François Painchaud specializes in business law applied to the key technology sectors. In that frame of work, he is frequently involved in the drafting and negotiation of complex transactions related to technology transfers and joint ventures and in commercial and corporate law, including venture capital and mergers and acquisitions.

François Painchaud is involved in the fields of life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and of information technology (IT).

François Painchaud’s clients are important all-sized businesses, both Canadian and foreign, in various fields, including:

• Life Sciences (pharmaceutical/biotechnology)
• Information Technology
• Venture Capital
• Chemistry and other industrial technologies
• Franchise and grants

Called to the Québec Bar in 1986, François Painchaud has been a partner at ROBIC for almost 20 years. He heads the Business Law group and is a member of the firm's management committee.

He is Past-President of Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. & Canada), Inc. and was a member of the board of directors from 2001 to 2010. Since 2011, he is counsel to the board of directors of Licensing Executives Society International (LESI). He is a member of the board of directors and treasurer of Certified Licensing Professionals, Inc. He is also director and general secretary for the Canadian Louis Pasteur Foundation.

François Painchaud is a member of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) where he is part of the executive committee of the Business Law Section (Québec Branch). He is also Past-President of the executive committee for the Information, Telecommunications and Intellectual Property Section of the Quebec Branch

He serves on the board of directors of various private and public companies operating in high technology. He is also a member of several business associations.

Academically, he was a lecturer at McGill University for four years for the course entitled Complex Legal Transactions - Trade Secrets Law and Technology Transfers and lecturer in courses on business law at Concordia University’s MBA program. He has also been involved for several years as part of a licensing course on Trademark Law, jointly organized by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) and McGill University.

François Painchaud is frequently solicited to give lectures in various areas of technology transfers and intellectual property in commercial transactions for several business groups and associations.

He also contributed to the annual update of the book Robic-Leger, Canadian Trade Marks Act Annotated and the drafting of Robic-Leger, Canadian Copyright Act Annotated, both published by Carswell. He regularly publishes articles in his fields of specialization.