Ben has significant expertise in and regularly advises on matters relating to commercial fraud, injunctions, asset tracing and recovery, internal and government investigations (cross-border and national) and transactional disputes. He has been lead counsel in a number of precedent-setting cases, including cross-border digital asset tracing and seizure proceedings. Ben successfully obtained the first reported Anton Piller Order (Civil Search and Seizure) on cryptocurrency in Canada, a case that was the feature story in Bloomberg Businessweek (May 19, 2022). He speaks and consults regularly on cryptocurrency frauds and asset tracing as part of his cross-border practice, and has interviewed with leading publications in the field including CBC Television, Globe and Mail, CoinDesk, CoinDesk TV, Canadian Lawyer, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Business.
Ben is a leading corporate commercial litigator who has built a far-reaching cross-border practice and network, including foreign lawyer contacts, investigators, local and international law enforcement contacts, litigation funders, forensic experts, custodians/monitors and other specialized service providers. Ben’s sophisticated cross-border fraud practice has also helped him develop an expertise in and a network to support investigations of off-shore monetary and digital asset transactions including those implicated in money laundering, sanctions violations and corruption. He prides himself on building cross-disciplinary teams that provide practical, multi-jurisdictional solutions for business challenges facing a diverse global client base. These foreign and domestic companies include: banking and financial services institutions; exchanges; MSBs; investment companies/funds; investment clubs; FinTech companies; consumer products manufacturers and distributors; consulates; embassies; insurance companies; land developers; and telecommunications companies.
Ben has been recognized by Lexology Index as a “pre-eminent name of the next generation” and “Future Leader” in Commercial Litigation; by Legal 500 Canada as a “Next Generation Partner” in Dispute Resolution; by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a “Leading Lawyer to Watch” in Corporate Commercial Litigation and in White Collar Defence & Investigations; and as a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation.
Ben has considerable experience representing clients at all levels of court in Canada, including the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada, and has been lead counsel in a number of precedent-setting cases. He is unique among commercial/civil litigators due to his considerable experience in contempt proceedings and leading private prosecutions (the private laying and prosecution of criminal charges). He appears regularly as counsel in domestic and cross-border disputes, leading teams in complex arbitrations and before various boards and tribunals.
Ben co-authors the Canadian Chapter of Chambers Global’s International Fraud and Asset Tracing Guide (Trends: Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency), and its Anti-Corruption Guide. He is faculty for Osgoode Law School’s Web3, Blockchain and Metaverse Law certificate course: Global Enforcement Trends in Web3. He is a co-author and co-editor of The Essential Guide to Settlement in Canada, a practice manual designed for in-house counsel, which is cited as an authoritative text by the courts. He speaks and interviews regularly on litigation funding issues, particularly as they relate to digital asset recovery. His writing on what is now Ontario’s Apology Act was considered by the Ontario Legislature and in legislative committees.
