Jennifer L. King Partner National Co-Lead – Administrative Law Practice Group (Canada)


Speaks:  English

Year of Call: 2019 - Nunavut

Year of Call: 2007 - Ontario

Primary phone: +1 416-862-5778

Fax: +1 416-862-7661

Email: jennifer.king@gowlingwlg.com

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Primary office:  Toronto



Jennifer L. King

Jennifer L. King is a partner at Gowling WLG and National Co-Lead of the firm's Administrative Law Practice Group (Canada). She also serves as co-lead of the firm's ESGI (Environmental, Social, Governance and Indigenous) advisory services practice. Jennifer is a member of the firm's Climate Change and Environment Group and Toronto's Advocacy Department.

A skilled and purpose-driven litigator, Jennifer is particularly well-known for dealing with high-profile environmental, municipal, and emergency matters. Jennifer has a long track-record of effectively navigating her clients through cases that engage complex issues in a variety of fields including environmental law and climate change, constitutional law, corporate and contractual disputes, professional liability, tort, public health, land use and municipal law, and Indigenous rights. She does this before all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada, tribunals including the Ontario Land Tribunal and the Nunavut Impact Review Board, and in the public discourse, across Canada's provinces and territories.

Jennifer's clients also recognize her as a singularly effective strategic advisor and partner who guides them to positive outcomes when engaging complex regulatory regimes. This work includes approvals relating to, for example:

  • environmental and impact assessments;
  • climate change;
  • public health;
  • land use;
  • energy;
  • resource extraction; and
  • transportation.

Jennifer supports clients in negotiating complex land and impact benefit agreements for Indigenous organizations.

Her litigation and advisory clients attribute Jennifer's success in helping them achieve their objectives to her powerful yet calm presentation style and her integrity, which are widely recognized in her work both inside and outside of the hearing room.

Jennifer is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she teaches Administrative Law.

Jennifer is committed to making a positive impact in the legal profession and wider community. She served as the past chair of Gowling's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council's Recruitment and Retention Committee and is an active member of the Filipino Canadian Lawyers Network. She is a dedicated mentor to lawyers and law students both within and outside the firm. Jennifer is regularly sought out to teach and speak publicly on issues of environmental law and climate change, ESGI, municipal law, freedom of information, emergency and disaster recover and legal practice and procedure. In addition, she is a Climate Governance Expert with the Canada Climate Law Initiative.

Jennifer has spent more than 10 years on boards of local neighborhood community centres and currently serves as co-chair of the Eastview Neighborhood Community Centre, a charitable multi-service facility that offers a range of recreational, social, and capacity-building programs to residents in Toronto's east end.

Career & Recognition

Filter timeline:

Memberships

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association
  • The Advocates' Society

Jennifer speaks and writes frequently, including on environmental law and climate change, ESG, municipal law, freedom of information, emergency and disaster recover and legal practice and procedure. She serves on the advisory boards and as faculty for two Osgoode Professional Development's Certificates - ESG, Climate Risk and the Law and the Law of Emergencies: Practical Strategies in Disaster Preparedness, Management and Recovery - since both certificate programs' inception.

Recent Media Mentions (selected:)

Recent publications and speaking engagements (selected):

