Melanie Polowin

Melanie Polowin is a partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, and has practised employment law for more than 30 years.

Melanie has been repeatedly recognized in The Best Lawyers™ in Canada and, in 2015, she was recognized by The Best Lawyers™ in Canada 2015 as the Ottawa, Ontario "Lawyer of the Year" for Employment Law - Ottawa. She was named an "Acritas Star" in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

She advises a broad range of private sector Canadian and international employers of all stages and sizes, on every phase of the employment relationship, from recruitment through termination, start-up to wind-down. Her focus is on providing pragmatic, real-world advice and solutions to employers. Melanie assists buyers, sellers and investors to understand and manage the employment aspects of corporate life-cycle events, in connection with new entrants into the Canadian market via financings, mergers, acquisitions and IPOs. She also works closely with clients to implement meaningful proprietary interest and non-competition protections, and to develop effective customized templates, contracts, policies, and risk-reduction protocols.

Melanie is a skilled strategist and negotiator, with extensive experience in change planning and implementation, and managing and resolving employment disputes.