Marianne Ignacz
Partner
Marianne Ignacz’s practice focuses on commercial, corporate and civil litigation, class actions, international arbitration, product liability and professional liability, and more particularly auditors’ liability. She regularly represents clients before all the courts of Quebec and disciplinary bodies. She also assists professionals in providing testimony in investigations undertaken by various regulators or agencies.
Ms. Ignacz has significant experience in successfully handling class action litigation, including in the areas of securities and shareholders’ claims, pharmaceutical and product liability and civil liability.
She has also been involved in numerous complex international arbitration cases that have proceeded under the AAA (American Arbitration Association) Rules and the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Rules of Arbitration and has worked extensively with US and foreign counsel in this regard.
She is Co-Chair of our national class actions team and a member of our ethics and conflicts of interest committee.
Law school
LL.B., Université de Montréal, 1988
Selected client work
Ms. Ignacz has represented or is currently representing:
- GlaxoSmithKline in a proposed class action in relation to allegations of dependency and withdrawal symptoms arising from the use of the anti-depressant Paxil. The Quebec Superior Court dismissed the motion for authorization in 2009 and the decision was unanimously maintained by the Quebec Court of Appeal in November 2010
- GlaxoSmithKline in a proposed class action relating to allegations of suicide further to the use of Paxil
- Deloitte in a proposed class action further to the sale of promissory notes to investors in the alleged Mount Real fraud
- Deloitte in a proposed class action taken on behalf of investors in a public company
- Émergis and Telus Health Solutions, in a proposed class action taken on behalf of members of the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires that raises issues relating to contractual arrangements
- Hydro-Québec in a proposed class action in Quebec arising from the 1998 Ice Storm
- Hydro-Québec in the context of international arbitration further to the 1998 Ice Storm
Rankings and recognitions
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2012: recommended in Professional Liability
- Mateesco-Matte Award in transportation law
- Bar of Montreal Award
- Young Bar Association of Montreal Award
Memberships and activities
- Canadian Bar Association
- Chairs academic hearing panels at Concordia University