Richard L. Desgagnés

Richard Desgagnés’ litigation practice encompasses all aspects of commercial litigation. He is particularly knowledgeable about transportation matters and is Canadian head of our Transport practice.

Mr. Desgagnés handles cases involving marine pollution, charterparty disputes, ship and aircraft casualties, shipbuilding and ship repair contract disputes, product liability disputes, ship and aircraft liens, insurance and insolvency, as well as a variety of general commercial disputes.

He regularly pleads before the Quebec courts and the federal courts of Canada and has successfully represented clients before all the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Desgagnés has also appeared before arbitration panels and has developed particular expertise in incidental arbitral proceedings, including recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards against private parties and foreign states and matters of state immunity. In this connection, he has advised clients in litigation before the High Court of the Hong Kong SAR (Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal) as well as the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong SAR, the Royal Court of the Island of Jersey and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In addition to his litigation work, Mr. Desgagnés handles transactional work involving ship and aircraft financing, charterparty agreements and other agreements for the carriage and/or storage of goods. He also advises business lawyers of the firm on the acquisition or transfer of assets in the transportation industry.