Michelle Cicchino

Michelle Cicchino is a lawyer in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office, with a municipal law and civil litigation practice. Drawing on her expertise in land use planning, property taxation and municipal law, she offers clients a broad and unique legal perspective into their real property projects and disputes.

As a member of Gowling WLG’s national Municipal Law Group and national Expropriation Law Group, Michelle regularly represents clients in a variety of areas, including:

• Development and redevelopment applications and disputes
• Land use planning matters
• Property tax assessments and exemptions
• Development Charges
• Interpretation of Official Plans, municipal by-laws and municipal powers, including municipal finance
• Real property disputes including easements/right-of-way disagreements and residential tenancies
• Expropriation
• Municipal by-law infractions

She has represented both public and private clients before the Ontario Land Tribunal and Ontario Courts. She has experience with redevelopment applications from pre-application, to securing approvals and negotiating contingent agreements. Michelle engages and works with experts in the fields of land use planning, real estate appraisal and assessment, traffic engineering, economics, business loss quantification and business valuation.

Michelle often appears at various administrative tribunals, including the Ontario Land Tribunal, the Assessment Review Board and the Landlord and Tenant Board. Michelle also appears before all levels of court in Ontario, primarily addressing appeals, municipal powers and by-laws, property tax exemptions and private property disputes. Her practice involves alternative dispute resolution, having resolved numerous appeals through mediation and private discussions.

Ms. Cicchino is a Part-time Professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, co-teaching Municipal and Planning Law. She currently sits as Treasurer on the executive of the Canadian Property Tax Association, Ontario Chapter. She is also a member of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association, Ontario Bar Association, the County of Carleton Law Association and the Ontario Expropriation Association.