She was called to the bar in 1975 and then practised civil, commercial and family law at several Quebec law firms until 1990.[5]
In April 1990, Deschamps was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court and in March 1992 to the Quebec Court of Appeal. She was promoted to the Supreme Court of Canada in September 2002, at the age of 49, as the 75th judge appointed to the Supreme Court.[6] She retired from the court on August 7, 2012.
In 2014, the Government of Canada named Justice Deschamps to conduct an external review into sexual assault in the Canadian Forces.[8] The report was published on March 27, 2015.[9]
In 2013, she was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada "for her numerous contributions as a jurist and for her dedication to youth development".[14]
Personal
At the time of her appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada, Deschamps was noted as also being a marathon runner. Her common law spouse, Paul Gobeil, was a former member of the Quebec National Assembly, who had served in the cabinet of Premier Robert Bourassa.[6]