Partner Head of Infrastructure and Construction Group

Ted Betts is a lawyer and partner in Gowling WLG's Toronto office. He practises corporate, construction and infrastructure law with more than 25 years of experience in the construction and infrastructure sectors. Ted is the Head of the firm's Infrastructure and Construction Sector Group and Co-Head of the firm's Transportation and Mobility Sector Group, and he is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Construction Law.

Ted acts on all aspects of tendering, negotiating and drafting of construction contracts, structuring, project management, financing and commercial contracting. His practice focuses on large-scale construction, infrastructure and development projects, particularly power generation, transportation, urban development, city-building projects and public-private partnerships (PPP).

Ted works in all sectors that involve construction projects, including commercial construction, real estate development, infrastructure and civil works, power and energy (nuclear, hydro-electric and solar power generating stations), mining and transit/transportation. Ted regularly acts for provincial procurement agencies and ministries, as well as large and small municipalities and other broader public sector organizations on construction matters. He has drafted and negotiated all types of contracts and project structures, including construction management, design-build, EPC/EPCM, consulting agreements, and more recently progressive design-build and integrated project delivery projects.

Ted is recognized as a leading construction, infrastructure and projects lawyer by Chambers, Canadian Legal Lexpert and Legal 500 Canada, The Best Lawyers in Canada and Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer. He has also written papers and presented seminars on tendering and construction law. Ted is the former Chair of the Construction and Infrastructure Law Section Executive of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA). He is also the former chair of the OBA's Construction Lien Act Reform Committee.

Ted has a great deal of experience on boards of directors, both for private and not-for-profit organizations. He currently sits on the board of The York School and Premises Chair, and is the former Chair of its Risk Management Committee. Ted is the former President and Chair of the Board of Directors of Family Service Toronto, one of the largest and oldest charitable organizations in Toronto. He also coaches community-level hockey. In 2013 to 2018, Ted was recognized by the province of Ontario for his volunteer services, receiving a Volunteer Service Award.