{"id":4082,"date":"2021-05-31T18:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T18:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barreau.stagingminimalmtl.com\/2020-2021-mtre-veronique-collard\/"},"modified":"2022-12-17T21:01:56","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T02:01:56","slug":"2020-2021-mtre-veronique-collard","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.barreaudemontreal.qc.ca\/en\/barreau\/prizes-and-distinctions\/pierre-fournier-prize\/2020-2021-mtre-veronique-collard\/","title":{"rendered":"2020-2021 Mtre V\u00e9ronique Collard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mtre V\u00e9ronique Collard<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The art of putting the right tools in parents\u2019 hands<\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By M\u00e9lanie Dugr\u00e9, lawyer<\/em>
(Article published on April 27, 2021)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On May 5, V\u00e9ronique Collard will receive the Pierre-Fournier Prize for her exceptional contribution to the Bar of Montreal. \u201cI feel touched and honoured to get this award, especially when I think of Pierre Fournier, who swore me in in 1998 and who was a good friend of my mentor, Richard McConomy.\u201d The Pierre-Fournier Prize will be presented to this family law specialist less than a year after the death of her mentor. \u201cMr. McConomy played a key role in my career; thanks to him, I got to know the team at the Bar of Montreal and discovered the pleasure and happiness that stem from being involved with this organization.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

V\u00e9ronique Collard took an optional Law class in Grade 11 when the Family Property and Support Act came into effect, which led her to consider a career as a lawyer. She enrolled and studied at Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al and was called to the Bar in 1998. Finally, she articled at the Montreal Urban Community, where she worked mainly on workers’ compensation cases. Initially determined to practice business law, F.S. Liverman, a law generalist and versatile practitioner for whom she had worked as a receptionist during her studies, offered her a partnership opportunity. The Liverman Collard firm was born, and V\u00e9ronique started a practice mainly focused on family law. Through Mr. Liverman, V\u00e9ronique Collard’s path crossed that of Richard McConomy, who became her mentor and touchstone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside her career, V\u00e9ronique started a family, giving birth to daughters in 2000, 2002 and 2004. Life was moving at full speed, and by her own admission, she took her cases very much, sometimes too much, to heart to the point where she wanted to take up new challenges and discover new things. With a friend and business partner, she decided to start a cupcake business, Itsi Bitsi, in 2006, which quickly became very successful. \u201cIt was an extremely rewarding experience, but between weddings, celebrations of all kinds and large corporate events, I realized how irregular the hours were and how demanding the projects were.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During V\u00e9ronique’s foray into the business world, Mr. McConomy never ceased to watch over her with a fatherly eye. In 2010, he convinced her to partner with him and return to the practice of family law in a different way by focusing on mediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a former Montreal Bar President, Richard McConomy had remained involved with the Section and strongly encouraged V\u00e9ronique to try her hand at it. Embracing the adage \u201ctrying it is adopting it,\u201d V\u00e9ronique has never parted ways with the Bar of Montreal since then. She has contributed to many committees, including Limited Scope, Liaison with the Superior Court (Family Matters) and Unrepresented Parties for the past decade. In 2018, Ms. Collard joined the Salon VISEZ DROIT committee and the Round Table on Participative Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V\u00e9ronique loves that the committees she sits on at the Bar of Montreal are so diverse. She points out that initiatives such as the Round Table on Participative Justice, Limited Scope and the Salon VISEZ DROIT are focused on litigants, while a committee such as the Liaison with the Superior Court, Family Matters, allows her to understand the system behind the scenes better while promoting mediation to the judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2012, V\u00e9ronique has partnered with Catherine Eustace. Since both are autonomous, versatile and self-taught, they do everything themselves, from drafting procedures to serving them, including spiral binding books of authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V\u00e9ronique Collard’s affections are divided between mediation and litigation. Always ready for any fight and determined to win when she has to plead in the court, she has also developed an expertise and an affection for mediation, having had the privilege to witness the huge steps that separated couples have made using it. \u201cSome lawyers see mediation as a threat to the profession. I believe that, on the contrary, it’s a very effective tool parties can leverage to move forward and agree on the parameters that define what they will always have in common: their children.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, V\u00e9ronique Collard’s words betray her attachment to a theme that\u2019s dear to her heart: the interests of children. Here we aren\u2019t talking about mercantile interests or convenient ones that come up in conversation, but the true and authentic interests that should be the cornerstone of any parental separation. V\u00e9ronique is passionate, committed and driven by a sincere desire to help her clients understand all the consequences, especially the psychological ones, of their separation on their children.  When asked how family law has fared during the pandemic, Ms. Collard says she has seen and heard it all over the past year. And, unfortunately, she\u2019s in a position to confirm the rise in domestic and psychological violence and the disarray of some couples and families. \u201cI have seen too many people who should have gone their separate ways for the good of their families, but who have been forced by the pandemic to stay together in an unhealthy climate<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing is sure; couples in distress will always be able to count on V\u00e9ronique Collard. Passionate about her profession and driven by the desire to help her fellow man \u2013 a family value passed on by her parents \u2013 she is more than ever interested in helping couples come to terms with their long-standing conflicts. V\u00e9ronique Collard concludes wisely: \u201cI see these mandates as a great challenge. I have faith in people and in the ability of parents \u2013 once they\u2019ve mourned their separation \u2013 to refocus on their children, see things from another perspective, have more realistic expectations and build new dreams.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u00c0 consulter<\/h5>\n

Allocutions prononc\u00e9es lors de la remise du prix<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hommage \u00e0 Me V\u00e9ronique Collard<\/a>
\nRemerciements de Me V\u00e9ronique Collard<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

V\u00e9ronique Collard: the art of putting the right tools in parents\u2019 hands<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By M\u00e9lanie Dugr\u00e9, lawyer<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4058,"parent":1077,"menu_order":7,"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-4082","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2020-2021 Mtre V\u00e9ronique Collard - Barreau de Montréal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.barreaudemontreal.qc.ca\/en\/barreau\/prizes-and-distinctions\/pierre-fournier-prize\/2020-2021-mtre-veronique-collard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2020-2021 Mtre V\u00e9ronique Collard - 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