Partner
Léon is a bold and tenacious trial lawyer who takes a creative approach to his clients’ cases.
Léon has appeared at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Clients retain Léon for complex and hybrid cases, which often involve a variety of legal ramifications, including civil, commercial, administrative, regulatory and criminal.
He is often called upon to challenge search warrants and wiretaps, to represent corporations and directors in domestic or multijurisdictional investigations or defend them in prosecutions and related civil suits, and to conduct internal investigations.
Léon regularly provides pro bono advice. He participated in an economic mission to Africa and received The Young Bar Association of Montréal’s 2015 Lawyer of the Year Award in litigation. Léon was also appointed amicus curiae of the Supreme Court by the Chief Justice of Canada in respect of an appeal involving both criminal and civil law, and obtained a unanimous judgment from the bench upholding his position.
Partner
Léon is a bold and tenacious trial lawyer who takes a creative approach to his clients’ cases.
Léon has appeared at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Clients retain Léon for complex and hybrid cases, which often involve a variety of legal ramifications, including civil, commercial, administrative, regulatory and criminal.
He is often called upon to challenge search warrants and wiretaps, to represent corporations and directors in domestic or multijurisdictional investigations or defend them in prosecutions and related civil suits, and to conduct internal investigations.
Léon regularly provides pro bono advice. He participated in an economic mission to Africa and received The Young Bar Association of Montréal’s 2015 Lawyer of the Year Award in litigation. Léon was also appointed amicus curiae of the Supreme Court by the Chief Justice of Canada in respect of an appeal involving both criminal and civil law, and obtained a unanimous judgment from the bench upholding his position.
Amicus curiae of the Supreme Court of Canada
Appointed amicus curiae of the Supreme Court of Canada by the then-chief justice of Canada, Beverley McLachlin, in a case raising a question of criminal law applied in a civil context to insurance contracts rules (Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company v Émond, 2017 SCC 19). The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the amicus curiae's position and dismissed the appeal from the bench.
Various clients
Acting for various institutions and corporations in connection with investigations and charges relating to white-collar crime and regulatory offences.
Estate of Paul G. Desmarais
Acted for the estate of Paul G. Desmarais in connection with proceedings instituted by the late Louis R. Desmarais. The plaintiff claimed from the estate of his late brother, Paul G. Desmarais, the sum of $75 million on the basis of a promise allegedly made orally in the late 1970s to return shares of Power Corporation of Canada. On April 26, 2017, after the trial and while the case was under advisement, the plaintiff dropped the proceedings in their entirety.
Beauward Real Estate inc., Schokbeton Québec Inc. and Saramac
Acted successfully for Beauward Real Estate inc., Schokbeton Québec Inc. and Saramac on a challenge of search warrants and communication orders issued by a judge and executed in multiple locations by the Agence du revenu du Québec as part of the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit of Québec.
Confidential
Acting on behalf of Canadian interests in an international cross-border, white collar investigation leading to multiple charges.
Confidential Individuals
Acting on behalf of confidential clients in a challenge of multiple search warrants executed in multiple locations by the Québec's Revenue Agency.
Confidential Client
Acting for a confidential client, as an innocent third party in an investigation, led by the Québec's permanent anti-corruption unit (PACU).
Confidential Clients
Acting for various confidential clients in the context of criminal charges for tax evasion.
Confidential Clients
Acting for various confidential clients in the context of penal prosecutions under tax Acts.
Confidential Client
Acted for a large Canadian-based international company in the context of a federal criminal investigation on allegations of tax evasion and a tax investigation.
Canadian Bar Association, “Search Warrants and Corporate Criminal Lawˮ; Montréal, QC
Feb. 05, 2020
Search and Seizure: Authorities Can’t Keep What They Seize Indefinitely
Feb. 04, 2020 - In a recent decision,1 the Superior Court of Québec held that an authority cannot keep copies of electronic documents seized during a search and seizure after officially notifying the person that it will not bring penal or administrative proceedings against the person. In this decision, the Court...
Investigation and Disclosure: The Court Stresses the Importance of Protecting Whistleblowers
Jan. 22, 2020 - In a decision handed down on December 9, 2019,1 the Superior Court of Québec stressed the importance of keeping the identity of whistleblowers and their statements confidential in the context of investigations into wrongdoing within a public body. Confidentiality can be lifted only when there are...
New Era, New Disclosure Obligations
Dec. 17, 2019 - In a case argued by Davies, the Court of Québec rendered a judgment on December 10 setting out, for the first time, the conditions that must be met for the electronic disclosure of evidence by the Crown to be “reasonably accessible”, respectful of the accused’s fundamental rights and consistent...
Léon Moubayed Speaks About Remediation Agreements With La Presse
Nov. 29, 2019 - In an article published recently in French, Léon Moubayed provides an overview of global trends in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms with regard to corporate crime and shares his insights on the remediation agreement regime recently introduced in Canadian law. In November, Davies brought...
International Investigations & White Collar Defence Davies Summit; Montréal, QC
Nov. 14, 2019
Tax Fraud Charges: Jordan Stay of Proceedings Ordered Due to Unreasonable Delay
Sept. 04, 2019 - In a recent decision, the Court of Québec (Court) held that section 11b of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable time, had been infringed.1 It ordered a stay of proceedings in...
July 09, 2019 - The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed the appeal of 1068754 Alberta Ltd. (Alberta Ltd.) against a judgment rendered by the Court of Appeal of Québec, which in turn had upheld the decision rendered by the Superior Court. The appeal originated from Alberta Ltd.’s contestation of a formal demand...
Search Warrants: Misleading the Court Compromises the Integrity of the Process
May 02, 2019 - The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Agence du revenu du Québec v 9229-0188 Québec inc. has dismissed an application for leave to appeal filed by Revenu Québec (RQ), acting as part of the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit of Québec. In doing so, the SCC leaves intact the action brought by...
Search Warrants: Investigators’ Good Faith Cannot Always Be Presumed
Apr. 25, 2019 - In Demers c R, 2019 QCCA 518, the Court of Appeal of Québec acquitted the appellant, who had previously been convicted by the Court of Québec on the basis of evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search and seizure. The Court of Appeal held that, when the affidavit filed to support...
Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys—Future Star
Young Bar Association of Montréal—Civil and Commercial Litigation: Lawyer of the Year Award (2015)
Québec, 2010
Osgoode Hall Law School, JD, 2009
Université de Montréal, LLB, 2008
Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), 2008
Association des avocats de la défense de Montréal
Lawyers Without Borders
Ligue des droits et libertés
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards, Gold Medallists Association
International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition at The Hague, judge
