Francine Martel

Francine Martel is a litigation partner in Gowling WLG’s Montréal office. With 36 years of experience as a litigator, she is recognized for her versatility in advising clients on a wide range of legal issues, and represents clients in complex matters in various areas, including civil and commercial disputes, civil and professional liability, insurance law, disciplinary law and human rights.

Francine’s highly diversified practice allows her to draw on many sources to find effective and innovative solutions to her clients’ challenges. She is highly knowledgeable about complex court proceedings and has represented clients before all levels of the Québec court system, as well as before regulators, specialized arbitrators and mediators.

Francine approaches law in a practical way and aims to deliver proactive and personalized services. She has played a leading role in the successful representation of her clients, including in the following cases:

• Represented the interests of prosecutor of the Crown Yves Berthiaume in an action for malicious prosecution undertaken by Gilles Perron. This matter raised numerous legal issues of a criminal and civil nature (liability and defamation).
• Represented sisters Yseult and Sylvie Riopelle in numerous disputes (in Canada and in France) regarding the estate of the artist Jean-Paul Riopelle.
• Represented the Honourable judge Réjean Paul JSC in contempt of court proceedings in the context of the mega-trial instituted against the Hells Angels.
• Represented, before the Superior Court and Court of Appeal, Claude Robinson and Nilem inc., his production house, in the high-profile Robinson v. Cinar & al. case. Following a proceeding that lasted nearly eight months, Claude Robinson won his case in a ruling by the Honourable Justice Claude Auclair JSC, which was upheld in part on appeal.
• Represented Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in judicial recourses for damages brought against notaries with regards to real estate flips. This case confirmed the right of financial institutions to obtain trust account details in the transactions they finance.
• Defended numerous professionals in professional liability proceedings.

Francine is also highly involved in her profession and community. From 1996 to 2004 and from 2009 to 2017, she taught civil law at the Québec Bar School—human rights more precisely—which includes personality rights and non-contentious matters. She also sat on the board of directors of the Young Bar Association of Montreal as well as on various committees of the Bar of Montréal, including the Women in the legal profession Committee (2013-2018) and the Liaison Committee with the Superior Court, for which she acted as president (2018-2023). Since 2015, she has been acting as a decision-making member of the Fonds d’indemnisation du Barreau du Québec, and as a member of the Conseil d’arbitrage des comptes des avocats du Barreau du Québec and of the Comité de Formation du Barreau de Montréal since 2024.

Francine was a member of the Canadian Bar Association’s Elder Law Section (2025-2020), and a board member of the Montreal Diet Dispensary (2015-2019), whose mission for the past 140 years has been to promote community health, especially among pregnant women whose babies are at risk.

Lastly, from 2018 to 2024, she was a member of the Governance Committee of La SAMS (Musique Santé et bien-être), the largest network of professional musicians offering customized concerts in Québec’s healthcare settings. Created in 2009, this registered charity is dedicated to improving the lives of patients and residents in healthcare institutions through better access to the arts.