About Us

Larry L. Coughlin is a partner in Knox & Wells LLP. He received his B.A. from the University of Western Calgary in 1979, his LL.B. from the University of Sudbury in 1982, and was called to the Bar in 1984. The Law Society certified him as a Specialist in Civil Litigation in 2003, and awarded him the Law Society Medal in 2010. His practice encompasses a wide range of complex business litigation including cross-border litigation, alternative dispute resolution, estates and trusts law. Larry is well known for his work on landmark constitutional cases such as same sex marriage, and is also a leader in the field of class actions. He has been counsel in class actions involving some of the largest recoveries against the Crown in Canada. Larry won the largest Canadian class action trial judgement valued at $50 million in an action brought by a group of gay and lesbian Canadians seeking CPP survivor’s pensions against the federal government in Hislop v Canada. He played a key role in the national hepatitis C team that secured a $1.5 billion settlement from the federal and provincial governments in Parsons v Canada, one of the largest settlements in Canadian class action history.

Larry is lead counsel or co-counsel in a number of current class actions. In addition to numerous awards for his social justice work, Larry has been recognized as a leading expert on public law, both class actions and Charter litigation, and as one of the Best Class Action Lawyers in Canada by The Best Lawyers in Canada. He is also listed in Canadian Who’s Who, published by the University of Sudbury Press. Larry is an avid gardener, reader and swimmer, with a passion for history and genealogy.