Rachel Turnpenney Founding Partner
Rachel Turnpenney, Partner and co-founder of Turnpenney Milne LLP, is an experienced employment lawyer, trusted advisor, and recognized workplace investigator. Whether acting as an advocate or a neutral, she is known for her pragmatic approach and her ability to combine legal expertise with a strong understanding of people to resolve complex workplace issues.
Rachel acts as counsel to both employers and employees on a wide range of workplace matters including wrongful and constructive dismissal matters and human rights applications. Her practice is outcomes based and grounded in more than two decades of experience in employment law.
In her neutral practice, Rachel acts as an external workplace investigator and provides strategic advice on workplace culture concerns, including harassment and sexual harassment. Her experience includes complex, high-profile matters involving multiple parties and allegations, including those that attract media attention. She also conducts workplace assessments and reviews organizational policies, procedures, and systems for preventing and responding to harassment and discrimination. In addition, she has been both retained and qualified as an Expert Witness in litigation relating to harassment and harassment prevention programs.
Rachel is a member of the Association of Workplace Investigators and holds the AWI-CH designation. She is also among a select group of Canadian investigators on the Federal Registry who may be appointed to conduct investigations under the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations of the Canada Labour Code.
Her practice includes acting as a peer reviewer, providing quality assurance on investigation processes and reports to ensure they meet best practices and are legally sound and defensible. She also designs and delivers post-investigation remedial and restorative training to help individuals and teams understand findings, rebuild trust, and prevent recurrence. In addition, she serves as a mediator and facilitator in workplace disputes and provides post-investigation support, including coaching and remediation.
Rachel has been recognized as a Canadian Lexpert-ranked lawyer for multiple years and was included in the 2024 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada as “Most Frequently Recommended.”
Outside of her practice, she enjoys planning travel to new destinations and taking on new projects that keep her family on their toes.