Benjamin Bathgate

First Year of Call
Ontario (2005)

Areas of Practice
Commercial Litigation

Description

First Year of Call
2013

Areas of Practice
Benjamin M. Bathgate is the Chair of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group at WeirFoulds LLP. His practice focuses on complex, high stakes corporate and commercial litigation and providing his clients with trusted advice on pre-litigation investigations and emergency relief in the courts.

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 CoinDesk, CoinDesk TV, Canadian Lawyer and Bloomberg.

Ben is a leading corporate commercial litigator who has built a far-reaching cross-border practice and network, including foreign lawyer contacts, investigators, forensic experts and other specialized service providers. 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; investment companies/funds; consumer products manufacturers and distributors; retailers; franchisors; consulates; embassies; insurance companies; land developers; tech companies; and telecommunications companies.

Ben has been recognized 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 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 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 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. His writing on what is now Ontario’s Apology Act was considered by the Ontario Legislature and in legislative committees.