Me Sevgi Kelci, Notary Emeritus, TEP and family mediator, has practised as a notary since 2009. She holds a bachelor's degree in law (LL.B.), a diploma in notarial law (D.D.N.) and a master's degree in information technology law with thesis (LL.M.) from the Université de Montréal. Her master's thesis was published by Éditions Yvon Blais under the title La responsabilité pénale des intermédiaires techniques à la lumière des pratiques internationales. She holds accreditations in non-contentious procedures before a notary and in the recognition of an assistant to an adult, in addition to being an accredited family mediator. She also holds the TEP designation (Trust and Estate Practitioner), an internationally recognized designation in estate and trust planning.
Her practice focuses mainly on estate planning, wills, trusts, protection mandates, estate settlement, commercial real estate law and corporate law. She serves local and international clients in French, English and Turkish.
University teaching and research
Since 2015, Me Kelci has been a part-time professor at the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa, where she teaches, depending on the year, estate planning and liquidation, real estate law and business law in the master's program in notarial law. She has also been a lecturer at the Université de Sherbrooke and a trainer for the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
From 2010 to 2012, she was an associate researcher at the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law of McGill University, where she took part in the new edition of the Dictionnaire de droit privé de la famille et lexiques bilingues. The author of several legal publications, she has for several years contributed to updating fascicles of the JurisClasseur Québec on successions, gifts and professional civil liability.
Professional involvement
Deeply engaged in her profession, Me Kelci has sat since 2020 on the Disciplinary Council of the Chambre des notaires du Québec. She also sits on the board of directors of the Canadian Bar Association (Quebec division) and chaired its Wills, Estates and Trusts Section from 2022 to 2024.
She also sits on the boards of directors of Éducaloi and of the COAMF as the representative of the Chambre des notaires du Québec. She is also a member of the CAIJ ad hoc committee on real estate law and sat on the board of directors of the Caisse Desjardins du Plateau-Mont-Royal from 2022 to 2025.
Over the years, she has taken part in several committees and working groups on the development of the notarial profession, notably on the electronic notarial will and on the oversight of professional practice.
Talks and outreach
A sought-after speaker and trainer, Me Kelci speaks before various legal, academic and professional organizations, including the Canadian Bar Association, STEP Québec, the Chaire du notariat of the Université de Montréal, SOQUIJ and the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
Her talks focus mainly on estate planning, trusts, the enforceable notarial act, digital assets, emerging technologies, real estate law and the evolution of notarial practice.
On October 3, 2023, she took part in the proceedings of the Committee on Institutions of the National Assembly of Québec on Bill 34, which aims to modernize the notarial profession and improve access to justice, as a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Bar Association.
Publications
Me Kelci is the author of several legal works and publications. Since 2015, she has contributed to the annual update of fascicles of the JurisClasseur Québec, notably on gifts, successions and the civil liability of real estate brokers.
Her master's thesis, La responsabilité pénale des intermédiaires techniques à la lumière des pratiques internationales, was published by Éditions Yvon Blais. She has also published several articles and taken part in doctrinal work on successions, digital assets, the right to one's image, notarial ethics and new technologies.
Awards
In 2024, Me Kelci received the Prix du Mérite notarial awarded by the Chambre des notaires du Québec and was granted the title of Notary Emeritus. This distinction recognizes her contribution to the advancement of the notarial profession, her commitment to access to justice, the training of the next generation, the development of preventive law and her influence within the legal community.
This recognition highlights Me Kelci's sustained commitment to the notarial profession, her involvement in many legal and community organizations, and her contribution to teaching, the training of the next generation, research and the development of the law.
In 2023, the Wills, Estates and Trusts Section of the Canadian Bar Association (Quebec division), then chaired by Me Kelci, received the Prix Claude-Beaudoin Excellence. Under her chairmanship, the section organized more than 20 training sessions given by recognized speakers, covering current and practical topics in the law of successions and trusts. This distinction recognized the quality, originality and reach of the training programs developed by the section.
The Université de Montréal also highlighted the Prix du Mérite notarial among the notable achievements of its graduates.
Languages
Me Kelci offers her services in:
- French
- English
- Turkish