Kay Law
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.2 lawyers · Established 1980 · Waterloo Region
One of 102 law firms listed in Kitchener, and one of 37 handling Business & Corporate Law.
About Kay Law
Clients rate this firm highly on Google.
Kay Law helps people and businesses with property deals, company law, wills and estates, disputes and family matters, serving clients in Kitchener and right across Ontario.
James Clarke is the firm's Managing Director and brings experience in business law, real estate, and wills and estates. Clarke joined Kay Law in 2009 after serving as Deputy General Counsel at OpenText, where the role covered every legal aspect of the company's mergers and acquisitions program as well as its corporate governance. Before that came Bay Street practice on public and private M&A and on securities work such as initial public offerings.
On the dispute side, Alexandria (Ali) F. Nowak represents clients in resolving their disagreements, whether that means negotiation, mediation, arbitration or litigation.
Steve Kay founded the firm in 1980 and has since retired. You'll find the practice today at The Legal Innovation Centre, 370 Frederick Street, Kitchener.
Practice areas
Business & Corporate Law
Real Estate Law
Wills, Estates & Trusts
Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Family Law
Contracts, employment and deals
Kay Law drafts, reviews and negotiates contracts for clients in a range of industries, and it advises on employment questions from hiring and benefits through to termination. On transactions, it represents both buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions. When you form a company with arm's-length partners, the firm advises putting a shareholder agreement in place.
Corporate reorganizations
Reorganization work covers exchanges and rollovers of shares or assets, holding companies and family trusts, and drafting articles of amendment.
Health practice transactions
When a health professional buys or sells a practice, the firm explains how an asset sale and a share sale differ in their tax effects, reviews the practice's legal, financial and operational side in due diligence, and stays involved with matters that come up after the deal.
Property work beyond the purchase
Along with buying, selling and refinancing homes and commercial property, Kay Law acts for both landlords and tenants on leases and lease disputes, helps with property tax assessment appeals, and assists condominium corporations with their formation, governance and management.
How a purchase closes
On a purchase, Kay Law runs title and writ searches, adding zoning and tax department searches in some files. Funds received for the purchase sit in its trust account and go, together with the balance of your down payment, to pay the seller. When the listing agent leaves a lockbox, the firm keeps the code in escrow until closing.
Estate planning documents
Estate planning here includes drafting wills, powers of attorney and trusts, and Kay Law offers a no-obligation consultation to get you started.
Commercial disputes and mediation
For businesses, the firm acts in disputes over breach of contract, business torts and similar matters. Mediators on the team work with both sides to help them reach an outcome each can accept.
Family matters
Alexandria (Ali) F. Nowak is the firm's lead family lawyer, covering prenuptial contracts, separation and divorce, decision-making responsibility and parenting time, and child support.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Good to know
Accessible parking
By appointmentHow Kay Law works
Kay Law is a small, modern firm that pairs technology with skill, focus and experience, aiming for big-firm results on a small-firm budget. It commits to pricing that's more affordable and more transparent than larger, more traditional firms, and its corporate reorganization fees are structured specifically for small businesses.
Every member of the team adds something to the firm, whether that's years of practice, long-built relationships with other legal players in Kitchener-Waterloo, or a working knowledge of new technology. The firm's lawyers are entrepreneurs too. When a health professional sells or buys a practice, Kay Law's practice is to build a shared strategy with you, your accountants and your other advisers rather than impose its own ideas.
In the community
- With the April 1, 2020 rent date arriving while Ontario's state of emergency kept non-essential businesses closed, the firm published a note urging commercial landlords and tenants to talk and work out a solution together.
- In June 2024 Kay Law published a piece on the risks of using joint ownership in estate planning, including the loss of control that comes with co-owners holding equal rights to a property.
- Kay Law also offers an online land transfer tax calculator for anyone estimating that cost.
The neighbourhood
370 Frederick Street sits in Central Frederick, a neighbourhood in the heart of downtown Kitchener with plenty of history, tall mature trees and small pocket parks. One of them, Weber Park, is at the corner where Mansion, Edna and Frederick Streets meet.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Kay Law charge a set fee for closing a home purchase instead of billing by the hour?
- Yes. Kay Law bills a fee set in advance instead of charging by the hour, so that clients who need more attention and communication during the deal don't hold back from calling because of the cost.
- Will a lawyer from Kay Law be there when I sign my real estate documents?
- Yes. Kay Law's licensed and insured real estate lawyers oversee the signing of your documents personally, and your lawyer is there to answer any questions that come up at that point.
- Can Kay Law act on the purchase or sale of a dental, optometry or chiropractic practice?
- Yes. Dental, optometry and chiropractic practices, along with other medical practices, get Kay Law's help at the key stages of buying or selling.
- Will Kay Law work alongside my corporate accountant on a reorganization?
- Yes. Kay Law shapes its corporate reorganization services around what clients and their corporate accountants need, and it helps accountants with the legal side of setting up holding companies.
- How fast can Kay Law set up a numbered or named company?
- Usually within two business days, once Kay Law has everything on its customized intake list. For a named company, the firm also runs a NUANS name search.
- Does Kay Law reply to contact-form messages within 72 hours?
- Yes. Kay Law commits to getting back to you within 72 hours of a message.
Where to find them
The Legal Innovation Centre, 370 Frederick Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2H 2P3 · 519-579-1220
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Wills, Estates & TrustsThis listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on the firm’s own website. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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