Partner

Despina Mandilaras is a member of the Commercial Litigation group and practises primarily in the areas of construction, surety bonds, contract disputes and shareholder disputes. As such, she represents many different clients from the public and private sectors before all levels of court, including arbitration tribunals. In addition to advising various construction industry stakeholders-including general contractors and surety bond companies-on construction management and any claims that may arise, she also assists them with dispute resolution processes.

Education

• LL.B., Université de Montréal, 2012

Over the years, she has acquired knowledge and skills in undertaking extraordinary remedies-and injunctions in particular-across all sectors of activity.

During her studies, Ms. Mandilaras was awarded the Bar of Montreal Award (2012), the Prix d'excellence Pérodeau (2011-2012) for the second highest standing in the LL.B. program, the Lavery, de Billy Award of Excellence in Environmental Law (2012), the Crochetière, Pétrin Award of Excellence in Securities Law (2012) and the Rodolphe Lemieux Award of Excellence in Public International Law (2010-2011). She also made the Dean's Honour Roll throughout her undergraduate law program and received the Governor General's Academic Medal for highest academic achievement throughout her post-secondary studies.

While studying law at Université de Montréal, Ms. Mandilaras was a research assistant for Justice Catherine Piché, J.S.C., during the 2011 fall semester. More specifically, she assisted Justice Piché in the final draft of her article "Comparative Perspectives: Figures, Spaces and Procedural Proportionality," published in the International Journal of Procedural Law.

Ms. Mandilaras is fluent in French, English, Greek and Spanish.

Representative mandates

With respect to construction and surety bonds, Ms. Mandilaras is or has been involved in several cases, including the following:

• A case where she was part of the team representing a general contractor, architects and engineers in a multi-million dollar claim for wrongful disqualification following a call for proposals.
• A case where she was part of the team representing a public construction client facing a request for payment of professional fees and a request for payment of the balance owing under a contract, together with a request from the general contractor for several million dollars in compensation, including, in particular, claims for supplemental general conditions, fast tracking work, work under a cost-plus contract, supplemental work, loss of productivity, winter conditions, arbitrary cuts, change orders that were never issued and additional work, as well as subcontractor claims. This case also involved all of the professionals associated with the project and nearly 10 unpaid subcontractors, the majority of whom took their claims to court.
• A case where she was part of the team representing a general contractor who faced a multi-million dollar claim for construction defects instituted by a telecommunications company for damage to its complex on Nuns' Island after heavy rains in May 2012. This case involved several important players in the construction industry.
• A case where she was part of the team representing a surety that issued performance bonds for a general contractor as part of a three-phase project to restore the exterior walls of a heritage building, the owner of which is the client suing the contractor, subcontractor and professionals for several million dollars for major construction defects.
• In addition, Ms. Mandilaras regularly works on cases in which she represents sureties, particularly in claim files on bonds for pledges, materials and services, and on performance bonds, as well as claim files on the indemnity and security agreement. These cases mainly involve general contractors who have gone bankrupt on several public projects, which calls for the management of claims from hundreds of creditors and subcontractors.

Ms. Mandilaras is involved in many shareholder disputes and other commercial disputes. For example, she is part of the team representing a company that invests in cellular towers and antennas in more than 19 countries worldwide, and is currently facing injunction applications and multi-million dollar claims for damages from Canadian telecommunications companies.

Ms. Mandilaras was part of the team that, for several years, defended Hydro-Québec's interests in several legal actions brought against it by Indigenous groups, including injunction applications. She was also a member of the team defending Hydro-Québec's interests in numerous private arbitrations that pitted it against several private hydroelectricity producers.

Publications and conferences

• Presenter at a training event organized by the Regroupement québécois du cautionnement on April 25, 2025: "L'hypothèque légale de la construction : un outil puissant"
• "The elected domicile appearing in the Québec Enterprise Register cannot provide a basis for the Superior Court's territorial jurisdiction within the meaning of article 41(3) C.C.P.", August 9, 2024, Need to Know
• "A tenderer's failure to comply with the preliminary complaint process as part of a municipality's public call for tenders leads to a fin de non-recevoir", July 26, 2024, Need to Know
• Presenter at a training event on hypothecs and the Autorité des Marchés Publics for underwriters from a major Canadian surety bond company.
• Presenter at the 2019 Construction event organized by Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P. on May 2, 2019: "Le principe de l'effet relatif des contrats en matière de contrats d'entreprise : des enjeux importants pour toutes les parties impliquées"
• Presenter for the regional committee of the Surety Association of Canada on the decision in Charpenterie SNC Inc. c. EJP Construction inc. 2019 QCCS 283 (February 15, 2019)
• "A New Look at Interlocutory Injunctions", December 11, 2018, Need to Know
• "Mandatory mediation at the Small Claims Division: Merchants, be prepared!", January 19, 2016, Need to Know
• "Consumer law and class actions: Beware of unilateral amendments to contracts involving sequential performance", November 6, 2015, Need to Know

• Best Lawyers - Ones to Watch 2026
• Fellow

• Consumer law and class actions: Beware of unilateral amendments to contracts involving sequential performance
• Mandatory mediation at the Small Claims Division: Merchants, be prepared!
• A New Look at Interlocutory Injunctions
• A tenderer's failure to comply with the preliminary complaint process as part of a municipality's public call for tenders leads to a fin de non-recevoir
• The elected domicile appearing in the Québec Enterprise Register cannot provide a basis for the Superior Court's territorial jurisdiction within the meaning of article 41(3) of the Code of Civil Proce
• Public construction: Prompt payments and simplified dispute resolution