a Federated Press conference in Montreal.

2009 - "Electronic signatures" at a Canadian Institute conference in Montreal on electronic information in the public and para-public sectors.

2009 - "The legal framework for information technologies" at the 2009 annual convention of the Quebec Bar in Montreal.

2009 - “Hit the Road with your Law Practice” at the Leg@lIT 3.0 conference in Montreal.

2009- "The paperless trial" at the Leg@lIT 3.0 conference in Montreal.

2009 - “Records Management Policies and Systems: Back to the Drawing Board” at the American Bar Association's TECHSHOW in Chicago.

2009 - “Document Generation: Still the Backbone of Every Practice” at the American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW in Chicago.

2009 - "The legal framework for information technologies" to the judges of the Court of Québec, in Brossard, Quebec.

2008 - "Strategic management and practical administration of electronic documents" at a Canadian Institute conference in Montreal.

2008 - "The obligation to preserve evidence under Quebec and Canadian law" at an Insight Conference in Montreal.

2008 - "The Roadmap of a Record Retention Policy Implementation", presented at the annual ARMA Canada conference, Fredericton.

2008 - "The Legal Framework for Information Technology", presented to the Superior Court justices of the Montréal Divisional Assembly, Montebello.

2008 - "Archiving Electronic Documents – Legal Obligations", Montréal.

2007 - "Interjurisdictional Litigation and Managing Electronic Documents", presented at the Canadian Institute conference on Strategically Managing and Practically Administering Electronic Documents, Montréal.

2007 - "Developing and Implementing a Document Conservation and Management Policy", presented at the Insight E-discovery Legal Information conference, Montréal.

Publications
2008 - "The legal framework for information technologies" in a Quebec bar collection entitled Développements récents en droit criminel, Montreal, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2008

2001 - Le Règlement consensuel en matière de réparation du préjudice corporel : le cas particulier de la transaction à paiements différés (Consensual Settlement with Regard to Reparation for Bodily Injury: the Special Case of Deferred Payment Transactions), 42 Cahiers de Droit 91

Representative mandates
Litigation – Public tender for information-technology contract
Represented a major telecommunications company in injunction proceedings brought by the second-lowest bidder on a call for tenders for the installation of an IP telephone system and the upgrading of IT systems. The plaintiff sought an interlocutory injunction to suspend performance of the contract, which had been awarded to our client, the lowest bidder. The Superior Court decided in favour of our client, finding that that its bid was fully compliant, and dismissed the motion for an injunction.

Advising on a contract - asssignment of intellectual property
Advised an insurance company regarding the conclusion of a tripartite agreement for the assignment of equipment and intellectual property rights in connection with the development of a series of applications comprising software programs designed to allow access to and secure transmission of health-care data.

Arbitration - contractual dispute - information technology
Represented a client in a commercial arbitration against its IT service provider in connection with the performance of an IT services outsourcing agreement.

Financial restructuring    
Represented a manufacturing company that had to reorganize and restructure under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The project entailed obtaining an initial order, drawing up a plan of arrangement, and representing the company in court to settle disputes with suppliers and creditors.

Enforcing security    
Represented a financial institution in enforcing its security in the shares of a transportation company through an interim receiver as part of proceedings brought under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Litigation between shareholders
Negotiated on behalf of minority shareholders to buy out the majority shareholder of a services firm.