Christopher J. "Chris" Cochlin

Chris Cochlin is a Partner in Cassidy Levy Kent’s Ottawa office and advises businesses and governments on a wide range of international trade matters, including antidumping and countervailing duty litigation, trade policy and trade negotiations, bilateral investment, and market access strategies to challenge or defend foreign and domestic government measures. He also advises Canadian and international companies in the defense, energy, materials, high technology, and communications sectors extensively on customs compliance and on compliance with Canada’s export controls, economic sanctions and the controlled goods (defense contracting) regime.

Mr. Cochlin is also identified in several other legal ranking services as a leading international trade attorney and an accomplished practitioner, including in Chambers Global and Chambers Canada in Band 1, where he is recognised for his representation of leading North American producers in trade remedies cases before the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, as well as advising on trade policy. Commentators have remarked that "He draws on a wealth of past experience working as a trade lawyer with the Canadian government," and praised his "in-depth understanding of policy and the machinery of government."

Mr. Cochlin served as international trade counsel for nearly a decade in the Government of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), where he advised government officials on trade and investment treaty and policy issues. Mr. Cochlin has briefed and argued numerous trade disputes at the WTO and under the NAFTA (now the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or “CUSMA” / “USMCA”), including before WTO panels and the WTO Appellate Body, and has appeared before numerous other ad hoc trade tribunals. He also served as lead counsel in FTA negotiations, and as a Trade Policy analyst at the Government of Canada’s Department of Finance developing policy and WTO negotiating positions on antidumping and countervailing duty rules. Mr. Cochlin is the recipient of the Government of Canada’s Head of the Public Service Award as well as several awards for trade service relating to his work advising on and litigating trade disputes.

Mr. Cochlin was appointed by the Government of Canada to the roster of panelists available to review final antidumping and countervailing duty determinations pursuant to the Chapter 10 binational dispute resolution provisions under CUSMA. He was also appointed by the Government of Ontario to the general and appellate dispute resolution rosters under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA).