Competitive, merit-based compensation
We offer a competitive base salary, built on a salary structure that takes everyone's performance and merit into account. No rigid salary scales based on experience and seniority here.
It's simple: the more you give, the more you get!
We know you have your own career goals and your own preferences about the place work has in your life and the time you devote to it. That's why we created a salary structure that adapts to your lifestyle choices.
Want to prove yourself and push your limits? There's a place for you here.
Want to spend less time at work so you can focus on your personal or family life? There's a place for you here too.
On top of their base salary, our lawyers and notaries who exceed their annual billing target earn a generous bonus: 35% of the fees billed above the target.
Say goodbye to the discretionary bonuses of other firms! Here, bonuses are non-discretionary and are an integral part of our salary structure.
And our billing targets are reasonable: we set them with you each year, based on your ambitions and career choices.
Group insurance for your peace of mind
Once you have completed 3 months of continuous service with us, you will have access to attractive group insurance, with an annual employer contribution of 35% of the insurance premium.
As an indication, at its last renewal, our insurance included:
1. Free telemedicine through the Teladoc app
2. Drug insurance that reimburses 80% of your prescription drug costs
- Individual annual deductible: $50
- Family annual deductible: $100
3. Health care insurance covering 80% of the following professional fees, among others:
- Eye exam: $75 / 24 months
- Chiropractor: $300 / year
- Massage therapist, kinesiotherapist or kinesiologist: $300 / year
- Physiotherapist or athletic therapist: $300 / year
- Acupuncturist: $400 / year
- Audiologist: $400 / year
- Clinical dietitian: $400 / year
- Naturopath: $400 / year
- Osteopath: $400 / year
- Podiatrist or chiropodist: $400 / year
- Psychologist, social worker, registered clinical counsellor, Canadian certified counsellor (CCC) or psychotherapist: $400 / year
- Speech-language pathologist: $400 / year
4. Disability insurance (for support staff only)
5. 180-day travel insurance (for employees aged 65 and under), plus a travel assistance service
6. Life and AD&D insurance of $25,000
7. A $200 wellness account per year
Vacation and leave
Because we know that breaks and rest matter, we offer a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation per year, regardless of your level of experience. After that, the number of vacation weeks you get increases with your experience and seniority.
You can also take your vacation weeks in advance, starting in your first year.
Oh, and one little detail that matters: when you go on vacation, you go on vacation for real! We make it a team mission to plan our vacations carefully, so you can sip your piña colada without checking your email every 10 minutes.
On top of that, we give you 4 additional paid days off over the holidays: December 24, 26 and 31, and January 2. And if one of these days falls on a non-working day, your paid day off is moved to another day.
RRSP / DPSP program
From your first work anniversary with us, you will have access to a group RRSP / DPSP program with an employer contribution.
We match your contribution to the program up to 2% of your gross annual salary.
Continuing education budget
Continuing education is essential for any lawyer or notary striving for excellence.
That's why we are proud to give each of our lawyers and notaries an annual budget of $1,500 + taxes for their continuing education.
Funding for your participation in the Advocacy Techniques Seminar
Continuing education here isn't just an annual budget: it's a real investment in your career as a litigator.
When you reach 5 years of practice and become eligible, VDA can fully fund your participation in the legendary Barreau du Québec Advocacy Techniques Seminar (Séminaire des techniques de plaidoirie), an intensive one-week course that lets you sharpen your skills in argument, examination, cross-examination, presentation of evidence and persuasive communication.
This benefit is worth about $6,850 + taxes and is in addition to your annual continuing education budget. And so that you can truly focus on this experience, we also reduce your annual billing target by the equivalent of 5 billable days.
In short, we want you to become even better, and we're ready to make a real investment to help you get there.
Professional dues and insurance
We pay all of your professional dues and professional liability insurance as a lawyer or notary.
Cell phone allowance
All our lawyers receive an allowance of $40/month + taxes for their cell phone plan.
