Vanessa Carroll

About Vanessa Carroll

Health law and professional liability make up the practice of Vanessa Carroll, a partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office and counsel to the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA). Earlier work included acting for doctors across many medico-legal files, from negligence suits to discipline hearings.

There's a musician's background here too, with an honours Bachelor of Music from Memorial University. Inside Gowling WLG, Carroll mentors junior lawyers, helps with student recruitment, acts as a Respect in the Workplace advisor and sits on the Momentum Committee, which works on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Writing is a regular part of the job. Carroll publishes often on new and pressing health law questions, such as how negligence cases are changing and what artificial intelligence means legally for health care, and was one of the Gowling WLG contributors to the Canadian chapter of the Chambers Healthcare AI 2025 guide.

Carroll was called to the bar in both Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador in 2017, after earning a JD at Osgoode Hall Law School. The firm admitted Carroll to its partnership effective January 1, 2026, in the medical defence group. Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada has recognized the Ottawa lawyer for health care law in 2024, 2025 and 2026.