Kim Desmarais

Kim Desmarais is a seasoned finance lawyer who, for more than 25 years, has served as lead counsel on complex, high-value U.S. and cross-border financings across a broad range of industries. As co-leader of Jones Day's fund finance area of focus, she is a trusted advisor to banks, private credit funds, and other institutional lenders, as well as private capital sponsors and managers, on subscription credit facilities, net asset value (NAV) facilities, hybrid facilities, and other sophisticated fund-level financings. Building on her deep leveraged lending background, Kim also represents borrowers, banks, private credit funds, commercial finance companies, and other institutional lenders in a wide variety of secured and unsecured transactions, with a particular focus on acquisition finance, asset-based loans, and alternative lending transactions in the fintech sector, as well as liability management transactions. Kim is frequently sought out to advise on financings involving digital assets and is an active member of Jones Day's global Fintech Working Group.

Kim is recognized for her extensive experience advising on commercial law matters associated with secured financing transactions, with special emphasis on Articles 8 and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). She served as an Observer to the Joint Committee of the ALI and the ULC responsible for drafting the 2022 Amendments to the UCC addressing emerging technologies.

Kim is a Fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, an honor reserved for distinguished practitioners in the field, and has served as secretary of the New York City Bar's Commercial Law and Uniform State Laws Committee.