Johnstone & Cowling LLP

About Johnstone & Cowling LLP

Johnstone & Cowling LLP is a Toronto law firm with a second office in London, Ontario. Its four lawyers act as counsel before all levels of Ontario courts and numerous administrative tribunals, including the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission. The practice centers on labour and employment law, acting mainly for management and employers, along with human rights law, police law, occupational health and safety, information and privacy law, public and administrative law, civil litigation, and property assessment law, with clients including police services, police chiefs, and police services boards.

The firm's partners bring backgrounds in both policing and labour relations. Ian Johnstone worked as a police officer with Peel Regional Police before entering law and has since taught labour and employment law at the University of Western Ontario and the University of New Brunswick faculties of law. David Cowling was called to the Ontario bar in 1992, after earning a law degree from the University of Toronto and an undergraduate degree from McGill University, and has more than 25 years of experience acting for management in labour arbitration and Ontario Labour Relations Board matters. In 2016, the firm represented the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service in a case that reached the Supreme Court of Canada.