Partner Ben Kates, Chair of WeirFoulds’ Regulatory Practice Group, was recently interviewed by Laura Bevan, a Partner at Lawson Lundell LLP, for the Spring 2025 edition of The Advocates’ Society’s quarterly publication Advocacy Matters.
In the interview, Ben discusses his early career and what led him to leave a fulfilling private sector litigation job in favour of an in-house role at a regulator, the Law Society of Ontario. Ben shares how he gravitated to an area of litigation he enjoyed the most and, while in-house, benefitted from a focused practice that yielded “a deep understanding of an area of practice and a statutory scheme” and that facilitated “getting in repetitions” when it came to hearing experience.
Ben provides insight into the change of perspective that accompanies working in-house. He describes how, when working for a public interest institution, he needed to consider not only short-term objectives, “but also how to pursue them having regard to institutional values, interests, and objectives.” He also discusses how his experience at the Law Society of Ontario has enhanced his approach to client service: “Seeing firsthand how information needs to be received and passed along by the people instructing me has changed the way I communicate with them.”
Ben practises both administrative law and civil litigation. He represents and advises industry regulators with a focus on self-regulated professions, providing advice on issues related to, among other things, governance, registration, investigations, and capacity. He also serves as prosecutor in disciplinary and fitness to practice matters. Ben’s civil litigation practice involves advising public and private-sectors clients, including not-for-profits, on litigation avoidance, governance issues, and privacy, as well as representing them in civil proceedings.
To learn more about Ben Kates, please visit his profile page.
To learn more about WeirFoulds’ Regulatory Practice Group, click here.
