From courts to capital markets: How NCAA tennis shaped a top Vancouver M&A lawyer

In elite sports, success rarely belongs to the player with the flashiest serve; it belongs to the one who manages momentum, withstands fatigue, and executes strategically when the pressure peaks. The same rules govern capital markets.

For Justin Kates, Managing Partner at DuMoulin Black LLP, the transition from Division 1 NCAA and ATP-ranked tennis to high-stakes corporate law wasn’t a career pivot; it was simply applying the same high-performance playbook to a different court.

Long before navigating Vancouver’s capital markets, Justin was unknowingly laying
the groundwork for his future legal career on the tennis court. As an individual sport with no timeouts, tennis demands real-time problem-solving under relentless pressure, a dynamic that directly mirrors high-stakes M&A transactions. Years of early morning conditioning, constant travel, and unyielding discipline built the exact mental stamina Justin relies on today for rigorous legal analysis and fast-moving deal execution.

Today, Justin specializes in securities, corporate finance, and M&A, advising businesses at every growth stage, from early-stage startups to major public corporations. In this fast-paced environment, transactions are notoriously unpredictable. Success hinges on remaining calm under fire, managing sudden shifts in negotiations, and making sharp, strategic adjustments on the fly.

But as his career has evolved from junior associate to Managing Partner, so has his role. While tennis was a solitary pursuit, leading a premier corporate law firm requires expert teamwork to successfully coordinate and guide a high performing legal team through complex, multi-million-dollar deals.

Beyond the daily pace of deal-making, years at the top of the profession have reinforced a fundamental principle shared by elite athletics and high-stakes law: peak execution is built on continuous, disciplined effort. In elite sports, championship performance isn’t an accident; it is the result of relentless conditioning, repetition, and pushing past mental barriers.

The corporate world operates on the same standard. For Justin, maintaining a top tier legal practice requires treating mental stamina as a muscle that must be continually trained and challenged, ensuring he brings the same intensity and sharp focus to every transaction.

Looking back on his journey, Justin’s primary advice to aspiring lawyers and young athletes isn’t about memorizing case law; it’s about leveraging the work ethic and resilience you’ve spent years forging outside the classroom. Whether built through grueling morning practices, demanding performances, or challenging past jobs, a commitment to hard work, coachability, and pushing through adversity is not a passive life experience; it is a high-value professional asset.

For law students striving to stand out in a competitive field, the goal shouldn’t be to leave those past experiences at the door, but to channel that same capacity for hard work directly into the boardroom.

Named among the Best Lawyers in Canada for Mergers and Acquisitions Law every
year since 2021, Justin’s impact on Vancouver’s capital markets is undeniable. He
attributes this sustained performance not only to exceptional legal mentorship he
had along the way, but to the foundational soft skills forged in his early athletic
career.

While his path shifted away from tennis, Justin successfully channeled that
same intensity, strategic thinking, and drive into a legal career, proving that when
you transfer elite habits into a new domain, exceptional results follow.