Reimbursement of your travel expenses
We reimburse you $0.60/km for all work-related travel. Just submit your expense report at the end of each month.
Business development: we give you what you need to go for it
Are you a builder at heart? Great! Here, an entrepreneurial spirit is more than encouraged: it's supported.
Every lawyer has a dedicated budget and set-aside time for their business development initiatives. Do you want to:
- Take part in networking activities or strategic events?
- Get involved on a board of directors?
- Raise funds for a project or cause you care about?
- Organize a conference, launch a podcast or publish specialized content?
- Explore a new market or build your own clientele?
We give you the means to match your ambitions.
Because here, business development isn't just a target — it's an adventure that reflects who you are.
The opportunity to manage your own files and your own clients
Here, all our lawyers are always on the front line and in charge of their own files.
We train go-getters who know how to figure things out. As a lawyer with us, whether you're junior or senior, you will meet your own clients, draft your own proceedings and argue your own trials.
You will also have the opportunity to work with more experienced lawyers on their major files, while benefiting from their coaching to successfully handle your own.
Flexible hours and remote work
To help you balance work and your personal life, we offer you consistently flexible working hours and the option to work remotely.
Are you an early bird? Perfect! A night owl who likes to sleep in? Also perfect!
We trust you and treat you as a professional. No need to ask our permission for your hair appointment.
What's more, our remote work policy doesn't require any minimum number of days per week at the office. And our IT systems are so versatile that you can even travel and work from abroad.
Modern, available managers who listen
Our managers take a modern approach focused on continuous improvement.
Here, questioning the status quo and suggesting improvements are welcomed. Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, and we know it. Our lasting commitment to you: to seriously consider every suggestion for improvement or constructive criticism we receive. Through your suggestions, you can make a real contribution to the success and transformation of our firm.
What's more, Verreau Dufresne Avocats has something that sets it apart: its senior partner works as a full-time manager. He is therefore available, listens to the team and doesn't run the firm in a rush between two trials.
Our managers hold monthly one-on-one meetings with each team member to exchange feedback and make sure everyone is happy.
Respect for your professional independence
We are modern managers. We know that our lawyers and notaries are professionals who need their independence to thrive and protect their mental health.
We respect this independence by letting you:
- Choose the areas of law you want to practise in. Nobody will force you to take on a client file you're not comfortable with;
- Turn down a new client file;
- Decide when you think it's appropriate to withdraw from a client file. You don't need the partners' permission beforehand;
- Decline new clients or files when you feel your workload is full.
A solid structure for a small firm
Although our firm is still young, we have a solid internal structure.
Over the years and through many iterations, we have put in place well-oiled processes, documented in guides available to the whole team.
Our commitment to structuring our firm effectively is also reflected in our hiring of specialized professionals from fields other than law. Our managers know their own limits and surround themselves with the experts they need to make well-informed decisions.
The following positions at our firm are a concrete example:
- Communications/Marketing Manager
- Technology Manager
Our philosophy: success is no accident; it's built on solid foundations.
The legal and administrative support you deserve
As a lawyer or notary with us, you get the support you need. We make sure to hire the talent needed to maintain our strong team of paralegals and legal and administrative assistants.
Our high-performing support team gives you peace of mind by taking care of:
- Legal research;
- Managing prospective clients and, if you wish, booking appointments directly in your calendar;
- Opening files;
- Conflict-of-interest checks and management;
- Accounting and collections;
- A host of other administrative tasks.
Access to a library of model documents and proceedings
We won't hide it: we hate manual, repetitive work.
That's why we created a library of model documents and proceedings to help you with your files.
And that's not all! Our support team is constantly updating and improving this library.
Our passion for technology
We are a tech-savvy firm.
We hate manual, repetitive work. Whenever we can, we implement a technology solution to make life easier for us (and for you).
