Mr James A. Woods > Woods LLP > Montreal, Canada > Lawyer Profile

Mr James A. Woods

Position

Founder

Career

James A. Woods, the founder of our firm, is widely regarded as one of the leading lawyers in Quebec and Canada. A seasoned litigator and arbitrator with 40 years of experience, he has garnered a long history of success before all levels of federal and provincial courts in Ontario and Quebec, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.

Over the course of his career, he has acted as well as arbitrator, either as chair or member of a panel, in a significant number of commercial and international cases, both ad hoc and under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). James is a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers, Litigation Counsel of America and Federation of Defence and Corporate Counsel. Year after year, clients and peers alike praise his skills and talent; he is consistently listed as a leading practitioner in commercial litigation and arbitration by prestigious legal directories. 

A prominent figure in the field of law, James has contributed generously to training, mentoring and knowledge sharing initiatives in Quebec and around the world. Teaching has been a part of his long-standing commitment to the education of future lawyers. In particular, he developed and taught for almost 30 years the Civil Litigation Techniques course at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, a course that uses a combination of mock trial, evidentiary techniques and tactics to train students in the nuances of civil law. 

 

Languages

French, English

Memberships

Advocatus Emeritus, Quebec, 2013
Paris, 2013
England and Wales, 2008
British Colombia, 2006
Alberta, 2006
Ontario, 1979
Quebec, 1976

TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES 

• Chairman, McGill University, Law Faculty Advisory Board (2004-2012) 
• Member, McGill University, Law Faculty Advisory Board (1991-2012) 
• Creator and lecturer “Trial Advocacy – Civil Litigation”, McGill University, Faculty of Law (1987-2019) 
• Sessional Lecturer “The Law for Architects and Engineers”, McGill University, Faculty of Engineering (1993-2002) 
• Sessional Lecturer “Civil Procedure”, McGill University, Faculty of Law (1984-1987) 
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: trial advocacy training (2005) 
• Chairman, sub-committee of the Joint Committee of the Quebec Bar and Chamber of Notaries respecting the English version of the Civil Code of Quebec: Book 7: Evidence (1999-2000) 
• Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation since 1998 
• Co-Editor, Corporate Litigation, Federated Press since 1997 
• Member of the Task Force on Economic Consequences of Litigation World Wide, International Bar Association (1992-1998) 
• Canada Co-Chair, International Litigation Sub-Committee, International Bar Association (1990-1998) 

 ASSOCIATIONS 

• Quebec Bar 
• Canadian Bar Association 
• Law Society of Upper Canada 
• Law Society of British Columbia 
• Law Society of Alberta 
• Law Society of England and Wales 
• Barreau de Paris 
• American Bar Association 
• American Association for Justice 
• International Bar Association 
• American Arbitration Association 
• London Court of International Arbitration 
• Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre   
• The Advocates’ Society 

Education

Aix-Marseille University, MacDonald Travelling Scholarship – McGill University (Comparative Law), 1975 

McGill University, Faculty of Law, Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) and Common Law (LL.B.), 1974 

• Benjamin Robinson Memorial Prize – 1st Place Standing, National Program (1974) 

McGill University, Faculty of Arts, Bachelor of Arts – Economics and Political Science (B.A.), 1970 

• Obtained with honours