Kate Robertson

Kate Robertson practices criminal and regulatory litigation representing both individual and corporate clients. Her practice includes both trial and appellate advocacy. She has conducted numerous criminal trials, including jury and judge-alone trials, and has advocated at all levels of court in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Kate defends clients facing all types of offences, with a particular focus on white-collar crime, computer-based investigations and crime, sexual offences, and other Criminal Code offences such as driving-related matters. Kate also acts as counsel to police associations across Ontario. Prior to joining Markson Law, Kate served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada for the Hon. Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella. She is a Fellow at The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, where she consults on law and policy issues relating to privacy, law enforcement, and surveillance.

Kate advises or represents individuals, regulators, officers, and directors on governance matters, risk and crisis management, enforcement actions, and internal or regulatory investigations under a range of regulatory frameworks including financial regulation, and PIPEDA and other similar privacy legislation.

Kate brings to the practice her experience as a provincial and federal prosecutor. Kate previously acted as Assistant Crown Attorney at the Crown Attorney’s trial office in Toronto, as appellate counsel at the Crown Law Office – Criminal. From 2016-2021, Kate was also appointed as a federal agent to conduct prosecutions on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

Education and Awards

Kate obtained her law degree from the University of Toronto. She graduated from the Faculty of Law with Honours and received numerous awards for academic achievement and professionalism, including prizes for the highest marks in business law and jurisprudence. During law school, Kate worked for a prominent international human rights organization in New York, and within the litigation and tax departments of one of Canada’s top business law firms. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Toronto’s Journal of International Law and International Relations.

Related Experience

Kate is active in the legal community and has provided pro bono services to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, and the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. At The Advocates’ Society, she is a member of the Young Advocates’ Standing Committee and past Chair of the Criminal Law Practice Group. She also serves on the Criminal Lawyers’ Association’s Litigation Committee, and its Law and Technology Committee.

In 2021, Kate was appointed to the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch Canada.

Prior to beginning her law degree, Kate worked with the United Nations in Cambodia at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, where she worked on the investigation of the former Khmer Rouge regime's surviving senior leaders.