Kate L. Agyemang

Senior Associate

Ottawa
[email protected]
613.787.3555

Kate’s bilingual practice is devoted to providing real-world advice to a broad range of Canadian and international businesses seeking to effectively manage workplace issues from contract to courtroom, in a responsive and pragmatic way.

Kate advises a diverse range of employers, with a particular focus in the healthcare, technology and energy industries. She also works extensively for numerous embassies and consulates as well as various leading non-profits in the charitable sector.

Kate specializes in labour, employment, human rights, health & safety, business and asset purchases, as well as group disability defence work. She manages all aspects of direct advocacy for employers, including litigation, negotiation and mediation.

Kate is also an experienced and dynamic presenter who is regularly called upon to speak at conferences and to lead seminars on a range of labour, employment and human rights topics.

Prior to joining BLG, Kate practised labour and employment law with an elite national firm as well as civil litigation and insurance defence at a top litigation firm in Ottawa.

Before pursuing a career in law, Kate also worked with various national non-profit and healthcare organizations in disability program management. She later worked in disability adjudication for national insurers and was engaged by class action adjudicators to advise on medical appeals and threshold issues.

Kate also advises large scale multinational enterprises regarding how best to operationalize the human rights and social factors components of their responsible business conduct and/or ESG frameworks. She has conducted comprehensive compliance reviews that involved tailoring supply chain management and due diligence processes, as well as providing guidance on specialized human rights impact mapping. She is known for crafting practical bespoke solutions for clients that enhance risk mitigation and competitive business strategy, while meeting the evolving mandatory Canadian reporting requirements, including those set out by the recent Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

Beyond Our Walls

Professional Involvement

  • Board Member, The Ottawa Hospital Research and Ethics Board (OHSN-REB), 2019-2021
  • Clinic Volunteer, ProBono Ontario
  • Mentor, Women’s Legal Mentorship Program (WLMP) , 2017-Present
  • President, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), Ottawa, 2015-2016

Community Involvement

  • Volunteer Consultant, Canada 2020 Think Tank, 2014-2019

Awards & Recognition

  • Recognize in the 2024 edition (since 2022) of the Best Lawyers in Canada as “One to Watch” (Labour and Employment Law)

Bar Admission & Education

  • Ontario, 2018
  • JD Common Law (cum laude), University of Ottawa, 2017
  • Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons.), Human Rights & Conflict Studies (magna cum laude), University of Ottawa, 2013
  • Bachelor of Arts (Hons.), Psychology (cum laude), University of Ottawa, 2007