August 29th, 2024
Langlois Celebrates Stellar Success in 2025 Best Lawyers in Canada
60 colleagues in the spotlight this year!
Richard R. Provost
Partner, Mediator, Arbitrator
Key practice areas
Insurance and Reinsurance, Construction and Infrastructure Law, Mediation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Richard R. Provost maintains an active litigation practice, primarily in the areas of insurance, construction and commercial law, as well as in professional and product liability. He represents clients in arbitration proceedings and at all trial and appellate levels across Québec and Ontario.
He regularly acts as senior counsel in highly-complex cases and both plaintiffs and defendants seek and value his expertise. He brings a practical approach to all of his files and generally prefers mediation once the issues at stake are well defined.
Richard also advises on the creation of insurance structures and he is a duly accredited mediator with IMAQ for civil and commercial dispute with focus on insurance, construction as well as professional and product matters.
Richard notably acts or acted in the following matters:
- Montréal Olympic Stadium roof collapse
- Collapse of Valleyfield lift bridge and consequential stay of Saint-Lawrence seaway operation
- Collapse of du Souvenir overpass in Laval, above highway 15 (6-lane highway)
- Collapse of Viger Tunnel (Ville-Marie expressway)
- Landslide destroying many homes and roads in City of La Baie
- Avalanche in Kuujjuaq destroying gymnasium
- Numerous major commercial and institutional roof collapses
- Landslide and closure of road and residential development in Gatineau
- Manège Militaire (Québec) fire
- Beauce Fiberglass manufacturing plant fire (product liability)
- Fire destroying 21-condo complex in Boisbriand
- Trial related to more than 1000 properties affected by pyrrhotite in Trois-Rivières
- Lac-Mégantic train derailment (class action suit $1.3 billion)
- Tobacco addiction litigation (class action suits $3.5 billion)
- Insider trading recourse (class action suit US$3.4 billion)
- Bombardier plant explosion (successfully defended engineers against subrogation claim)
- Numerous representations for excess insurers in major litigations, acting as supervisor and/or defence counsel
- Numerous litigations and arbitrations for multi-million dollar claims by specialized mining, electrical and mechanical contractors
- A construction dispute (acts as arbitrator)
- Support of large corporations seeking to set up insurance programs
- Support of an investment fund in identifying potential partner
- Red Hill Valley Parkway inquiry in Hamilton, Ontario
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory:
- Construction Law, 2018-2024
- Litigation – Commercial Insurance, 2018-2024
- Professional Liability, 2018-2019
- Benchmark Litigation Canada:
- Litigation Star, 2019-2024
- Local Litigation Star, 2018
- Best Lawyers in Canada:
- Insurance Law, 2013-2025
- Product Liability Law, 2013-2025
- Legal Malpractice Law, 2013-2025
- Construction Law, 2020-2025
- Professional Malpractice Law, 2022-2025
- Canadian Bar Association (CBA):
- Member, since 1983
- Member of the Construction Law Section's Executive Committee, 1992-1996
- The American Association for Justice, Member, since 1988
- American Bar Association (ABA):
- Forum on the Construction Industry, Member, since 1986
- Dispute Resolution Section, Member, since 1986
- Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Member, since 1986
- Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), Member, since 1993
- IR Global, Member, since 2010
- McGill University, Sessional Lecturer, 1986-1990
- Author: “Responding to public tenders: beware of unbalanced unit prices”, April 22, 2020.
- Author: “When spring weather causes nasty surprises”, April 8, 2019.
- Co-author: “What are the issues surrounding the legalization of recreational cannabis for the damage insurance industry?”, August 6, 2018.
- Author: “Execution of Out-of-Québec Judgments: No Smokescreen Allowed”, September 25, 2017.
- Co-speaker: L’ABC de la discrimination en emploi [The ABCs of Discrimination in Employment], as part of the workshop series Assurances en pratique d’emploi, Langlois Knowledge, Montréal, September 19, 2018.
- Co-speaker: Meilleures pratiques suivant un congédiement [Best Practices Following a Dismissal], as part of the workshop series Assurances en pratique d’emploi, Langlois Knowledge, Montréal, May 30, 2018.
- Co-speaker: Comment gérer les plaintes de harcèlement? [How to Manage Harassment Complaints], as part of the workshop series Assurances en pratique d’emploi, Langlois Knowledge, Montréal, April 25, 2018.
Certified mediator (Québec Bar), 2024
Certified arbitrator (UdeS/IMAQ), Université de Sherbrooke, 2022
LL.B./J.D., Common Law, University of Ottawa, 1983
LL.L., cum laude, University of Ottawa, 1982
B.Sc., Economy, University of Ottawa, 1978