William D. Hart
Lawyer, Partner - Montréal
William Hart practices in the area of corporate and commercial law in the Montréal office of Langlois Lawyers. He is head of the firm’s France-Québec practice group, an experienced team that provides business solutions adapted to the needs of French companies seeking to establish themselves in Quebec.
His background in management and his experience as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of a large Quebec-based public company for several years allow him to better understand and advise large clients, including several well-known French companies.
William has a diversified practice with a concentration in mergers and acquisitions. He also works regularly in the area of compensation agreements for senior executives in change-of-control situations, and in this regard has been involved in some of the most important acquisitions over the last few years in Quebec.
These areas of practice have also allowed William to develop a deep understanding of corporate governance issues, on which he regularly advises his clients.
Education
1978 – Bachelor of Civil Law, B.C.L., McGill University (Member of Editorial Board of McGill Law Journal)
1977 – Bachelor of Common Law, LL.B., McGill University (University Bursary; Wainwright Essay Prize)
1974 – Graduate of École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales (ESSEC) Paris, France, Recipient of bursary from French government
1970 – B.A. Economics, University of Saskatchewan
Rankings & Recognitions
Areas of Practice
Teams
Representative Work
Mergers & Acquisitions
Acts on behalf of several major French companies in their acquisitions or legal affairs in Quebec, including Adecco, Somfy, Moulage Plastique de l’Ouest, Euralis, La Brosse & Dupont, Hérige (formerly VM Matériaux), Alsace Lait, Groupe Bolloré (Blue Solutions and Bolloré Logistiques), Laboratoires Lehning, Accor Canada, Riou Glass, Groupe Alvest, Groupe APY, Solina Group and Camera One.
Compensation of senior management in change-of-control situations
Frequently acts on behalf of senior executives in their employment and equity incentive arrangements in the context of acquisitions of large companies such as Yellow Pages, Bombardier Recreational Products, CCM/The Hockey Company, Teleglobe, GUESS Canada, Van Houtte and Air Canada Technical Services (AVEOS).
Publications
Articles
News
- 2021 – William D. Hart appointed as Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Canada
- 2020 – Solina, TGOD and goPeer choose Langlois to assist with their business transactions
- 2019 – Retrospective 2018 | 10 Successes for Langlois’ Transactional Group
- 2018 – William D. Hart Named Chairman of the Board of Directors of CIC Capital Canada Inc. and CIC Capital Ventures Inc.
- 2018 – Retrospective of Langlois’ 10 Most Representative Mergers & Acquisitions Mandates of 2017
- 2017 – William D. Hart named president of the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Française au Canada
- 2017 – William D. Hart quoted in Les Affaires magazine concerning business acquisitions
- 2014 – A New Club in Montréal for Innovative Businesses
Other Publications
2012 – Contributor: “Legal Aspects of Doing Business in North America” (Quebec Section), Release 1 – 2012, Juris Publishing, Huntington, New York, 2012, p. QU-1