![](\"https:\/\/www.barreaudemontreal.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/default\/files\/sites\/default\/files\/bann_figuredemaitre_500.jpg\")
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Mtre Jean-S\u00e9bastien Cl\u00e9ment: A harmonious blend of ideals<\/strong> Balancing music and the law<\/strong><\/p>\n Music has always been a big part of Jean-S\u00e9bastien\u2019s life. Even though he has no formal musical training, he has followed courses here and there, and he has learned quite a bit on his own. As a teenager, inspired by famous Police bassist and frontman Sting, he tried his hand at electric bass. While studying law at UQAM, he would sit in with a number of blues groups for gigs on St-Denis and St-Laurent. He even took a sabbatical one year to devote himself exclusively to music before starting on his articling. After being sworn in as a lawyer in 1994, he decided to put his musical aspirations on the back burner for a few years.<\/p>\n At the turn of the millennium, having returned to his first love with a number of groups, he soon decided to branch out into some new musical ventures. The purchase of his first stand-up bass prompted him to spend more of his energy on jazz and world music. Nowadays, Jean-S\u00e9bastien is an active participant in some fifty events every year, playing with bands of varying styles, notably the blues (Off the Hook Blues Band<\/em>), jazz (En Port\u00e9e Jazz, Suzi Silva, Bernard Epaud <\/em>and others) and world music (Klezmer Valody, domlebo<\/em>).<\/p>\n Jean-S\u00e9bastien\u2019s love of music has never been a roadblock to his career in the law. After six years of practice in prison law (notably with Mtre Ren\u00e9e Millette), he undertook a major change in direction. As he always nurtured a passion for rights and freedoms, he was naturally drawn to aboriginal law and started working in 1997 with James O’Reilly, a lawyer with O’Reilly & Associates and one of this country\u2019s pioneers in the matter. Later, in 2004, he joined the ranks of Gowlings in Montreal, where he was named a partner three years later.<\/p>\n For Jean-S\u00e9bastien, the practice of aboriginal law must be thoroughly imbued with commitment and social responsibility. \u201cWe are duty-bound to see to it that any powers devolving to this country\u2019s Aboriginals are returned to them,\u201d he declares, \u201cand to make sure this is done within Canada\u2019s legal system. As the Supreme Court of Canada decreed in the Beckman ruling, we\u2019ve got to commit ourselves to protecting and preserving a constitutional space allowing Aboriginals to be Aboriginals.\u201d<\/p>\n Although he regularly tries cases before the courts, Jean-S\u00e9bastien\u2019s practice is not focused solely on constitutional debates, as might be assumed. He actually defines himself as a generalist for his Aboriginal clients. He can just as readily handle private law issues for corporations as public law issues for government bodies such as school boards or aboriginal police forces. Beyond his purely legal involvement, Jean-S\u00e9bastien is very gratified to work with the Cree community every year. In fact, his practice includes annual trips to northern Quebec for cases in communities such as Ouj\u00e9-Bougoumou, Waswanipi and Nemaska.<\/p>\n Jean-S\u00e9bastien Cl\u00e9ment has also been known to get up on the stage for a variety of good causes. For the last few years, in addition to playing the double bass for the annual benefit organized by Lawyers Without Borders Canada, he has been the event\u2019s artistic director as well. His work with LWBC has been more than just musical, though. In June 2014, he took part in a mission to Jamaica, where he hosted a workshop in strategic litigation. \u201cStrategic litigation,\u201d he explains, \u201cconsists in selecting and presenting a case before the court and, wherever possible, working with the government to develop new orientations, using them to advance the law and society.\u201d For him, LWBC is a sound, credible agency managed by serious people who have a stake in protecting the state of law\u2014often with very limited means. \u201cThere are lawyers overseas who are threatened. In addition to providing an international presence, LWBC provides lawyers and their clients with the tools they need to confront their dire and often dangerous situations.\u201d In that respect, Jean-S\u00e9bastien invites us all to the LWBC benefit show, which will take place at the Astral concert venue in Montreal on May 26, 2016.<\/p>\n We also had a chance to see Mtre Cl\u00e9ment and his double bass at events held by the Bar of Montreal, notably the JAZZ des F\u00eates<\/em> concert, which benefited the Old Brewery Mission to the tune of $970, as well as ProBono Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> legal services and the Fondation PalliAmi<\/em> in aid of palliative care at the Notre-Dame hospital.<\/p>\n Finding the balance among an associate practice in aboriginal law, a career in music and family life has never been easy, but despite everything, Jean-S\u00e9bastien Cl\u00e9ment seems to keep his composure. He is of the opinion that the important thing in life is to do what you want, to live and let live. Whether behind the big double bass or the office desk, Jean-S\u00e9bastien remains firmly grounded and the personification of a pragmatic idealist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mtre Jean-S\u00e9bastien Cl\u00e9ment: A harmonious blend of ideals<\/strong>
By Pierre-Luc Beauchesne, lawyer<\/em>
(Article issued on April 7, 2016)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"https:\/\/www.barreaudemontreal.qc.ca\/images\/infolettre\/FigureMaitre\/SOLLOWAY_Ian.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.barreaudemontreal.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo-clement_jeansebastien.png\")
By day, Mtre Jean-S\u00e9bastien Cl\u00e9ment practises aboriginal law with Gowlings. By night, he\u2019s often spotted on a stage plucking away at his stand-up bass and setting down some jazz, blues or world music tunes. With a life story that can best be described as unconventional, this father of two girls has actually struck a delicate balance between his law career and his passion for music, while remaining involved in his community. In fact, his volunteer work is what put him in touch with his colleague Mtre Pascal Paradis, executive director of Lawyers Without Borders Canada, who first got him involved with that organization..<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.barreaudemontreal.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/default\/files\/bann_figuredemaitre_500.jpg\")
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By Pierre-Luc Beauchesne, lawyer<\/em>
(Article issued on April 7, 2016)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","inline_featured_image":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1921","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n