We can already hear you saying: “Yeah, yeah… Easy to say… Every firm claims to be tech-savvy!”
Fair point!
To give you something more concrete, here are a few examples of the technology tools we use:
Equipment provided to you
- A laptop, so you can work from anywhere
- Two ergonomic external monitors (height-adjustable, tilting, and swivelling horizontally and vertically) to extend your virtual desktop
- A wireless keyboard and mouse, so you can work from anywhere
- An ergonomic chair
- If needed, an ergonomic laptop stand
- If needed, an ergonomic keyboard tray or footrest
Software
- We encourage the use of artificial intelligence and provide you with a business account so you can use AI securely
- We developed our own law firm management software, which holds our contact book and lets us follow up with prospective clients (CRM), manage our tasks, our timesheets, our billing and our accounting. And the best part: we keep improving it however we see fit!
- Electronic calendars and the option for clients to book appointments without the lawyer's involvement
- Electronic signature software
- Internal chat
- Internal and external video conferencing
- Collaborative documents that several users can edit at the same time
- A tool to automate repetitive typing
- A voice dictation transcription tool
- Advanced PDF editing software
- A password manager (so we never lose our passwords again and can share them efficiently and securely)
- A solution that indexes the titles and content of client file documents, with a powerful search tool
- An online payment platform for our clients
- VoIP telephony, so you can work from anywhere
- Voicemail messages delivered straight to your email inbox
- eFax, or digital fax (honestly, we could do without the fax, but the Barreau still requires it)
Methods and processes
- A fully electronic monthly billing process
- An online client form (saves time when opening a client file)
Transportation and location
Do you drive?
No problem: you'll have access to free parking at our Québec City and Lévis offices.
Our Lévis office is just a 10-minute drive from the Pierre-Laporte Bridge and can be reached by ferry.
Do you take public transit?
Perfect: our Québec City and Lévis offices are easy to reach by bus!
Do you bike?
We love athletes! Our Québec City and Lévis offices have bike racks.
If you live in Québec City, you can take the ferry with your bike to get to our Lévis office.
And once you're there?
You're right in the heart of the action!
Our Lévis office is right downtown, in the same building as the Victor restaurant, a few steps from the legendary Le Délice pub and boulevard Président-Kennedy, which is lined with shops. Les Galeries Chagnon are also just down the street.
Our Québec City office is in the Lebourgneuf area, a few steps from Galeries de la Capitale and a street full of restaurants and bars.
Plan your route!
Fun and quality of life
There's room for humour and fun here. And we own it: we like to have a good time.
Whether it's at the many team activities organized by our Happiness Committee or in our never-ending internal chat called “Team Blabla” (where memes, animated GIFs, cat photos and dad jokes fly), we have a lot of fun.
The VDA Day off
VDA Day: what's that?
VDA has thought of everything: on top of statutory holidays and vacation, you get a paid day off on the second Friday of November, to bring a little sunshine into a rather grey month.
Future prospects and opportunities
Our firm keeps growing, and that's not about to change!
So new positions are constantly opening up, and new opportunities are offered to our best players, such as the chance to become a department head or a shareholder.
And day to day, you can work on special continuous improvement projects or take part in business development initiatives.
A welcome and onboarding process with surgical precision
Have you ever had the surprising experience of a new employer who didn't seem ready for you on your first day?
Here, welcome and onboarding aren't left to chance.
From your very first day with us, everything is ready: your computer is set up down to the last detail, all your accounts are created, all your equipment is waiting for you, your training schedule has been shared with you, and our trainers are happy to meet you. We're ready to go!
In short, you'll be well supervised and supported as you settle in.
A culture of openness and inclusion
People shine when they work in an environment that lets them be themselves.
That's why we have a culture of openness, inclusion and diversity (ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ+, etc.).
Gym
Staying active matters!
- In Québec City: you get free access to the gym and showers located right in the building.
Because we believe balance also comes from health and well-being! 😊