  • Co-Author, "How to Integrate Indigenous Rights in ESG Reporting," Canadian Lawyer, November 2022
  • Faculty, "Legal Briefing: Key Climate Litigation, Impacts and Risks for ESG," Osgoode PD Certificate in ESG, Climate Risk and the Law, October 2022
  • Faculty, "Emergency Legislation and Regulation in Canada," Osgoode PD Certificate in the Law of Emergencies – Practical Strategies in Disaster Preparedness, Management and Recovery, April 2022
  • Faculty, "Divine Discoveries," Ontario Bar Association, March 2022
  • Panelist, "Ottawa and the Emergencies Act: A Big Round Table," Osgoode Hall Law School and the Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security of York University, February 2022
  • Panelist, "ESG in M&A and Financing: why Corporate/Commercial lawyers should take notice," New York State Bar Association Annual Conference, January 2022
  • Panelist, "Environmental Law Panel in Action," Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) Conference 2021, Feb. 20, 2021
  • Speaker, "Building Communities Conference," OBA's Institute 2021, Feb. 4 & 5, 2021
  • Panelist, "Year in Review: Current trends in climate change regulation & mitigation," presented by Beveridge & Diamond PC & Gowling WLG, Nov. 12, 2020
  • Panelist, "The Gowling WLG Award for Woman of the Year Panel," Canadian Law Awards Virtual Show 2020, Oct. 6, 2020
  • Podcast, "Race and Identity in the Law Part 1 and Race and Identity in the Law part 2," Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers Ontario Podcast, September and October 2020
  • Speaker, "ESG and the Role of the Board," Women Get On Board, Feb. 24 & May 26, 2020
  • Speaker, "ESG & the Role of the Board," Women Get on Board, Feb. 24, 2020 (Toronto) & May 26, 2020 (Webinar)
  • Panelist, "Adapting to the New Era of Municipal and Planning Law: The Only Constant is Change," Ontario Bar Association's Institute, Feb. 7, 2020
  • Speaker, "Municipal Law Program," OBA's Institute 2020, Feb.7 2020
  • Panelist, "The Roller‑Coaster Ride in Municipal Law and Practice," Osgoode Professional Development 14th Annual National Forum: Administrative Law & Practice Program, Oct. 3, 2019
  • Moderator, "Canada's Constitutional Consultation Duty/Indigenous Relations," CNLO 3rd Nuclear Law School, Sept. 19, 2019
  • Keynote speaker and mentor, "Working with Clients and Consultants," OBA Environmental Law Mentorship Program, Sept. 10, 2019
  • Co-author, Halsbury's Laws of Canada - Environment 2018 Reissue (LexisNexis Canada), September 2018
  • Speaker, "Intersection between Workers Safety and Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation", with paper entitled "The Right to Sue and Vicarious Liability", The 2015 OBA Workplace Safety and Insurance Law Program, The Ontario Bar Association (Tuesday, May 26, 2015)

Representative Work

  • Lead counsel for the City of Windsor >on the Ambassador Bridge injunction: The City as party intervener and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' association as representative plaintiff sought the initial injunction restraining individuals from establishing a blockade, or in any impeding access to, the Ambassador Bridge, following a blockade of the bridge which began on February 7, 2022. The Gowling WLG team successfully sought to continue the order as a statutory injunction on behalf of the City.
  • Lead counsel for Windsor at the Public Order Emergency Commission. Windsor was granted party standing at this independent public inquiry established after the federal government's declaration of a public order emergency in February 2022. Windsor provided evidence related to the Ambassador Bridge blockade and policy submissions before the Commission.
  • Lead counsel representing the intervener the Canadian Public Health Association in carbon pricing references: In these references, the Provinces of Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, challenged the constitutionality of the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The references sparked a constitutional debate about the balance of power between federal and provincial legislatures regarding greenhouse gas emissions. The references were appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Jennifer appeared before the Ontario and Saskatchewan Courts of Appeal and at the Supreme Court of Canada. In March 2021, the Supreme Court released its decision, with the majority confirming that the federal carbon pricing backstop is constitutional.
  • Representing a private company in Ontario Land Tribunal appeal: Jennifer formed part of a Gowling WLG team that guided the company through an appeal from a zoning by-law amendment designating the area where the company operates an industrial facility as a Protected Major Transit Station Area. The matter involved issues of noise and land use compatibility.
  • Advising a group of municipalities. Jennifer provided her advice and representation on a federal environmental assessment of a proposed major private sector intermodal transportation facility. She was co-lead counsel on the federal panel review hearing under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 involving multiple experts including transportation, traffic, air quality, health, and species at risk.
  • Co-lead counsel representing a municipality on leave to appeal to the Divisional Court from an order of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal: successfully resisted the motion for leave to appeal and related motions attempting to review the Division Court's denial of leave to appeal.
  • Representing an Inuit organization before Institutions of Public Government: Jennifer represented in Inuit association before the Nunavut Impact Review Board and Nunavut Water Board with respect to impacts of a mining project in the region.
  • Representing the intervener in public health matter: This case concerned the constitutionality of the prison needle exchange program that was introduced in the Canadian prison system.