History and Team

HISTORY

The Garage Legal is an initiative set up by a group of law students at the Université de Montréal, overseen by Professor Stéphane Rousseau as part of a Bachelor of Law course. Since 2018, the Garage Legal has been supervised by Gilles de Saint-Exupéry. On March 26, 2020, the legal clinic was transformed into a non-profit organization under the leadership of Gilles and former students, Mariya Voloshyn, Andrew Galliano and Marc Obeid. This new structure aims to ensure the sustainability of the Legal Garage and a better fulfillment of its mission. A restructuring of the clinic's activities will follow, which will attract new student volunteers who will contribute to the diversification of the clinic's activities, thus meeting the ever-growing needs of the entrepreneurial clientele.

 

TEAM

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

 
Gilles de Saint-Exupéry
 
President
 
gilles@garagelegal.ca
 
Gilles is a lawyer at the Bar of Quebec and has been admitted to the Bar of Paris (France). He works for Lex Start, a web legal service platform for startup entrepreneurs in Canada, and is also a university lecturer. Gilles holds a master's degree in technology law from the Université de Montréal and has trained in entrepreneurship at the District 3 incubator at Concordia University.
 
In 2021, Gilles received the Prix d'excellence pour l'innovation pédagogique from the Université de Montréal. For the past four years, his avant-garde teaching approach has contributed to the training of the next generation of business lawyers.
 
 
 
 

Andrew Galliano

Client Experience and Volunteer Manager

andrew.galliano@garagelegal.ca

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University and is completing his Bachelor of Laws at the Université de Montréal. During his time at Concordia University, Andrew specialized in political science and received academic training in human rights. Andrew graduated with honours and was named to the Dean of Arts and Science in 2017 and 2018.

Andrew completed a two-month internship in Arusha, Tanzania with a legal aid organization that advocates for women, children and human rights (AWLAHURIO). Andrew is the Vice President of OIDN, an organization that works on the protection of nature.

 

 

Crédits : Alyssia Marchetta

 

Mariya Voloshyn

Marketing and Communications Manager

mariya.voloshyn@garagelegal.ca

Mariya is completing her Bachelor of Laws at the Université de Montréal. She is particularly interested in corporate law and entrepreneurship, which initially led her to join the Garage Legal team as a student volunteer. She has always attached great importance to student and community engagement. For this reason, she became president of the Revue juridique étudiante de l'Université de Montréal in 2019 and, since 2020, she sits on the board of directors of the Garage Legal team. She has also contributed to the incorporation of both the Garage Legal and the Revue juridique étudiante de l'Université de Montréal into non-profit organizations. Moreover, Mariya works as a project manager at Juripop.

Before studying law, Mariya obtained a Bachelors of Arts from McGill University, majoring in economics and international development.

 

 

 

Marc Obeid

Finance and Partnerships Manager

marc.obeid@garagelegal.ca

Marc is a third-year law student at Université de Montréal and has professional experience in the world of tech start-ups (Potloc and Lightspeed), large corporations (TC Transcontinental) and investments (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec).

Prior to his involvement with Garage Legal, Marc was one part of the young leaders of Les Amis de la Montagne, a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and enhance Mount Royal.

Marc is driven by new ideas, an avid reader and a proud traveller from 23 different countries.
 
 
Mélanie Ruiz-Pardo
 
Digital Content Strategis

 
melanie.ruizpardo@garagelegal.ca
 
Newly graduated with a master's degree in business law from the University of Montreal, Mélanie Ruiz-Pardo is currently attending the professional training program of the Montreal Bar School. Her research projects are focused on issues relating to international trad and corporate social responsibility. A law graduate from the University of Bordeaux in France, she is a student member of the IMAQ and has a background in commercial and civil arbitration from the University of Sherbrooke recognized by the Quebec Bar. Before joining the Garage Legal team, Mélanie worked for a production company as an editor. Mélanie is also a columnist for the Revue juridique juridique de l'Université de Montréal, editorial director for the Revue Démos and recently founded her own project, RPM & Cie, bringing together a community of students and researchers from all over the world, concerned by the major challenges of the contemporary world.
 
 

Carolane Rebelo
 
Legal Content Manager
 
carolanerebelo@garagelegal.ca

A 2021 law graduate from the University of Montreal, Carolane is currently studying at the Montreal Bar School and worked in the constituency office of a federal MP during the summer.

Social commitment and empowerment are her main motivations for getting involved with Garage Legal and various humanitarian organizations. She strongly believes that by informing entrepreneurs as well as the most vulnerable populations about the legal reality, it becomes easier for them to achieve their aspirations and to benefit society.

It was her business law and securities courses that sparked her interest in the world of start-ups and investment during her undergraduate studies.

 

VOLUNTEERS

The Garage Legal owes its success to the involvement of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about entrepreneurship. Are you a law student and would you like to join our team? We offer a variety of engagement opportunities for you.

Accompanying Students

There are two ways to get involved as an accompanying student. First, a student registered in the Bachelor of Laws at the University of Montreal can participate as part of the course DRT-3419-Clinique juridique and thus complete the mandatory practical training. Accompanying students enrolled in the course receive a theoretical training on law and entrepreneurship and do weekly consultations with entrepreneurs, among others. Registrations are made with the Faculty of Law according to its prerequisites and terms.

A law student can also become an accompanying student outside the Faculty's course.

The eligibility criteria and responsibilities are described below:

Eligibility Criteria

  • Have completed the first year of the Bachelor of Laws; 
  • Be registered in or have completed the following courses: Droit des affaires 1 (DRT-2401) et Développement des habiletés du juriste 2 (DRT-2902) ;
  • Be available for a minimum of one year (including summer).

Engagement Requirements

  • Be available for a maximum of 3 hours per week;
  • Do consultations with entrepreneurs;
  • Participate in the management of the legal clinic;
  • Write content and update documents.

Reviewer Students

Reviewer students participate in the review of the information prepared by accompanying students before it is sent to clients. They validate it, correct it and improve it if needed.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Be a graduate law student;
  • Be available for a maximum of 2 hours per week, on request;
  • Be available for a minimum of one year (including summer).

If you are interested in joining our team, please send your CV and a cover letter to Andrew Galliano at andrew.galliano@garagelegal.ca.

 

 

Ce contenu a été mis à jour le 5 février 2022 à 11 h 58 min.