Yvan Bolduc, Ad. E.
Retired Lawyer

Yvan Bolduc focuses his practice on civil and commercial litigation and has particular expertise in professional liability and defamation matters, as well as administrative and constitutional law.

Recognized for his extensive experience in high-profile trials, Yvan has played a pivotal role in leading teams that have argued some of the most outstanding court cases in the legal arena. He acted as lead counsel for the Commissioner of the RCMP in the Airbus case as well as for the then Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard, and former Premier Jacques Parizeau, in a libel case whose merits were confirmed by the Court of Appeal in 2003.

Yvan holds degrees in both economics and law. From 1971 to 1973, he was legal assistant to the Chief Justice of Canada, the Right Honourable Gérald Fauteux, and was a lecturer in constitutional and administrative law at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law.

Considered a leader in his field, Yvan was a recipient of the Quebec Bar’s honorary title of Emeritus Lawyer in 2010. Since 2006, he has been recognized as one of the Canada's leading lawyers in the area of Corporate and Commercial Litigation in Best Lawyers in Canada (Woodward/White). He was also recognized for his expertise in the area of dispute resolution in the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He is AV^® Preeminent^TM Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer review rating awarded to a lawyer for his legal skills and sense of ethics.

Representative Work

• Legal counsel for Coopers & Lybrand in ongoing litigation resulting from the collapse of Castor Holdings Ltd., presently the most important ongoing Canadian case involving the liability of auditors.
• Lead counsel for Irwin Toy Ltd. in a constitutional challenge to Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act provisions relative to commercial advertising to children. In a precedent-setting case, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized constitutional protection for commercial speech.
• Counsel for the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the Airbus case, involving former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the Government of Canada.
• Counsel to Loto-Québec in a class action initiated on behalf of alleged pathological gamblers.
• Counsel to then Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard and former Premier Jacques Parizeau in a libel suit against investments manager Richard Lafferty. Judgment was rendered in favour of our clients, and affirmed by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

• Civil and Commercial Litigation

• LL.L., Université de Montréal, 1970
• BEc, Université de Sherbrooke, 1967

• Member of the Quebec Bar

• Advocatus Emeritus (Quebec Bar)
• Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada, 2006 to 2020 editions, as one of the best attorneys in the Corporate and Commercial Litigation
• AV® Preeminent™ (Martindale-Hubbell)
• Local Litigation Star (2013) – Quebec (Benchmark Canada)
• Dispute Resolution: Quebec – 2013 (Chambers Global, The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business)