Michael Rankin

About Michael Rankin

Family law is where Michael Rankin puts much of the focus today, particularly high net worth separations where a corporation, a valuation or a tax question sits at the centre of the dispute. Rankin, a senior partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, has been lead counsel on complex family files for more than three decades, working through income attribution, forensic accounting and the division of corporate assets. When a case calls for it, that can mean bringing or defending an oppression claim or a request to wind up a company.

The rest of the practice is broad litigation. Rankin argues at trial and on appeal, appears before administrative tribunals, and takes part in mediations and arbitrations. Files over the years have included procurement fights, shareholder and corporate disputes, product liability, environmental contamination, defamation, fraud and insolvency. For many years, Carleton University and the City of Ottawa have both relied on Rankin as lead counsel, and the city's matters included the defence of its Smoke Free Bylaws against a jurisdictional and constitutional challenge at both the trial and appeal levels.

Rankin was called to the Ontario bar in 1987 and began in criminal work, acting on the defence side and also as a special prosecutor for the Department of Justice. Over time that grew into quasi-criminal and regulatory matters, from election financing rules and financial compliance to money laundering, occupational health and safety, and environmental protection. Procurement became a particular interest too: Rankin added two Osgoode Hall certificates in procurement law in 2017 and 2018.

Away from the courtroom, Rankin mentors students and associates, and coached competitive minor hockey at every level from 1998 to 2013. Best Lawyers in Canada recognized Rankin in its 2027 edition for corporate and commercial litigation and for family law.