Joanie is a partner within the Intellectual Property (IP), Agribusiness, Food and Beverage, and Life Sciences groups. Her practice focuses on the areas of high-stakes IP litigation, and in the efficient elaboration and protection of IP portfolios.
Joanie has an extensive knowledge of the IP legislative and regulatory landscape. She sees IP as more than obtaining, registering or using patents, industrial designs, trademarks or copyrights; for her, IP a way to advance knowledge, obtain return on investment, finance further innovation, ensure business continuity and profitability. Joanie advises clients on how to efficiently obtain, manage and leverage such valuable assets.
She focuses on high-stakes patent litigation involving clients’ flagship products. She designs pre-litigation and litigation strategies that are both cost-effective and results-oriented for the clients as she clearly understands the impacts of litigation on the businesses of her clients and therefore advises them such that litigation is avoided if possible, and if not, conducted such that these impacts are limited, predictable and controlled.
Joanie has extensive experience in the agribusiness industry. She works with clients across every step of the supply chain, from production to processing to distribution. She has an in-depth knowledge and comprehension of the sensitive and complex realities and regulations that impact modern agriculture and food distribution; she understands how innovation is central to both. She has a clear understanding of the cutting-edge advancements in agritech and foodtech and can accordingly efficiently advise clients on how to best protect them and ensure business profitability.
Joanie also has extensive experience in the life science industry. She holds a M. Sc. (molecular biology, summa cum laude) and thus has the requisite scientific background to speak the same language as the researchers and inventors, both central to this industry. She also did a secondment in a major pharmaceutical company and one in a biopharmaceutical leader. These secondments provided her with a clear understanding of biopharmaceutical businesses and of the context in which they operate. She knows the importance of the legal team being invested in the business objectives of the client. The legal strategies she crafts and the recommendations she provides are always in-line with these objectives
Joanie has been teaching IP at the faculty of law of the Université de Sherbrooke for more than 10 years now. She is also in charge of the IP Seminar offered to the researchers of the Institut Quantique. She is proud and thankful for this teaching work which allows her to stay on the lookout for the next generation of IP lawyers and cutting-edge researchers.
She regularly gives conferences and publishes on IP.
She is also very much involved in her community. Her involvement was recognized by prestigious prizes and awards. Although she is grateful for such prizes and awards, it is the people whom she met and the perspectives that she acquired through these involvements for which she is most grateful.
