Rachel McMillan
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.Partner at Gowling WLG
- Called to the bar
- 2016
- Languages
- English
Civil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionAbout Rachel McMillan
A 55-day virtual, hybrid trial sits among Rachel McMillan’s files: the common issues trial in a class action brought for cattle farmers against the federal government over the fallout from BSE. Long hearings like that are part of the job, and McMillan is experienced in conducting them.
McMillan is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Toronto office and works in the Disputes Department. Civil and commercial disputes fill the practice, from class actions and shareholder disputes to claims against directors and officers, plus construction and infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships included.
Running large teams and advising on legal strategy come with those files, and so does running eDiscovery on voluminous, document-intensive matters. McMillan has trained lawyers, law clerks and clients on eDiscovery and CaseLines, and was called to the Ontario bar in 2016.
Outside of client work, McMillan volunteers with Pro Bono Ontario’s Free Legal Advice Hotline and mentors students and associates at the firm.
Practice areas
Class actions
McMillan acted for a group of lenders suing a borrower's auditors for negligence and misrepresentation; on appeal, the auditors' summary judgment motion was dismissed and the case later settled. McMillan also represented the class of cattle farmers in the BSE action against the federal government, which went to a 55-day hybrid trial.
Construction and infrastructure disputes
Contractors and owners turn to McMillan over delay, disruption, contract administration, negligence and errors and omissions. Past files include a light rail transit project, a shipbuilding contract and shipyard, and a gold mining project.
Shareholder and corporate disputes
McMillan has defended a water treatment company and its directors and officers against minority shareholders' oppression claims over a convertible debt issuance, settled just before trial. Other matters include defending several shareholders of a real estate and development company in an oppression dispute, and acting for a company and its directors when investors challenged a private placement.
Our guide: Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Toronto
Education & credentials
- JD, Western University (2015)
- BA Hons. (with distinction), Queen's University (2012)
- Called to the Ontario bar (2016)
Publications & speaking
- Practice Management for Civil Litigators: Stress and Deadlines, OBA Civil Litigation Section (2024)
- Admissibility of Electronic Evidence (co-author, with Sandra Barton), OsgoodePD, The 2022 Civil Litigator's Survival Guide to Evidence (2022)
- Summary Trial Essentials, OBA Civil Litigation / Young Lawyers Division Program (2021)
- Preventing Self-Incrimination In Cross-Border Investigations (with Glen Jennings and Usman Sheikh) (2016)
Memberships & affiliations
- Canadian Bar Association: McMillan is a member.
- Ontario Bar Association: McMillan is a member and has spoken at programs run by its Civil Litigation Section.
- The Advocates' Society: McMillan is a member.
- Filipino Canadian Lawyers Network: McMillan is a member.
- Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History: McMillan served on its board of directors for eight years.
In the community
- McMillan volunteers with Pro Bono Ontario's Free Legal Advice Hotline.
- McMillan previously mentored students through the First Generation Network.
- At Gowling WLG, McMillan mentors students and associates.
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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 Rachel McMillan’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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