Mary Jeanne Phelan Partner | Montréal

About Mary Jeanne

Mary Jeanne is a recognized industry expert and specializes in bank financing, financial services, and structured finance law.

Her practice focuses on debt financing, securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment finance, project finance, derivatives transactions, restructurings and the taking of security.

Mary Jeanne acts for both borrowers, and banks and financial institutions in cross-border and Canadian domestic transactions in an array of industries, from acquisition financings in the manufacturing, agribusiness, financial and security services, transportation, aerospace, media and technology sectors to financing projects in the mining, pulp and paper, energy and healthcare sectors.

In the area of structured finance and securitization, she is highly valued for her subject-matter expertise on receivables purchase transactions in all asset classes, including mortgages, trade receivables, vehicle and equipment loans and leases, credit cards and consumer loans.

Mary Jeanne is fluent in English and French.

Awards & Recognition

Mary Jeanne has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the following awards and publications:

The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Banking and Finance Law, Derivatives Law, Equipment Finance Law, Structured Finance Law)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 (Lawyer of the Year: Equipment Finance Law; Structured Finance Law)
The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2023 (Leading Lawyer: Banking & Financial Institutions)
The Best Lawyers in Canada 2022 (Lawyer of the Year: Banking and Finance Law)
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2023 (Asset Equipment Finance/Leasing; Asset Securitization; Banking & Financial Institutions; Derivative Instruments)
Lexpert Special Edition 2023 (Finance and M&A; Cannabis)

Professional Activities

Mary Jeanne is a fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers and currently serves on its board of regents.

At McGill University’s Faculty of Law, she has been a part-time or guest lecturer teaching courses on the law of credit and secured transactions.

She is co-chair of the Montreal Opinion Working Group, a committee of the Canadian Bar Association’s Business Law Section, comprised of lawyer representatives of major Canadian banks and leading financial services law firms in Montréal. Mary Jeanne also serves on the executive committee of the CBA’s Business Law Section (Quebec chapter).

Mary Jeanne is a member of the New York Bar and is actively involved in several committees of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.

She has been a panellist and speaker at numerous conferences, including those organized by the American Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association, the Structured Finance Association and Open Forum.

Mary Jeanne has served on the board of directors of several non-profit organizations and is currently past-president and board member of the FACE School Foundation and is president, secretary and board member of the Andover Canadian Fund, Inc.

Publications

Co-author : Canadian Chapter, Global Financial Collateral: A Guide to Security Interests in Securities, Securities Accounts, and Deposit Accounts in International Transactions
American Bar Association, 2021
Author : The Implications of the Continuing Disparity in Conflict of Laws Rules as applied to Cross-Border Secured Transactions in the United States and Canada
Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal (Thomson Reuters), Vol. 48 #1, April, 2018.
Author : Where do I file? The Disparity in Conflict of Laws Rules in Secured Transactions in Canada and the United States and Its Impact on Cross-Border Financings
Développements Récents en droit bancaire, Éditions Yvon Blais (Thomson Reuters), March 2, 2017