About François Baril

Health care is the core of François Baril's litigation practice: professional liability claims, discipline proceedings and regulatory problems, handled in English or French. François is a partner with Gowling WLG in Ottawa, and the courtroom record reaches well past the city. It includes the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, the Tax Court of Canada and every level of Ontario court, along with the Yukon's Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.

Access to justice in French has been a long commitment. For more than ten years François sat on the board of the Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario (AJEFO), serving as president from 2014 to 2016 and backing the opening of the Legal Information Centre, which gives Ontarians free bilingual legal information and referrals. In François's view, access to justice, above all for vulnerable people, underpins public confidence in the justice system. AJEFO gave François its Order of Merit in 2019, and the Law Society of Ontario Medal followed in 2023.

Apart from one stretch away, François has been at Gowling WLG since articling and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1998. The break came in 2003 and 2004, on leave at a large U.S. firm in Washington, D.C., where the clients included Canadian softwood lumber producers and other clients from abroad involved in trade litigation with the U.S. By the fall of 2004 François was back at Gowling WLG. Teaching runs through the career as well: several years as an instructor in the Law Society of Upper Canada's Bar Admission Course, and now a part-time professorship at the University of Ottawa covering competition law, with lectures on trial advocacy.

That competition law teaching mirrors a second practice. Canadian and foreign clients turn to François for help with mergers, distribution and pricing, investigations and enforcement, and companies bring François in to train their people on compliance. Trial work has spanned civil cases with and without juries, criminal matters, and arbitrations before the International Chamber of Commerce.

Practice areas

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Administrative & Regulatory Law

Health care and professional liability litigation

François Baril litigates professional liability matters with a health care focus, and has tried civil cases both with and without a jury.

Administrative tribunals

Beyond the courts, François also appears before federal and provincial administrative tribunals.

Competition law and compliance

François advises Canadian and foreign clients on merger clearance, distribution, pricing, investigations and enforcement actions. Corporate compliance training is a regular part of the work, as is reworking a client's codes of conduct and compliance policies so they fit Canada.

Our guide: Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Toronto

Education & credentials

  • LLB, magna cum laude, University of Ottawa (1996)
  • Called to the Ontario Bar (1998)

Notable cases

  • Yukon Francophone School Board, Education Area #23 v. Yukon (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 25

    François Baril appeared with Maxime Faille and Mark Pindera for the Attorney General of the Yukon. The Court largely dismissed the school board's appeal, but sent its Languages Act claims to be heard with the other issues at a new trial.

  • Attorney General of Quebec, et al. v. Attorney General of Canada

    François made the oral presentation, with Guy Régimbald, for the Association of the Tax Court of Canada Judges. The Court dismissed the appeal from the Quebec Court of Appeal, largely for that court's reasons.

  • Association des parents de l'école Rose-des-vents v. British Columbia (Education), 2015 SCC 21

    François attended the hearing for the Attorney General of the Northwest Territories. The Court allowed the appeal, reinstated the petition judge's declaration and remitted the matter to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for the petition's next phase if needed.

  • R. v. St-Onge, 2011 SCC 16

    François appeared with Guy Régimbald for the respondent, Ex-Pte St-Onge. The Court allowed the Crown's appeal from the Court Martial Appeal Court and restored the sentence the trial judge had imposed.

Decisions where François Baril appeared as counsel, from public court records. Past cases don't predict future results.

Awards & recognition

  • Law Society Medal, Law Society of Ontario (2023)
  • Order of Merit, Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario (AJEFO) (2019)

Memberships & affiliations

In the community

  • François Baril is a past president of the Vanier Community Service Centre in Ottawa.
  • François was a significant supporter of the Bilingual Ottawa initiative, which led in 2017 to an amendment of the City of Ottawa Act recognizing the capital's bilingual character.

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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 François Baril’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗

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