Media & Speaking

Public voice grounded in substantive work.

Broadcast conversations, keynotes and written argument on business, cities, the legal profession and the common good.

Featured Conversations

Long-form interviews on the questions facing the city and the profession.

Louis Frapporti in the Newsmakers studio Television Newsmakers. Panel conversation on downtown investment and civic leadership. Hamilton Life programme title over an aerial view of the city Television Hamilton Life. On the city's economic direction and the case for downtown renewal. Louis Frapporti in a broadcast conversation about downtown Hamilton Digital Content In conversation on the TD Coliseum, the Coppley redevelopment and what follows them.
Louis Frapporti speaking at the Gowling WLG Community Summit

Speaking

Keynotes and panels for business, legal and civic audiences.

Lou speaks on city building, the future of the legal profession, the relationship between institutions and the communities they sit in, and what it takes to move a complex mandate forward.

Upcoming Keynote

Winning the Future: Universities, Civic Trust, and the Common Good

Opportunity Marketplace ’26 25 August 2026, 9:00am to 12:00 noon The Loft in The Hub, McMaster University Free and open to the public

Lou opens the W Booth School’s fourth annual Opportunity Marketplace with a keynote on the power of university-community collaboration, with a particular focus on Hamilton and the surrounding region. On whether universities will remain institutions that produce knowledge, or become trusted civic partners capable of helping communities act on it. A city that is not viable cannot be generous.

Event details

Also upcoming

Moderator, Hamilton Mayoral Debate

Hamilton Chamber of Commerce · 1 October 2026, 6:00pm · The Hamilton Club

Event details

Speaking enquiries
Studio portrait of Louis Frapporti

Mavericks · Television Series

The signature television series.

Lou hosts Mavericks on Cable 14 Hamilton, a long-form conversation with the people shaping the city: civic leaders, business builders, institutional heads and the occasional police chief.

The most recent episode is a conversation with Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen that begins with a 1970s Ford Gran Torino and continues into a ride-along downtown, covering policing, public safety and leadership in extraordinarily challenging times.

Watch Mavericks
All episodes on Cable 14
Accelerating Business, a Gowling WLG podcast

Accelerating Business · Podcast

Host of the Gowling WLG podcast.

Accelerating Business is a Gowling WLG podcast exploring the forces reshaping how organizations work, through the voices of the business, educational and government leaders driving and responding to them. Lou hosted all ten episodes. In episode five the format reverses and Jordan Furlong interviews him.

Guests included two city managers, a sitting mayor, the CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences, the CEO of McMaster Innovation Park, a college dean, and executives from WestJet and KPMG.

All episodes Apple Podcasts

Lou in the News

Coverage, interviews and profiles by others.

Selected journalism, broadcast segments and profiles in which Lou features or is quoted, as distinct from the writing he publishes himself.

Louis Frapporti with the candidates at the 2022 Hamilton mayoral debate

Moderator

The Hamilton mayoral debate

Lou moderated the 2022 Hamilton mayoral debate, putting the candidates to the city’s business, civic and community questions. He returns as moderator for the 2026 municipal election debate on 1 October 2026 at The Hamilton Club.

McMaster Engineering W Booth School brings McMaster community together for Opportunity Marketplace Lou opens the fourth annual Opportunity Marketplace with a keynote on university-community collaboration in Hamilton and the surrounding region. FeatureAug 2026 Law Times Toronto’s small businesses and entrepreneurs can apply for free legal advice through new OBA project Coverage of the Legal Access Program launch with TABIA, reaching entrepreneurs across Toronto’s business improvement areas. NewsJul 2026 Hamilton Chamber Mayoral Debate, 2026 Municipal Election Lou returns as moderator. 1 October 2026 at 6:00pm, The Hamilton Club. EventSep 2026 Toronto Star New platform matches Ontario lawyers with pro bono cases Major feature on the OBA and Paladin platform and efforts to modernise how lawyers are matched to those who need them. FeatureDec 2025 CHCH News Newsmakers: King’s Baton Relay for the 2026 Commonwealth Games Rick Zamperin interviews Lou on the relay, Hamilton’s Games history and the road to Glasgow. TelevisionApr 2026 CHCH Morning Live King’s Baton Relay passes through Burlington Interview with Lou and Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward on the relay and the Commonwealth movement. TelevisionApr 2026 Placeline Hamilton Can TD Coliseum really be a catalyst for the downtown? Torstar podcast examining whether the arena investment can regenerate the wider core. PodcastNov 2025 Law Times OBA expands pro bono opportunities through municipal and nonprofit partnerships A substantial interview on the portal’s next phase, including DeGroote and Goodwill partnerships. InterviewNov 2025 Canadian Lawyer OBA launches portal to help lawyers find pro bono work Coverage of the OBA and Paladin initiative, with commentary from Lou. InterviewMay 2025 Law360 Pulse Pro bono platform Paladin expands to Canada US legal-industry coverage of the Canadian expansion and Lou’s role in it. NewsMay 2025 LawNext Paladin launches its first pro bono portal outside the U.S. Coverage of the partnership with the Ontario Bar Association. NewsMay 2025 The Hamilton Spectator Hamilton may be back in 2030 Commonwealth Games plans Scott Radley on the future of Hamilton’s Games ambitions and talks with Commonwealth Sport Canada. NewsMar 2025 Hammer Down Hammer Down with special guest Lou Frapporti Podcast conversation on the downtown entertainment precinct and its redevelopment. PodcastMar 2025 Law Times OBA Association Awards winners reflect on achievement Feature on the 2025 award recipients, including the David Scott Award for Pro Bono Law. FeatureApr 2025 Western Law The Visionary: Louis Frapporti LL.B. ’90 A long-form alumni profile on purpose, shared value and the culture of the profession. ProfileAug 2023

Print Media & Writing

Argument in public.

Lou writes regularly for The Hamilton Spectator and on LinkedIn on urban policy, access to justice, public space and the legal profession. Recent pieces include the case for deliberation over prohibition on AI data centres, and an argument that revitalization and compassion are not opposing commitments.

Read Insights

A consequential mandate deserves more than a narrow response.

For speaking enquiries, interview requests or a conversation about a mandate.

Discuss your Needs Contact Louis

Discuss your Needs

Start the conversation early.

Most conversations begin before anyone has decided what kind of help is required. That is usually the right time.

Email · best for most enquiries louis.frapporti@gowlingwlg.com Telephone · time-sensitive matters +1 905 540 3262

Which route to use

A strategic mandate or consequential decision
A short outline of the situation and the timeline you're working to.
A legal matter
Legal services are provided through Gowling WLG, and new matters proceed through the firm's engagement and conflict processes.
Media, interviews or speaking
Include date, audience and format.
Community or institutional partnerships
Civic initiatives, not-for-profit boards, university and college collaboration, and pro bono programmes.
Mavericks
Guest suggestions or episode enquiries for the Cable 14 series.

Contacting Louis does not, on its own, create a solicitor-client relationship or an advisory engagement. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive information in a first message. Any next step remains subject to context, availability, professional obligations, engagement terms and conflict review. Legal services, where required, are provided through Gowling WLG and the appropriate members of its team, in accordance with applicable professional requirements.

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