
Isabelle Desharnais
Lawyer, Partner - Montréal
Isabelle Desharnais is a partner within the business law group at Langlois Lawyers’ Montréal office. 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
- The Best Lawyers in Canada 2021
- Benchmark Litigation Canada 2020
- The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory 2020
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
Articles
News
Other Publications
2014 – “Financial Fraud in Québec: the Norbourg Cases,” Annual Review of Insolvency Law, Carswell, 2014.
