Caroline Harnois

Ms. Caroline Harnois is a member of the Family Law, Personal Law and Estate Law team. Her practice is focused on all aspects of family and estate law, which comprises private international family law, including international child abduction.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Harnois worked as a lawyer with the Children, Person and Family Law team at The Hague Conference on Private International Law in the Netherlands, where she developed an expertise in extraterritorial conflicts and the application of international conventions, in particular regarding international child abduction, recovery of maintenance abroad, intercountry adoption and international protection of children and vulnerable adults.

During her last years with this international organization, Ms. Harnois took part in international negotiations meetings, organized and conducted training sessions for lawyers, judges, civil servants and representatives of other international organizations, and worked towards the implementation of conventions. She was also invited in several countries as a guest lecturer in her areas of practice.

Ms. Harnois also practised in the public international law field at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague and did her articling in family law with a Montreal firm.

Ms. Harnois has written several articles on family law including “La Convention de La Haye du 25 octobre 1980 sur l’enlèvement international d’enfants : la nécessité d’agir de façon rapide et efficace” and “Débiteurs alimentaires récalcitrants à vos gardes, la planète rétrécit” respectively published in Les Développement récents en droit familial of 2008 and 2010. She has also appeared as a guest lecturer at the Quebec Bar Continuing Education Workshops.

She has been one of the three (3) finalists of the YBAM Gala “The leaders of tomorrow” in the category “YBAM lawyer of the year in family law” in 2009 and 2010.

She became a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) in 2016.