Celebrating the Holidays with DV

The holiday season is a time for spreading good cheer, spending time with family and friends, and sharing in the spirit of the holidays.  In this theme of togetherness, the DV family has engaged in a number of festivities this holiday season.  On December 2, 2011, DV celebrated its annual tree trimming event, which brings all the staff together for a morning of holiday music, delicious treats and tree decorating.  The festivities continued on December 8, 2011 during our holiday luncheon held at Frank Restaurant, located in the Art Gallery of Ontario.  After a delicious lunch in a private dining room, everyone took part in a guided tour of the Marc Chagall exhibit. A great time was had by all!

We wish all our blog readers a safe and happy holiday season!

DV at the 2011 ICSC Canadian Convention

On October 19-21, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) hosted its annual Canadian Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Canadian Convention is Canada’s largest retail real estate convention with over 2500 attendees annually. DV’s own Deborah Watkins served as Co-Chair of the event this year, which featured a dealing making and trade exposition, roundtable sessions and a special presentation by John Griffith, Executive Vice President of Property Development for the Target Corporation.

As always, DV was a strong presence at the Convention, boasting an impressive trade show booth adorned in the firm’s colours. DV lawyers were on hand throughout the two day event to partake in meetings, answer questions and offer introductions.

 DV would like to thank the ICSC and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre staff for making this year’s Convention such a resounding success!

 For more information on upcoming events that DV lawyers will be attending, please visit the Events page on our website.

DV's Jamie Paquin and Melissa McBain

Real Leasing 2011

Daoust Vukovich was proud to serve as a Gold Sponsor of the 2011 Real Leasing Conference, which was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on September 27, 2011. The Real Leasing Conference is an annual one-day event hosted by the Real Property Association of Canada and MMPI Canada, the producers of The Real Estate Forums. The Real Leasing Conference is an in-depth business symposium that addresses key issues in commercial leasing practice, while examining emerging trends and discussing effective strategies for real estate leasing in today’s markets.

This year, several members of the Daoust Vukovich team were invited to speak at the Conference on various topics of interest.  Among them was Wolfgang Kaufmann  who offered a detailed analysis of landlord rights and remedies, including a discussion on common default scenarios and pertinent issues emerging in today’s markets. Daoust Vukovich associate, Jamie Paquin, also spoke at the event, presenting an in-depth comparison of U.S., European and Canadian leases, practices and tenant expectations.

For more information on upcoming events that Daoust Vukovich lawyers will be attending, please visit the Events page of our website.

More Accolades for Daoust Vukovich!

We are proud to announce that Daoust Vukovich partners, Dennis Daoust and Natalie Vukovich, have been named among Canada’s Leading Infrastructure Lawyers by Lexpert in the October 2011 edition of the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business. Congratulations to Dennis and Natalie on this outstanding achievement!

Click here to access the full article.

DV Laces up for the Run for the Cure

On Sunday, October 2, 2011, Daoust Vukovich participated in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s 19^th annual Run for the Cure. Our dedicated team of firm members, family and friends braved the wind and rain to complete a 5 kilometer walk/run, all while raising money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. In total, our team, the DV Bosom Buddies, raised over $16,000 this year! Way to go team! 

Across Canada, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation raised over $30 million for breast cancer research this year. If you would like to participate in next year’s event, please visit www.runforthecure.com. We hope to see you at next year’s run on September 30, 2012!

Weathering the Storm: The Force Majeure Clause

Landlords and tenants want to ensure that their commercial leases provide them with rights and remedies in the event of unforeseen circumstances that are beyond the control of the parties. These rights often come in the form of a force majeure clause, which generally operates to relieve one or both parties from their obligations under the lease when an intervening event renders performance impossible.

A recent article by the team at Daoust Vukovich LLP entitled “Weathering the Storm: The Force Majeure Clause” provides a discussion on the nature and importance of a force majeure clause in the context of commercial leasing. It provides insight into the critical elements of a force majeure clause, considerations for drafting an effective force majeure clause and the recent materialization of “economic force majeure” in Canadian case law.

Please click here to access the full text of the article.

Running for a Cure!

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is a one day event that brings thousands of Canadians together in an effort to raise funds for breast cancer research.  Every year the Run for the Cure takes place in cities across Canada, including Toronto.  2011 will mark the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s 25th year as a leader in funding breast cancer research, education and health promotion programs.

This year on October 2, Daoust Vukovich will participate in its second annual CIBC Run for the Cure with our team the “DV Bosom Buddies”.  We established the DV Bosom Buddies in 2010 to create awareness of the importance of supporting breast cancer research and to contribute to the fundraising efforts of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Last year, the DV Bosom Buddies raised over $11,000 for breast cancer research. This year, our team has organized weekly fundraising events, prizes and practice walks in an effort to surpass last year’s amazing results.

Good luck to the DV Bosom Buddies on October 2!

To make a contribution to the DV Bosom Buddies, or to the cause generally, click here.

Simply the Best!

We are proud to announce that Jeanne Banka, Dennis Daoust, Wolfgang Kaufmann, Natalie Vukovich, Deborah Watkins and Francine I. Baker-Sigal have been named in the 2012 edition of the Best Lawyers in Canada. The Best Lawyers listing is based on a peer-review survey in which more than 41,000 leading lawyers cast almost 3.9 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Congratulations to our DV lawyers on this tremendous accomplishment!

Celebrating Summer with Daoust Vukovich

On August 5, 2011, the DV family celebrated its annual summer picnic with a fun-filled day on Toronto’s Centre Island. The celebrations kicked off with a beautiful ferry ride to the island, followed by a delicious barbeque lunch. Staff and their families were invited to take part in traditional summer picnic activities, such as potato sack races, card games and hula hoop competitions. Many of our guests then spent the afternoon enjoying the various rides and attractions offered at Centreville Amusement Park. After a long day of fun in the sun, the picnic concluded with a buffet dinner and decadent ice cream treats!

 DV would like to thank the fantastic staff at Centre Island for making our picnic such a resounding success!

For more information about our firm, please visit our website.

Kenneth Pimentel Joins Daoust Vukovich

 

Daoust Vukovich is proud to announce that Kenneth Pimentel has joined the firm’s litigation department as an associate. Ken is a graduate of the J.D. program at Osgoode Hall Law School.  Prior to beginning law school, Ken obtained his Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in criminology and Master of Arts degree in Political Science at York University.  

Ken summered with the firm in 2009 and completed his articles with the firm in 2010/2011.

To learn more about Ken Pimentel, please click here.