The Honourable Paul Jolin rejoined Heenan Blaikie in 2007, after retiring from the Superior Court of Québec.  As a lawyer, Mr. Jolin brings an extensive breadth of knowledge of the legal system to the firm, particularly in the areas of litigation and labour and employment law.

Following his call to the Bar in 1959, Mr. Jolin practiced for nearly three decades. He began in private practice in Quebec City. During this period, he was counsel before the Dorion Inquiry, a much-publicized judicial inquest into the notorious Lucien Rivard Affair. Additionally, while a board member of the Young Bar Association of Quebec, Mr. Jolin was asked to develop a televised court series entitled “La Cour est ouverte” (The Court is in Session), which was widely acclaimed and the first of its kind in Canada. He was also a lecturer on social legislation at Laval University’s Faculty of Social Sciences.

Having left private practice in 1965 to undertake a two-year stint as secretary and legal advisor to Sidbec, a Montreal-based steel company, Mr. Jolin returned to private practice in 1967, focusing exclusively on liability, insurance and litigation. Throughout this period, Mr. Jolin served as secretary and counsel for many corporations. Gradually, and especially from 1970 onward, he focused his practice on labour law and labour relations, and regularly appeared before the Quebec Labour Court, Superior Court and Court of Appeal, and before the Supreme Court of Canada. His expertise enabled him to work in both the private and public sectors, representing major corporations as well as acting as negotiator and member of various arbitration boards, particularly as an assessor on behalf of the federal and provincial governments. In 1980, Mr. Jolin joined Heenan Blaikie as a partner, where he remained until his appointment to the Superior Court of Québec in 1988.

Mr. Jolin sat on the bench for nearly two decades, during which time he wrote many judgments in areas as diverse as administrative law, labour and employment law, property, and family law. Throughout this period, he also acted as mediator in alternative dispute resolutions in cases brought before the Court.

Mr. Jolin was always very active in the business and legal communities. He delivered speeches and presentations to diverse organizations and before various levels of governmental and parapublic bodies. Mr. Jolin was a member of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (Quebec Employers’ Council) and the International Society for Labour Law and Social Security.