Lorraine Mastersmith

About Lorraine Mastersmith

Lorraine Mastersmith is the firm managing partner of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP and an Ottawa corporate lawyer whose work leans toward technology businesses, from young companies to established ones. Mastersmith's clients get practical, strategic help with M&A, corporate finance, governance, commercial contracts and the licensing of technology.

Called to the Ontario bar in 1995, Mastersmith came to Gowling WLG's Ottawa office as a partner in 2017 from Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, with a focus on corporate and securities law. The managing partner role followed in 2023. It brings a seat on the firm's Executive Committee and responsibility for client strategy, client relationships and business development, along with the policies and performance of the firm's professionals. On the deal side, the work runs from public offerings and private placements on the TSX Venture Exchange to acquisitions and divestitures for technology companies.

Chambers Canada, Legal 500 Canada, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and The Best Lawyers in Canada all feature Mastersmith regularly, and Best Lawyers has listed the Ottawa partner since 2022. Away from the office, Mastersmith stays closely involved in Ottawa's business community and has held board seats at public and private companies and not-for-profits. A long-serving member of the regional ambassador council of Women Get on Board, Mastersmith backs that group's push to get qualified women onto corporate boards.

There's a winery in the story, too. In 2019 Mastersmith, a loyal KIN customer, and a spouse bought a majority stake in KIN Vineyards in Carp, about 25 minutes west of downtown Ottawa, and the couple now own and run it. Starting a business together had long been a shared dream, and they're both, in Mastersmith's words, very entrepreneurial. They even signed up for a sommelier course at Algonquin College to talk about their wines with confidence.