Venise Levesque

With over 25 years’ experience, Venise is a seasoned lawyer practicing in regulatory compliance in the financial products and services sector and in securities, an area in which she has particular expertise, including the regulation of crypto assets.

Through her experience as an Assistant Syndic at the Chambre de la sécurité financière, then as Senior Legal Counsel at Financière Banque Nationale, and subsequently as Regulatory Counsel at the Autorité des marchés financiers, she has acquired in-depth knowledge of the regulatory requirements of the financial sector, which today allows her to advise and support a wide variety of clients in their obligations and regulatory compliance issues and challenges. Her clients range from financial intermediaries and financial institutions to venture capital firms. Venise also provides investigative services in regulatory compliance and disciplinary law.

Venise also has experience in commercial law as well as strategic skills to leverage and ensure full compliance for businesses according to their business model. In her roles as a legal advisor, she has had the opportunity to draft and review contracts, such as partnership agreements and various types of service contracts, such as representation contracts and service supply agreements.

With her knowledge, professional rigor, and communication skills, Venise serves both as a legal advisor and a business partner for her clients.

Venise worked as senior legal counsel at National Bank Financial (NBF), where she provided legal advice and acted as risk manager for NBF, its various branches and/or their dealing or advising representatives. She also acted as a resource person and provided legal advice in connection with client complaints against NBF, its subsidiaries, branches and/or representatives.

Venise has also held the position of Regulatory Counsel in the Supervision of Intermediaries Department at the Autorité des marchés financiers, where she participated in committees and working groups with other Canadian regulators on pan-Canadian securities regulatory projects.

Early in her career, Venise held the position of Legal Counsel at the OACIQ. She then joined the Chambre de la sécurité financière where she practiced as a lawyer to disciplinary matters, as an investigator and as Assistant Syndic, a role she held for over 10 years. Over the years, she managed and decided on the outcome of numerous investigation files, and participated in various specific mandates, including reviewing draft laws and regulations and evaluating strategies from a media perspective.

• Participating in committees and working groups along with other Canadian regulators on pan-Canadian securities regulatory projects.
• Providing legal advice and act as risk manager for a large financial institution and its subsidiaries.
• Acting as a resource person and provide legal advice on customer complaints against a major financial institution, its subsidiaries, branches and/or representatives.
• Assuming the conduct of disciplinary mandates as Assistant Syndic in several disciplinary cases, some of which have served as jurisprudence on both guilt and sanction.
• Investigating, managing and/or deciding on the outcome of over 600 investigation files. One case in particular brought to light a scheme that had enabled an advisor to reap nearly a million dollars in commissions, bonuses and other remuneration at the expense of insurers.
• Develop an anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing compliance and risk assessment program for FINTRAC purposes for a start-up company.
• Advise a start-up company on its compliance and support it with its operating permit applications.