About Gowling WLG

Gowling WLG is an international law firm with Canadian roots that run deep. Its Canadian side traces back to Henderson & McVeity, a firm founded in Ottawa in 1887, and the present firm took shape in 2016 when Canada's Gowlings combined with the UK firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co in a transatlantic merger. In Canada it works from seven offices, in Calgary, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and the Waterloo Region, with more than 700 legal professionals across the country.

In the Waterloo Region, the firm works from 345 King Street West in downtown Kitchener, and it has served the area for close to 30 years. The local team runs to more than 50 legal professionals across the major practice areas, so the same office handles business and corporate work, real estate, litigation, intellectual property, tax, employment, and wills and estates. Its lawyers describe what they do as national reach at local rates, and they focus on the sectors that shape the region, including technology, manufacturing, automotive, and financial services.

Practice areas

Business & Corporate Law Real Estate Law Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Class Actions Insurance Law Intellectual Property Tax Law Wills, Estates & Trusts Bankruptcy & Insolvency Employment & Labour Law Administrative & Regulatory Law Construction Law

Milestones & recognition

  • The Canadian firm traces its history to Henderson & McVeity, founded in Ottawa in 1887.
  • Gowling WLG took its current form in 2016, when Canada's Gowlings combined with the UK firm Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co in a transatlantic merger.
  • In 2020 the Waterloo Region office won the United Way's Outstanding Workplace Campaign Award for a small to mid size workplace, raising an office record of $37,870 with 90 percent staff participation.

In the community

  • The firm has supported the Waterloo Region technology community for more than three decades and became a foundational partner of Communitech in March 2025, contributing through the Communitech Pro Squad and events such as Techtoberfest.
  • The Waterloo Region office runs an annual United Way workplace campaign; its 2020 campaign raised $37,870 with 90 percent employee participation.
  • The firm says its Waterloo Region professionals sit on corporate and charitable boards and take part in a range of community activities.

Good to know

A person using a wheelchairWheelchair accessibleA professional woman in a suit beside a briefcaseWoman-ownedA rainbow pride heartLGBTQ+ friendlyA laptop showing a video callVirtual appointments

Lawyers 515

Aarij S. Wasti Partner Business & Corporate Law Aaron Goldstein Associate Business & Corporate Law Aaron Hunter Partner Construction Law Adam Bazak Partner Civil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionClass Actions Adam Chamberlain Partner Indigenous Law Adam Garetson Partner Technology & Startups Adam Heckman Partner Intellectual Property Adriana I. Cargnello Partner Health Law Ahab Abdel-Aziz Partner Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Al Hounsell Senior Director, AI Innovation & Knowledge Alan James Partner Business & Corporate Law Alana Scotchmer Partner Administrative & Regulatory Law Aleksandar (Sacha) Babic Partner Business & Corporate LawReal Estate Law Aleksandra Finelli Partner Alex Gloor Partner Intellectual Property Alex Ross Partner Intellectual Property Alex Sadvari Partner Administrative & Regulatory LawReal Estate Law Alex Zavaglia Partner Class ActionsCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Alexander Camenzind Partner Intellectual Property Alexander De Sousa Associate Real Estate Law Alexander MacMillan Associate Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Alycia Riley Partner Technology & StartupsEmployment & Labour Law Alyssa Flaherty-Spence Associate Business & Corporate LawIndigenous Law Alyssa Tomkins Partner Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar
1962–2025 · median 14 years in practice 481 of 515 lawyers
Law schools
University of Ottawa (94), Osgoode Hall Law School (54), Queen's University (34), University of Toronto (32), University of Western Ontario (25), University of Windsor (24) and 104 more 468 of 515 lawyers
Languages on the roster
Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Kashmiri, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, SerboCroatian, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Urdu

Who handles what

Offices 4

Toronto416-862-7525

1 First Canadian Place, 100 King Street West, Suite 1600, Toronto, Ontario M5X 1G5

Ottawa613-233-1781

160 Elgin Street, Suite 2600, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1C3

Waterloo Region (Kitchener)519-576-6910

345 King Street West, Suite 600, Kitchener, Ontario N2G 0C5

Hamilton905-540-8208

One Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8P 4Z5

The neighbourhood

The Waterloo Region office sits at 345 King Street West, in the heart of downtown Kitchener's Innovation District. The building was the first new Class A office building in downtown Kitchener in more than 25 years, a six storey development by Perimeter Development Corporation designed to target LEED Gold. The address puts the firm's lawyers in among the startups, scale ups, and technology companies that cluster in the district, which fits an office that does a lot of work in technology and intellectual property. It's a short walk to the Ion light rail line and close to the Kitchener Via Rail and GO station, so clients coming in from Waterloo, Cambridge, or the Toronto corridor can reach it without much trouble.

Legal support staff 9

Law clerks, paralegals and articling students at this firm. They are not licensed lawyers.

Alec Verch Legal Talent Manager Andrew Pacheco Land Use Planner Real Estate Law Ashleigh Perry Manager, Corporate Services Business & Corporate Law Brian T. Parker, MCIP, RPP Registered Planner Danica Steadman Director of Associates & Student Programs Gretel Best Director Litigation Support & eDiscovery Richard McConnell Chief Technology & Operating Officer Shannon A. O'Brien, MA Chief of Staff Yvonne Maidment Practice Director

Frequently asked questions

Where is Gowling WLG's Waterloo Region office?
It's at 345 King Street West, Suite 600, in downtown Kitchener's Innovation District. You can reach the office by phone at 519-576-6910.
How long has Gowling WLG been in the Waterloo Region?
Close to 30 years. The firm has served the region for about three decades and has supported its technology community for more than 30 years.
What kinds of law does the Kitchener office handle?
It's a full-service office with a local team of more than 50 legal professionals working across more than 50 areas of law, including business and corporate law, real estate, litigation, intellectual property, tax, employment and labour, and wills and estates.
Can Gowling WLG help a technology startup in the Waterloo Region?
Yes. The office works closely with the region's technology, manufacturing, automotive, and financial services sectors, advises companies from startups to multinationals, and is a foundational partner of Communitech, offering advice through the Communitech Pro Squad on matters like investment, intellectual property protection, and employment law.
Is the Kitchener office part of a larger firm?
Yes. Gowling WLG is an international firm with seven Canadian offices and more than 700 legal professionals in Canada, so the Kitchener team can draw on lawyers in Toronto, Ottawa, and other cities when a matter calls for it.
Does Gowling WLG have other offices near Kitchener?
Yes. Besides the Waterloo Region office, the firm has Ontario offices in Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton, plus offices in Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal.

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Listing compiled from the firm’s public website in July 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