MONTRÉAL, August 30, 2004 - The partners of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP announced today that the Honourable Michel Proulx, recently retired from the Québec Court of Appeal, has joined the firm. The Honourable Michel Proulx will work principally from the firm's Montréal office, as a member of its litigation practice group.

The Honourable Michel Proulx was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1963. For 25 years his practice focused on criminal law, as a defence attorney appearing before trial as well as appellate courts, including the Quebec Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. From 1972 on, Mr. Proulx worked on administrative and constitutional cases and represented interested parties before many provincial and federal commissions of inquiry, including the Cliche Commission, the Keable Commission, the MacDonald Commission, the Malouf Commission on the cost of the Olympic Games, the Deschênes Commission and the Dubin Commission on doping and illegal athletic performance enhancing practices. The Honourable Michel Proulx was appointed to the Québec Court of Appeal in 1989, being the first to hold a newly created position.

The Honourable Michel Proulx has authored and co-authored many texts, principally on ethics and the law, including Ethics and Canadian Criminal Law (2001, Irwin Law Inc.), which garnered two prizes: the Québec Bar Foundation Prize (2002) and the Walter Owen Book Prize (2003). The Honourable Michel Proulx was an adjunct professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law of the McGill University (1967-1989).

“I am very happy to be returning to private practice, and I am proud to be joining a firm whose reputation as a leader in business law is only equalled by richness and breadth of its culture.” said Mr. Proulx.

Richard Cherney, Co-Managing Partner of the Montreal office, declared: “We are extremely proud to welcome the Honourable Michel Proulx in our midst, and we are delighted that his considerable experience and expertise will serve our clients.”

William O'Reilly, Managing Partner of the Toronto office, added: “The Honourable Michel Proulx will make an important contribution to our firm, and clients and lawyers will certainly benefit from the contribution of this remarkable jurist.”

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP is a firm of more than 220 lawyers in offices in Toronto, Montréal and New York, with an affiliate in Paris, managing complex and sophisticated corporate, commercial and financial matters regardless of borders. Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg is consistently ranked by independent rating agencies as a market leader in its core practice areas.