Overview
Philippe Larochelle practises Quebec employment and labour law. He advises employers on managing employee relations at every stage; from contracts to disciplinary measures or termination of employment. He collaborates frequently with our national labour and employment team to meet the needs of our clients who operate in more than one Canadian province.
Philippe dedicates a significant part of his practice to employment litigation. He represents our clients before the Tribunal administratif du travail and the Superior Court of Quebec, whether in relation to complaints filed with the CNESST or claims based on the Civil Code of Quebec. Philippe is often called upon to prepare factums for the judicial review of decisions of the Tribunal administratif du travail and for the Court of Appeal of Quebec, before which he has successfully pleaded on several occasions.
Philippe has extensive experience with disputes involving breaches of non-competition and non-solicitation clauses as well as duty of loyalty and obligation of confidentiality violations. He has been involved in numerous cases in this area of the law from the outset of his practice. His 2024 Master’s thesis deals with the history of non-competition clauses and freedom of employment in Québec.
He often leads collective bargaining negotiations particularly in the long-term care sector.
Before entering into private practice in 2014, Philippe worked for two years as a research assistant to constitutional law professor Benoît Pelletier, Ad. E. He assisted Mtre Pelletier in preparing conferences, drafting reports for the federal government, and publishing various texts, including one that was cited three times by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Reference re Senate Reform, 2014 SCC 32.
While in law school, Philippe won the 2012 prize for best oralist at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Civil Law moot and was a finalist in the 2011 edition of the Pierre-Basile-Mignault civil law moot. For several years, he was involved in the Société étudiante des débats français de l’Université d’Ottawa, a French-language debate club.
Professional achievements & leadership
- Former board member, Patro Le Prévost (Patro Villeray), 2019-2022
- Lieutenant Governor’s Youth Medal, 2007
Thought leadership
- Histoire des clauses de non-compétition à l’aune de la libération du travail au Québec, Master’s thesis, UQAM, 2024.
- Quebec Court of Appeal rules on direct and derivative federal jurisdiction over works declared to be to Canada’s advantage, Labour and Employment Communiqué, written with Claudia Desjardins Bélisle, June 6, 2024
- Regulating Child Labour in Quebec: History and a Look Forward to Bill 19, Labour and Employment Communiqué, written with Sarah Perron, June 1, 2023
- Adoption of Bill No. 176: An Act to amend the Act respecting labour standards and other legislative provisions mainly to facilitate family-work balance, Labour and Employment Communiqué, written with Gary S. Rosen, June 15, 2018
- Proposed changes to the Quebec Act respecting labour standards: What employers need to know, Labour and Employment Communiqué, written with Gary S. Rosen, April 30, 2018
Languages spoken
- French
- English
Bar admissions & education
- Quebec, 2014
- Master of Laws in Labour Law (LLM.), Université du Québec à Montreal, 2024. Thesis titled Histoire des clauses de non-concurrence à l’aune de la libération du travail au Québec, with mention “Excellent” and awarded the prize for the best Master’s thesis from a social perspective.
- Licentiate in Civil Law (LLL), University of Ottawa, magna cum laude, 2012.
