Eight Stewart McKelvey lawyers will be involved in the Canadian Bar Association New Brunswick branch MidWinter conference, February 4 – 6, in Saint John, which partner Robert Vincent, QC, is on the organizing committee for. The firm is proud to sponsor the conference’s opening reception, tonight at the Saint John Ale House.

Regional managing partner for New Brunswick, Cathy Lahey, QC, will chair a session beginning at 9:00 a.m., February 5. Aboriginal Law: Historical Perspective will look at how the law surrounding Aboriginal title has developed, as well as how these historical developments can assist in understanding the current issues and significant litigation in this area of law.

Moncton associate Timothy Bell will be the speaker for a French session starting at 1:30 p.m. Friday, on absenteeism in the workplace. During this talk, Tim will provide ten rules to follow when taking the duty to accommodate absenteeism into consideration.

The French panel, NB Family Law; The Various Practices (Rule 81, Triage in Moncton), February 6 at 9:00 a.m., will include Bâtonnière Marie-Claude Bélanger-Richard, QC, Moncton, as family law procedures through New Brunswick are reviewed.

A concurrent Saturday 9:00 a.m. session will feature Saint John partner James LeMesurier, QC, who will be joined by two other speakers to present, Dealing with Social Media in a Unionized Workplace. Here, the pervasiveness of social media will be discussed, from unionized employees who post inappropriately, to the impact social media has on the collective bargaining process.

Paul Smith, Saint John partner, will co-present the session, The Recent BCA Amendments, beginning Saturday at 10:30 a.m. An overview of proposed amendments to the Business Corporations Act will be given, as well as why certain key changes were made and how these will affect corporate law practice.

Beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, partner Luc Elsliger, Moncton, will be part of a French panel, which will provide an overview on mergers and acquisition transactions, from preparing for the deal and confidentiality agreements, to structuring the deal and closing logistics.

One of the last sessions of the day features Moncton partner Charles LeBlond, QC, discussing Damage Awards and Managing Client Expectations. Beginning at 3:15 p.m., this French panel will look at recent damage awards from both the plaintiff and defendant’s perspective, and will provide tips on how to manage client expectations.

Alongside the panel involving Charles, Saint John partner Neal Leard will co-present, Crowdfunding, and will review best practices to prepare a client for equity crowdfunding.