Shaela W. Rae
An associate lawyer in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, Shaela practises in the Business Law Department. As a member of the firm's Blockchain & Smart Contracts and FinTech groups, she specializes in leveraging the latest technologies to conduct corporate transactions and to provide efficient and effective services for clients.
While her practice is largely focused on corporate/commercial matters, Shaela also advises in the area of private wealth management, including wills, estates and trusts. When she is not assisting emerging and established companies with their corporate governance, capital financing, and mergers & acquisitions, she can also be found advocating for clients in court with respect to estates and related matters.
With the benefit of a French civil law degree and having studied South American civil law in Chile, Shaela offers legal services in English and French, and is also comfortable communicating with clients in Spanish.
Prior to attending law school, Shaela worked as a correctional officer. She subsequently summered and articled at a large, full-service law firm in British Columbia and clerked for the Chief of Chambers at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Shaela also worked at a national law firm prior to joining Gowling WLG.
As an active participant in her community, Shaela was involved in the political lobby for the creation of the Registered Disabilities Savings Plan and raised large sums for charities supporting Canadians with disabilities.
Shaela is an avid sports enthusiast and plays high-level softball and volleyball (beach and court). She trained with Team Canada (softball) and is a former assistant coach to the BC Special Olympic softball team.