Darren Johnston
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.Associate at Gowling WLG
- Called to the bar
- 2024
- Languages
- English
Insurance Law
Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Administrative & Regulatory LawInsurance LawCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionAdministrative & Regulatory LawAbout Darren Johnston
Darren Johnston's Ottawa practice centres on insurance and professional liability disputes, plus commercial litigation and administrative law. Darren also acts as counsel to several City of Ottawa bodies on the advisory side of the practice, and works as an associate in the Advocacy Group at Gowling WLG's Ottawa office.
Law isn't Darren's first career. For 17 years, Darren was a member of Joint Task Force Two, the Tier-One special operations force within the Department of National Defence, taking part in many high-profile operations in Canada and abroad and earning multiple medals and commendations along the way. That work brought Darren alongside agencies such as CSIS, the CIA, Delta Force and the Special Air Service.
A Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa followed in 2023, and Darren was called to the Ontario bar in 2024. Darren has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Darren also writes on national security and federal policy, including co-authored pieces on foreign interference legislation and on the Canadian law that lets victims of terrorism sue certain foreign states.
Practice areas
Counsel to City of Ottawa committees
Darren serves as counsel to the City of Ottawa's Election Compliance Audit Committee and its Property Standards and License Appeals Committee, and to the city's Administrative Penalty System.
Commercial disputes
Darren's commercial litigation experience takes in contract disputes as well as defence matters.
Insurance coverage, property and injury claims
Darren has helped prepare complex bodily injury cases for trial, and the files Darren has handled include insurance coverage fights, claims over property damage and personal injury claims. Professional liability work sits alongside these insurance files.
Our guide: Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Toronto
Education & credentials
- Juris Doctor, University of Ottawa (2023)
- Called to the bar of Ontario (2024)
- Mission Critical Team Development Program, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (2017)
- Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude), University of Ottawa (2016)
Publications & speaking
- Canada's Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act Needs a Rewrite (with Reem Zaia), Policy Magazine (2024)
- Fortifying national security on Canadian soil and in the ether: Everything you need to know about Bill C-70 (with Jacques J.M. Shore and Reem Zaia), Gowling WLG Insights (2024)
- Budget 2024: Fairness for every generation (with Jacques J.M. Shore and Suzanne Sabourin), Gowling WLG Insights (2024)
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This listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on their firm’s website. Confirm Darren Johnston’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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