Jean Charest leaves law firm McCarthy Tetrault to join Montreal's TCJ

When former Quebec premier Jean Charest turned 65 in June, he knew he would have a choice to make. McCarthy Tétrault, the law firm he joined in 2013, has a mandatory retirement age for equity partners. They offered to keep him on in a counsel role outside of the partnership, but he wasn’t interested.

“I want skin in the game,” Mr. Charest said. “I love to work. I want to be part of it. I want to be in the middle of it. It’s not just about earning money. It’s about your life and what you do.”

This, Mr. Charest said, is why he has decided to leave McCarthy and join Quebec-based Therrien Couture Joli-Coeur, or TCJ, a growing regional firm in the province with big ambitions.

Mr. Charest will join as a partner. He said he’s particularly excited to be part of the firm’s management – a role he didn’t have at McCarthy.

“Therrien Couture has done a number of acquisitions. They want to grow. I’m going to participate in something that will hopefully help them move to the next level,” he said.

TCJ president and chief executive officer Normand Therrien said that even a few years ago his firm wouldn’t have been ready for someone like Mr. Charest. But things have changed.

In 2020, TCJ was formed out of a merger of Therrien Couture and Joli-Coeur Lacasse. It has been expanding its business internationally, particularly in Europe and the United States. Mr. Therrein said TCJ also hopes to take on a larger presence in Canada outside of Quebec. “Today is a great day for our firm,” he added.

Dominique Tardif, the president of legal recruitment firm ZSA Québec, said Mr. Charest’s arrival is a significant development for TCJ.

“He can bring a lot to the table. He has knowledge. He understands how business works. What you hear on the street is he has a great legal mind, but he’s also a great business adviser,” she said.

Mr. Charest served in politics for nearly three decades, first as a federal cabinet minister in Brian Mulroney’s government and later as Quebec premier for three terms.He retired from politics – for the first time – in 2013, after his Quebec Liberal Party lost to the Parti Québécois. His move to McCarthy Tétrault was announced with much fanfare. “McCarthy Tétrault bags Charest,” said a headline in Canadian Lawyer magazine.

He has worked at the firm for a decade, advising clients such as British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto RTPPF and Teranga Gold, a Canadian mining company in Senegal. He also advised Huawei Technologies, a Chinese tech company that has been at the centre of diplomatic tensions between Ottawa and Beijing. That association made news during Mr. Charest’s unsuccessful run for the federal Conservative leadership in 2022.

“Governments are going to play a more important role in business for the next 20 years, be it energy transition, security issues with China, the IRA with the United States,” Mr. Charest said, referring to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. “If you’re in business today, you need advisers who can help you navigate how government works and how it makes decisions. That is something I know about and I can bring to the table.”

McCarthy Tétrault issued a statement on Wednesday wishing Mr. Charest well.

“We respect his decision to pursue another chapter in his professional life, and we are grateful for his numerous contributions,” the statement said.