A legal scholar-in-training joins Justice-Quebec.ca: welcome to Modestie Hauchecorne

Modestie Hauchecorne is a legal scholar-in-training at the Faculty of Law of Université Laval and a candidate for admission to the Quebec Bar in 2027. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in law with a thesis on animal law — the very first such thesis at Université Laval. Her research examines the foundations, legitimacy, and transversal scope of animal law, a field still young in Quebec but currently experiencing a genuine resurgence.

Her approach is distinctive: she crosses animal law with corporate law, governance of non-profit organizations, and international law, to demonstrate that the protection of sentient beings can also be achieved through the most technical tools of the law. Her essay “When Quebec shareholders become the voice of sentient beings,” published in the journal Savoir Animal (issue 21, October 2025) and recognized by the Quebec Observatory of Animal Law, is a striking illustration: she proposes using the derivative action provided for in section 445 of the Business Corporations Act (Quebec) to bring the voice of the most vulnerable into the very heart of corporations.

Her commitment does not stop at books. Modestie Hauchecorne is a researcher at the Laboratoire en droit des services financiers (LABFI) under the supervision of Me Cinthia Duclos, a researcher at Droit animalier du Québec (DAQ) under the supervision of Me Nicolas Morello, an intern with the Huron-Wendat Nation, a participant in the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, and a speaker at the Quebec Observatory of Animal Law. Her academic work has always remained anchored in the field.

Beyond her academic engagements, she is Vice-President of Adoption Chats Sans Abri (ACSA), a small non-profit in the Limoilou neighbourhood dedicated to addressing feline overpopulation, and a foster family with Chiots Nordiques for the past five years, where she contributes to the management of canine overpopulation in First Nations and Inuit communities.

To understand what Modestie Hauchecorne brings to Justice-Quebec.ca, nothing speaks better than her own writings. These excerpts, drawn from her essays and exchanges, capture her vision of the law and the spirit in which she intends to contribute to our platform:

Modestie Hauchecorne brings to Justice-Quebec.ca a rigorous, accessible, and committed legal voice. Her contribution will take the form of published essays and reflections, intended to inform citizens on issues that are often poorly explained.

Modestie Hauchecorne is not a new voice. She comes to Justice-Quebec.ca with an already solid track record as an author, several publications to her name, and distinctions that reflect the quality of her work and engagement.

Justice-Quebec.ca covers access to justice for vulnerable persons. This principle — giving a voice to those the system ignores — takes on an additional dimension with Modestie Hauchecorne: she works precisely on the legal tools that allow the voice of the most deprived to be carried, whether they are animals, citizens confronted with opaque organizations, or vulnerable persons in their access to care.

Her focus on access to care for vulnerable persons and their animals speaks directly to our mission. Seniors, fragile families, and isolated individuals facing impossible veterinary costs experience a form of inequality before the law that few media outlets document. Modestie brings the rigour of analysis needed to name these issues and point readers toward the right doors to knock on.

This is also a form of commitment on our part: investing in the next generation of jurists means investing in the future of law in Quebec. And with Modestie Hauchecorne, Justice-Quebec.ca welcomes exactly the type of voice the field needs — rigorous, engaged, and grounded in the reality of the field.

Modestie Hauchecorne is not yet a member of the Quebec Bar and does not provide legal advice. She is available for exchanges related to her areas of contribution — animal law, governance, access to care, derivative action, international law — and for relevant academic, editorial, or non-profit collaborations.