Andrew W. McKenna

Andrew McKenna is a partner in the Professional Liability Department at Gowling WLG, where he brings over two decades of experience representing regulated health professionals across a broad spectrum of legal matters. He serves as co-lead of the Ottawa Provincial Counsel Team for the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA).

Andrew's practice centres on the defence and counsel of regulated health professionals in malpractice claims, medical regulatory authority matters (including disciplinary proceedings), hospital privileges disputes, coroner's inquests, human rights and privacy complaints, and other administrative and regulatory proceedings. He acts for physicians through the CMPA in Ontario and Nunavut. His practice is split evenly between civil litigation and regulatory compliance, giving him a unique perspective on the challenges facing health care practitioners.

Andrew also represents a wide range of other health care professionals, including psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers, optometrists, medical radiation technologists, dental hygienists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists, acting as exclusive or preferred counsel through various insurers and their broker. He also oversees the administration of national pro bono hotlines for members of 16 regulated health professional associations, responding to over 1,500 calls annually from members with professional liability questions.

In addition to his health law practice, Andrew manages solicitors' negligence claims and errors and omissions matters for Gowling WLG's Ottawa office, further broadening his expertise in professional liability.

He is a member of the Ontario Health Professions Discipline Tribunal–Counsel Roundtable and previously served as a member of the Practice Advisory Group for the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal.

Andrew is a regular contributor and speaker at continuing medical-legal education programs and is actively involved in continuing legal education initiatives and the student program at Gowling WLG. He is a lawyer coach for the Ontario Judicial Education Network High School Mock Trial Competition.  He is a past instructor of trial advocacy at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

Andrew was called to the Ontario Bar in 2002 and to the Nunavut Bar in 2003. He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Law Society of Nunavut, the Ontario Bar Association, and the County of Carleton Law Association.

Andrew is committed to giving back to the legal profession and his community. He is a volunteer with Pro Bono Law Ontario and serves as a member of the organizing committee for the County of Carleton Law Association's Civil Litigation Updated Conference. He has chaired the Gowling WLG Ottawa’s involvement in the “Firms filling Fridges” fundraiser for the Ottawa Food Bank since 2018.  He served as a Director, Officer, and Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Camp Fortune Ski Club from 2021 to 2025.

In 2011, Andrew received the Regional Senior Justice Award from the County of Carleton Law Association, which honours a lawyer in practice ten years or less who has made an outstanding contribution as a litigator or solicitor within the profession through their excellence as a professional, as well as outside the profession by making an outstanding contribution to the community.