White Coad LLP
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.9 lawyers · Oxford County, Waterloo Region, Perth County (Stratford)
One of 12 law firms listed in Woodstock.
About White Coad LLP
White Coad LLP concentrates on three areas of law: real estate, business, and estate planning and administration, instead of taking on every area of law and litigation. That work ranges from multi-million dollar corporate deals to advice for people buying or selling a home, and the firm's commitment is to understand and adopt each client's own goals. Its roots go back nearly 50 years, to the firm Craig McKay and Richard Treleaven established.
Today White Coad is a mid-size law firm serving Oxford County and the surrounding area, with offices in Woodstock, Norwich, Ayr and, most recently, Stratford. Brad J. Hause is a partner and has practised here since being called to the bar in 1995. Richard A. Coad was born and raised in Oxford County and has been elected to, and served terms on, both Woodstock City Council and Oxford County Council.
Farm families will find lawyers who know agriculture firsthand. That experience comes from farming themselves, from growing up on a farm, or from years of legal work for farmers in southwestern Ontario. Gordon M. Klein grew up on a farm in southern Saskatchewan, articled at White Coad, and joined as an associate after a July 2006 call, with agricultural matters a particular part of that practice. Russell Mitchell grew up on a small farm in Zorra Township, and Payden Shrubb on an apple farm in Norfolk County. Ryan Verhoog's practice covers real estate, business deals and estate planning, and in particular serves agricultural clients.
Several of the lawyers bring experience from elsewhere. Mitchell was called in 2015 and began practising in St. Marys, then joined White Coad as an associate in January 2019. Adel Fortin practised at a business law firm and, most recently before joining, as in-house corporate counsel for an agriculturally based company, and was called in New York State before Ontario. Aleena Ashfaq, whose work covers corporate, real estate, and wills and estates matters, earned a law degree at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University. Shrubb articled here before a March 2022 call and came back to the firm as an associate.
Practice areas
Farm work across three counties
Agricultural law isn't a defined area of law on its own; it draws on real estate, business law and estate planning. For farm clients, White Coad handles farm and rural property deals, succession planning, incorporation and business agreements, and financing and banking, with an eye on how much farming and agribusiness matter in Oxford, Norfolk and Perth counties.
Farms, homes and commercial leases
Real estate work at White Coad starts with buying and selling farms and goes on to residential and commercial purchases and sales, mortgage refinancing, negotiating commercial leases and drafting residential tenancy leases.
Reorganizations, governance and non-profits
On the corporate side, White Coad works on incorporations, corporate reorganizations, shareholder agreements, and share or asset purchases and sales, as well as governance, partnerships, and non-profit and charitable organizations. Entrepreneurs, small-business owners and people who want advice on growing a business get detailed help too. Working alongside clients on their business law issues is the main focus of Brad J. Hause's practice.
Wills, trusts and help for executors
White Coad prepares wills and powers of attorney, sets up trusts, plans business and farm succession, and handles estate and trust administration. Executors who've been appointed to administer an estate get the guidance they need to carry out their duties thoroughly but efficiently, and Brad J. Hause's work includes guiding executors through estate administration.
Agreements, simple divorces and collaborative practice
White Coad's family services cover separation agreements for married and unmarried couples, uncontested divorces, cohabitation agreements and marriage contracts, whether signed before or after the wedding. Jessica Chyc, who joined the firm in 2023 and works in collaborative family law, wills and real estate, was certified in Collaborative Family Law in 2022.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Good to know
Wheelchair accessible
Free parking
By appointmentHow White Coad LLP works
At White Coad, a lasting relationship with a client matters more than any quick gain. Every transaction or matter is reviewed on its own, because the right answer for one client may not be the right answer for another. Each lawyer takes a hands-on approach, meets with the client to talk the issue through, and commits to explaining clearly how to resolve it and putting the legal solution in place.
In the community
- Over the years, Brad J. Hause has been a board member for a number of charities and non-profit groups.
- Richard A. Coad has sat as a director of many local organizations.
Affiliations & connections
- Perth Community Futures Development Corporation: Russell Mitchell, a lawyer at White Coad, volunteers as a member of the corporation's board of directors.
Lawyers 9
Offices 4
The neighbourhood
White Coad's Woodstock office is at 408 Dundas Street. The Woodstock Town Hall stands on the same street at number 466, in the middle of the downtown. Antoine Grobl designed the buff brick Neoclassical building, which went up in 1853; it was named a National Historic Site in 1955 and is now home to the Woodstock Museum.
In Norwich, the firm works from 6 Stover Street North. Farther along the same street, at number 89, is a white brick Quaker meeting house built in 1889 that now holds the Norwich Museum. Quakers were among the area's first settlers, after the brothers-in-law Peter Lossing and Peter DeLong bought land there and brought their families from Dutchess County, New York, in 1810.
Frequently asked questions
- Does White Coad take family law cases to court?
- White Coad doesn't offer court (litigation) services in family law. Its family lawyers resolve separations and divorces only through negotiation, mediation and the collaborative process.
- Can White Coad draft a marriage contract that protects a multi-generational family farm?
- Yes. A family farm passed down through generations, or a business, is exactly the kind of asset a marriage contract can be written to protect, and it can also set out financial arrangements or define responsibilities. White Coad works to understand each client's circumstances and drafts a contract that reflects that client's values and priorities.
- Can White Coad help with a lot severance, minor variance or rezoning application?
- White Coad works with clients on land development and land use planning, including severances and re-zoning. Minor variances and zone change applications are part of that land use planning work too.
- Is White Coad's Delhi office still open?
- No. White Coad's Delhi office has been permanently closed since December 2025.
- Who is the contact for White Coad's Stratford office on Erie Street?
- Ryan Verhoog is the email contact for White Coad's Stratford office at 100 Erie Street. Verhoog was born and raised in Perth County, was called to the Ontario bar in 2013 and lives in Stratford.
- Which White Coad lawyer is the contact for the Ayr office on Stanley Street?
- Brad J. Hause is the email contact for White Coad's Ayr office at 44A Stanley Street.
- Does White Coad take summer law students and law clerk co-op students?
- White Coad invites students in an accredited Ontario law program to apply for summer work, where they're involved in estate, corporate and real estate files, from research and drafting to sitting in on client meetings and running meetings under a lawyer's supervision. The firm also takes students from Ontario law clerk programs for co-op terms.
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