Cindy Kou named a winner of Precedent Magazine's 2021 Precedent Setter Awards

Precedent Magazine has named Toronto-based commercial lawyer Cindy Kou a Precedent Setter Award winner for 2021. The awards recognize Toronto lawyers called to the bar in the last 10 years who have shown excellence and leadership in their early years of practice and in their community.

"Cindy exudes the qualities of a true precedent setter, as a leader, innovator and envelope-pusher," says Kathleen Ritchie, head of Gowling WLG's Business Law Department in Toronto. "She is always looking for ways to empower people and businesses to thrive – whether that's by bringing a user-centric approach to the way she practises law, or by pushing for the legal profession to be more approachable and accessible for lawyers and law students of all backgrounds."

As a commercial lawyer with expertise in the technology and construction sectors, Kou is heavily involved in growing the firm's PropTech practice, which addresses the intersection of technology, construction, real estate and infrastructure. Kou also serves on the board of the Canadian Technology Law Association and is a leader within the firm on matters of legal design – the application of human-centred design to law and legal services.

Practicing law with a deep commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), Kou co-founded the Blue Sky Scholarship, a scholarship for Asian women law students at the McGill Faculty of Law. She also co-hosts Gowling WLG's Diversonomics podcast and regularly volunteers with Pro Bono Ontario. Kou co-chaired the inaugural Diversity & Inclusion subcommittee of Gowling WLG's Toronto office between 2014 and 2017 and is a past director and officer of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers.

Learn more about Cindy Kou and the other winners of this year's Precedent Setter Awards in the 2021 summer issue of Precedent Magazine.