Scholten Defence
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.1 lawyer · Waterloo Region
One of 102 law firms listed in Kitchener, and one of 23 handling Criminal Defence.
Accepts Legal Aid
Accepts Legal AidAbout Scholten Defence
Scholten Defence defends people facing criminal charges, and its past clients include people charged with homicide, sexual assault, drug trafficking and firearms offences.
Ben Scholten earned an LL.B. from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom in 2015, completed articles at Cowan Law Chambers and was called to the Law Society of Upper Canada in July 2017. Criminal law in Southwestern Ontario has been Scholten's practice ever since.
The office is at 133 Frederick St in Kitchener, and the firm also has offices in Toronto and in Grey and Huron Counties. Its clients come from communities such as Kitchener, Guelph, Owen Sound and Goderich, and from across Nunavut, Iqaluit included.
Scholten Defence won the Huron County Chamber of Commerce's new business award. The Kitchener office is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and every consultation is kept fully confidential.
History
J. Scott Cowan founded the firm and served as its principal. After opening the practice, Cowan took hundreds of criminal trials and appeals through courts across Ontario, and from 2009 the work extended into Canada's North, with many matters in 25 Inuit and First Nations communities in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Cowan was a director of the Criminal Lawyers' Association and president of the Huron Law Association, and taught Youth Justice and Criminal Procedure at Western University.
Effective Friday, October 10, 2025, Cowan, then principal of Cowan Law Chambers in Thornbury, became a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, sitting in Owen Sound.
Practice areas
Assault charges
The firm defends the full spread of assault charges, from aggravated, sexual and domestic assault to cases where the person alleged to have been harmed is a child or an older adult.
Homicide
Anyone accused of murder or manslaughter, or of a less serious homicide charge, can have Scholten Defence act as their advocate.
Firearms charges
Firearms matters handled here include trafficking charges and possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm.
Drug charges
People charged with drug trafficking are among the clients Scholten Defence has represented.
Fraud charges
Fraud charges the team helps with include forgery, identity theft and money laundering.
Impaired driving
In a DUI case, the firm goes through the evidence, breathalyzer and field sobriety tests included, and can push for reduced charges or other sentencing options.
Professional discipline
Beyond criminal court, the firm has acted for professionals facing disciplinary action from their regulators.
Fees & payment
Legal aidHow Scholten Defence works
Every new matter starts with a personal consultation where the lawyers get to know the client, the charges and the circumstances. The firm commits to listening to each client's story and concerns and shaping a defence around that person's goals.
From there, the usual process is a full review of the evidence in search of procedural errors or breaches of the client's rights, then negotiation where it helps the client and a vigorous defence in court where it's needed. In assault cases the firm investigates for itself, gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and going through police reports.
In the community
- Ben Scholten has sat on the Board of Directors of the Huron Perth Community Legal Clinic since 2016.
Affiliations & connections
- Huron Law Association: Ben Scholten is a member.
- Legal Aid Ontario: Ben Scholten sits on the London Region Legal Aid Panel.
Lawyers 1
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
Ben Scholten practises from 133 Frederick Street in Kitchener, just up the street from the Kitchener Courthouse at 85 Frederick Street. As of February 2013, that new downtown building was set to gather Superior Court services from Weber Street East and Ontario Court of Justice matters from both Kitchener and Cambridge in one place. The province built it with 30 courtrooms to the LEED silver standard.
Frederick Street has heritage character too: 122 Frederick Street, the County of Waterloo Registry Office, is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Frequently asked questions
- Who should former Cowan Law Chambers clients call now that J. Scott Cowan has become a judge?
- Questions go to Ben Scholten at (519) 441 3952 or to Adam Goodman at (416) 565-8829.
- Does Ben Scholten take Gladue work through Legal Aid Ontario?
- Yes. Ben Scholten's Legal Aid Ontario specialties are criminal and Gladue.
- Can I speak with Scholten Defence in French?
- Yes. Ben Scholten speaks French and English.
- Does Scholten Defence bring forensic experts into homicide cases?
- Yes. The firm draws on a roster of forensic experts for homicide defence, and a close analysis of the prosecution's evidence, from forensic reports to witness statements, is at the centre of its strategy.
Where to find them
133 Frederick St, Kitchener, ON N2H 2M2 · 519-441-3952
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Immigration LawThis 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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