Isabelle Desharnais

Lawyer, Partner - Montréal

Québec Bar 2004
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Isabelle Desharnais

Lawyer, Partner - Montréal

Isabelle Desharnais is a partner in the Montréal office of Langlois lawyers. Her areas of practice include banking law, corporate finance, insolvency and financial restructuring. Isabelle also practises in the field of commercial litigation, specializing particularly in matters of fraud.

Before joining our firm, Isabelle was also a partner at a national law firm. Prior to that, she worked as a research analyst at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, with lawyers and policy advisors of the Office of Values and Ethics. She was involved in drafting internal policies for federal public service employees, particularly the Values and Ethics Code and the Policy on Internal Disclosure of Information Concerning Wrongdoing in the Workplace. Isabelle is a member of the Executive Board of the Executive Committee of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Section of the Quebec Division of the Canadian Bar Association (“CBA”) since October 2016 and currently sits as vice-president for said section.

Education

LL.B. in Civil Law, magna cum laude, University of Ottawa, 2002

BA in Political Science/International Relations, Université du Québec à Montréal, 1999

Rankings & Recognitions

Since 2019 – The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Insolvency and Financial)

Since 2017 – IFLR1000 – The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms (Restructuring and Insolvency –Rising Star)

Since 2016 – The Best Lawyers in Canada (Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law)

Areas of Practice

Industries

Representative Work

Advising banks, mortgage lenders, asset-based lenders and other financial institutions, as well as creditors and committees of creditors concerning their rights in cases of liquidation and insolvency.

Acting for bankruptcy trustees, monitors and managers dealing with various problems related to bankruptcy and insolvency.

Representing debtors under the protection of the courts pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

Representing clients before all courts in Québec, including the Court of Appeal, as well as before administrative and arbitral tribunals.

Publications

News

Other Publications

2014 – “Financial Fraud in Québec: the Norbourg Cases,” Annual Review of Insolvency Law, Carswell, 2014.

Events

Others

2019 – “Négocier et rédiger une convention de tolérance (Forbearance Agreements),” co-presenter, Journée stratégique redressement et insolvabilité, OpenForumOuvert, November 2019.

2015 – “Revue de la jurisprudence en matière de faillite et d’insolvabilité 2014,” a presentation given at the annual convention of the Young Bar of Montréal, Montréal, May 2015.

2015 – “Financial Fraud in Québec: the Norbourg Cases,” panellist at the Annual Review of Insolvency Law Conference, Toronto, February 2015.

2014 – “Bilan jurisprudentiel en matière de faillite commerciale 2013,” a presentation given as part of the continuing legal education program of the Canadian Bar Association in Montréal, May 2014.

2014 – “Bilan jurisprudentiel en matière de faillite personnelle 2013,” a presentation to the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, at its Forum on Insolvency and Restructuring in Montréal, May 2014.

Involvement

2010 – Taught the Bankruptcy Law course to second and third year Civil Law students at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.

2007‑2008 – Lecturer in Financial Accounting V to students in the final year of the chartered accountants’ training program at the Faculty of Management, McGill University.

Professional Associations

Member, Barreau du Québec

Member, Young Bar of Montréal

Member of the Executive Committee, Canadian Bar Association, Québec Division (CBA)

Member, Association of Québec Women in Finance (AQWF)

Member, Canadian Insolvency Foundation (CIF)

Member, International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)

Member, Turnaround Management Association (TMA)

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