Two Gowling WLG partners, representing offices from Canada and the UK, are among the 2021 recipients of the Client Choice Awards, presented by the International Law Office (ILO) in partnership with Lexology. Todd Burke is the exclusive winner of the Client Choice Litigation award for Canada, while John Coldham is the exclusive winner of the Intellectual Property (IP) – Designs & Trade Secrets award for the UK.
Based in Ottawa, Burke is a former leader of the firm's Commercial Litigation Group in Canada, and a previous winner of the Client Choice Award for Litigation in Ontario (2018). Burke practises in the areas of complex commercial litigation, insurance defence, professional liability, and risk and crisis management. He represents both national and international clients in a number of sectors, including manufacturing, finance, technology, transportation, health and nuclear energy.
"Todd provides great service to his clients, but also to the industry he serves," said one client in their feedback to the ILO and Lexology. "He has a way of helping us to peel away complexity, getting to the heart of the matter and driving results for our team," said another.
An IP litigator based in London, Coldham is Gowling WLG's Head of Brands and Designs in the UK, and co-leader of the firm's global Trademarks, Brands & Designs Group. From small enforcement issues to complex multinational disputes, he works closely with clients to ensure they have the tools and advice needed to maximize and protect their IP assets. He has acted on many of the latest designs cases that have reached the UK courts in recent years.
Coldham is a previous winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award for Designs (2019), has been named a "star lawyer" by Acritas Stars each year since 2017, and is one of only two Managing Intellectual Property "IP Stars" for Designs in the UK. According to a client testimonial in this year's Legal 500 UK, Coldham is "highly responsive and persistent. He shows great initiative, excellent client care and is always conscious of the client."
Established in 2005, the Client Choice Awards recognize those law firms and partners around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service. Furthermore, law firms and partners can only be nominated by corporate counsel. As stated by Lexology, "the criteria for this recognition focus on an ability to add real value to clients business above and beyond the other players in the market."