

Sandra Desjardins
PartnerSandra Desjardins is a litigator known for her thorough and vigorous approach to handling a wide range of civil and commercial disputes. She is especially familiar with class actions involving consumer, banking and securities law. She has also developed expertise in shareholder disputes and directors’ and officers’ liability, and has successfully represented a number of clients in commercial contract disputes.
Sandra has extensive experience in managing large-scale, complex projects. Her diverse clientele includes financial institutions, telecom companies and insurance companies. She knows how to be creative and listen to her clients so as to find the best approach to a case and resolve disputes whenever possible. She pleads before all levels of Québec courts and in commercial arbitration. Sandra also advises businesses on ensuring their activities comply with consumer law and encourages them to adopt best risk management practices and procedures.
Sandra’s expertise has been recognized in leading legal directories. She has appeared in Lexpert, first in 2023 as a Rising Star: Canada’s Leading Lawyers Under 40, then in 2024 in the Corporate Commercial Litigation category. From 2021 to 2024, Benchmark Litigation Canada has named her a Future Star. Sandra also writes articles on key topics and regularly gives talks on class actions, consumer law and securities.
Sandra is committed to the advancement of women in private law practice. That’s why she joined the Québec Bar’s Justicia project, aimed at developing and implementing best practices, policies and programs to promote the presence of women in private practice.
Sandra has represented various clients, including:
Class actions
- A major financial institution in a class action involving allegations of non-compliance with the Consumer Protection Act.
- A major financial institution in a class action relating to the Bank Act and the Consumer Protection Act.
- A private company in a class action relating to the unilateral termination of a service contract and the applicable fees.
- A private company in a class action relating to compliance with certain applicable securities standards.
Directors’ and officers’ liability and/or shareholders’ remedies
- A condominium syndicate and its directors in civil liability proceedings.
- A major financial institution in an oppression remedy brought by minority shareholders.
- A private company in an oppression remedy brought by an employee/shareholder alleging unjust and oppressive dismissal.
Commercial contracts and litigation
- A private company sued for misrepresentations in contract negotiation.
- A private company in a dispute involving professional and tax law.
- A private company in proceedings for latent defect related to an alleged environmental contamination.
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory – Corporate Commercial Litigation, 2024
- Lexpert Rising Stars: Canada’s Leading Lawyers Under 40, 2023
- Benchmark Litigation Canada – Future Star, 2021-2024
- Québec Bar's Justicia Project, Member, since 2023
- Co-author: “L’action collective en droit de la consommation : une analyse statistique” [Consumer protection class actions: A statistical analysis], Colloque national sur l’action collective : Développements récents au Québec, au Canada et aux États-Unis, Service de la qualité de la profession, Barreau du Québec, Vol. 566, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2024, p. 3.
- Co-author: “Bill 72: New contractual requirements and credit provisions”, September 17, 2024.
- Co-author: “Les obligations d’information prévues à la LPC et la LVM : similarités, différences et dialogues” [Similarities and differences between disclosure requirements under the Consumer Protection Act and the Securities Act], Développements récents en litige de valeurs mobilières (2023), Service de la formation continue, Barreau du Québec, Vol. 538, 2023.
- Co-author: “Québec government tables bill to streamline access to justice in civil cases (and amend civil procedure)”, March 16, 2023.
- Co-author: “Class actions: Supreme Court of Canada upholds the status quo over authorization criteria in Quebec”, November 2, 2020.
- Co-author: “Should I stay or should I go…? The decision in Micron Technology Inc. and the suspension of multijurisdictional class actions”, October 5, 2020.
- Co-author: “L’autorisation d’exercer une action collective requiert toujours la démonstration du fondement des causes d’action invoquées en fonction du droit applicable” [Class authorization always incumbent on demonstrating the basis of the proposed causes of action as per the applicable law], Repères, Éditions Yvon Blais, April 2020, EYB2020REP2696.
- Co-author: “The Meubles Léon decision – Advertising credit: merchants, beware!”, March 3, 2020.
- Co-author: “Cannabis: 'Consumer' Protection”, November 9, 2018.
- Author: “Commentaire sur la décision Chandler c. Volkswagen Aktiengestllchaft – La présentation d'un moyen déclinatoire ratione personæ au stade de la demande pour autorisation d'exercer une action collective” [Case comment on Chandler v. Volkswagen Aktiengestllchaft – Requesting a declinatory exception ratione personæ at the class action certification stage], Repères, Éditions Yvon Blais, Montréal, November 2018, EYB2018REP2606.
- Author: “Commentaire sur la décision Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau c. Aéroports de Montréal – La définition du groupe visé par une action collective en matière de troubles de voisinage” [Case comment on Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau v. Aéroports de Montréal – Definition of the class in a class action for neighbourhood disturbances], Repères, Éditions Yvon Blais, Montréal, July 2018, EYB2018REP2511.
- Author: “The Obligation to Act in Good Faith in the Context of an Oppression Remedy Under the Québec’s Business Corporations Act”, April 11, 2018.
- Co-author: “Judgment-Sharing Agreements”, Colloque national sur l’action collective, Développements récents au Québec, au Canada et aux États-Unis, Service de la formation continue, Barreau du Québec, Vol. 428, 2017, p. 1.
- Co-author: “Multijurisdictional Class Actions: Fewer Boundaries”, November 9, 2016.
- Co-speaker: Les obligations d’information prévues à la LPC et la LVM : similarités, différences et dialogues [The disclosure requirements stipulated in the CPA and the SA: Similarities, differences and dialogues], Développements récents en litige de valeurs mobilières, Montréal, October 19, 2023.
- Co-speaker: Bill 8, Improve Access to Justice and Changes to Civil Procedure, Canadian Association of Paralegals, June 13, 2023.
- Co-speaker: Actions collectives et perspective consommation – les exigences contractuelles de la publicité, la présomption de préjudice et le fardeau de la preuve [Class actions and Consumer Perspective – Contractual advertising requirements, presumption of prejudice and burden of proof], Langlois Knowledge, webinar, March 26, 2021.
- Co-speaker: Actions collectives : état des lieux – rétrospective et expectatives [Class actions: situational analysis – retrospective and future expectations], Langlois Knowledge, webinar, March 16, 2021.
- Co-speaker: Droit de la construction : décisions marquantes de 2018 [Construction law: major decisions in 2018], Langlois Knowledge, Montréal, February 7, 2019.
J.D., North American Common Law, Université de Montréal, 2011
LL.B., Civil Law, Université de Montréal, 2009