Clifford I. Cole

About Clifford I. Cole

Clifford I. Cole is a Toronto partner at Gowling WLG who handles complex commercial litigation, from contract and shareholder fights to environmental cases and disputes that cross the border.

Clifford was called to the bar in Ontario in 1981, studied law at Osgoode Hall, and also studied at the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics. At Gowling WLG, Clifford previously led the firm's Advocacy groups, both in Toronto and across Canada. The courtroom record runs from the Ontario Court (General Division) and the Divisional Court up to the Court of Appeal for Ontario, along with a number of administrative tribunals, and Clifford's reported appeals include corporate governance and cross-border evidence cases.

Environmental law is a real part of the practice. In 2018 Clifford represented Hamilton Beach at the Divisional Court after the Ministry ordered the company, a tenant that took over the site years after the pollution and without knowing about it, to delineate contamination that had migrated off the property. Clifford called it a case of fundamental importance that the courts hadn't considered before.

Clifford gives advice both before a lawsuit is filed and while it runs, with an eye on strategy and cost. Clifford has been recognized by Best Lawyers since 2015, has written on business law questions such as directors' fiduciary duties and how courts read a release, and works with clients in both English and French.