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Alyssa Tomkins

Bio

Alyssa Tomkins is a respected advocate who focuses her practice on public law and commercial litigation, as well as appeals and judicial reviews. She is based in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office and practises in both official languages.

Named one of Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, Alyssa has been at the forefront of some of the most consequential public law matters in recent history. She served as lead counsel for the Law Society of Saskatchewan in its landmark Supreme Court of Canada appeal in Law Society of Saskatchewan v Abrametz, one of the most frequently cited public law decisions in recent memory. She has also acted as lead counsel for the Speaker of the House of Commons in two important interventions at the Supreme Court of Canada on issues relating to parliamentary privilege.

Beyond these high-profile matters, Alyssa’s litigation work cuts across multiple practice areas and industries, engaging a diverse client base that spans individuals, corporations, municipalities, Crown corporations, public bodies, a foreign state, as well as numerous public interest advocacy organizations.  Her experience includes disputes involving contracts, shareholder and governance matters, director and officer liability, insolvency, defamation, as well as large-scale construction and infrastructure projects.

Over the course of her career, Alyssa has argued cases as lead counsel before all levels of court in Ontario, the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Yukon Court of Appeal, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. She also advocates before administrative tribunals, public inquiries, and in commercial arbitrations.

A trusted leader within the litigation bar, Alyssa currently sits on the board of directors of The Advocates’ Society and is the past chair of its Regulatory and Administrative Law Practice Group. She also serves as a member-at-large of the Society’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group.

Deeply committed to fostering the next generation of legal talent, Alyssa recently taught administrative law as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and previously taught appellate advocacy for 10 years at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law as coach of the Laskin Moot (constitutional and administrative law) team.

Prior to joining Gowling WLG, Alyssa practised at a boutique litigation firm in Ottawa and clerked for the Honourable Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada (2007–2008).

 

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Publications & speaking engagements