2011-2012 – Mtre Claire Bellemare

Mtre Claire Bellemare – Admitted to the Bar in 1992, she joined the firm of Marchi Bellemare. Her principal fields are family law, youth law and civil law.

Mtre Bellemare first became involved with the Bar of Montreal by offering legal consultations during the Law Days, held to celebrate the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 1998, she participated as consulting lawyer at the very first VISEZ DROIT and became, in 2001, a member of its legal consultations committee.

She continued her involvement in 2002 by becoming a member of the Salon VISEZ DROIT Committee, of which she is still a member. In this respect, she attends numerous committee meetings, where she contributes to writing moot courts —  a real art! It is moreover thanks to her well-placed contacts that the committee is able to recruit volunteer actors for these events, along with the most sympathetic judges and lawyers.  And it is always the greatest pleasure of the public and her colleagues when , on the stage at the Complexe Desjardins, Mtre puts on her robes and pleads.

The Bâtonnière, Elizabeth Greene, is delighted to have awarded the Mérite to Mtre Claire Bellemare on behalf of the Bar of Montreal. It is a well-deserved honor and our way of expressing gratitude for Mtre Bellemare’s constant and stalwart generosity.

Mtre Bellemare often says of herself that it is not easy to get to know her.  But the lucky ones who have succeeded will tell you of her rectitude and her intellectual honesty. To her close friends, she has become, at the turning point of a trial, the one they warmly call “Super Claire.” Because of the serenity and courage that characterize her, she is a model for many.

Mtre Doris Larrivée, Director General of the Bar of Montreal, is pleased that the Bar of Montreal has awarded the Mérite to Mtre Bellemare in tribute for her sustained involvement in the organization of Salon VISEZ DROIT.  She is the perfect example of the volunteer who deserves to be honoured.

Congratulations, Mtre Bellemare, on this distinction!