Vita Wensel
Vita Wensel
LLM(She/Her)
Lawyer
Overview
Experience
Professional
News + Views + Events

Vita Wensel is a lawyer in our Edmonton office focusing on professional regulation and administrative law, health law, and criminal law. 

Vita was called to the bar in 2019 and started her legal career in criminal defence. She then acted as in-house counsel for a regulatory health college, focused on prosecuting disciplinary matters, where she gained extensive experience in managing and providing advice on complaints from start to finish, including investigations, hearings, and resolution. She also has experience as a Complaints Director for a regulatory health college, gaining a unique insight into the decision-making role. Before joining Field Law in 2023, she attended the University of Toronto for an LLM in Health Law, Ethics, and Policy, expanding her knowledge to best support her clients’ needs. During her LLM, she focused on various areas, including fitness to practice, consent to medical treatment and incapacity.

Having worked for regulatory colleges, she understands providing cost-effective services and focusing on the goals of an organization. She pairs this with straightforward, compassionate, and individualized legal advice. Vita’s experience and areas of assistance include:

  • Conducting administrative hearings relating to discipline, administrative penalties and other orders
  • Advising professional regulatory organizations in areas such as registration/licensing, unauthorized practice, discipline, compliance, and interpretation of legislation
  • Assisting in privileging matters 
  • Conducting registration reviews
  • Assisting in judicial reviews relating to regulatory organizations
  • Conducting criminal trials, bail hearings, guilty pleas and other applications and assisting on other criminal matters such as appeals
  • Drafting decisions for administrative decision-makers, and
  • Drafting policies, procedures, and guidelines for professional regulatory organizations.

Vita enjoys examining legal issues from both sides to better prepare her client’s case and approach law and litigation collaboratively with her colleagues and clients. 

Value to Clients

"I approach clients as people first, then address the legal concern they are faced with to provide them the most efficient, client-centred, and focused assistance possible. By understanding my clients, I can better guide them through conflict, crisis, and challenges."

Outside the Office

When Vita is not in the office, she can be found spending time with her dog, Diego, or enjoying Edmonton’s art, music or theatre scenes. She is an avid downhill skier in the Alberta mountains and she travels often to Latin American countries.

CBA Alberta North Health Law Executive
Treasurer/Member of Executive
2022 - Present
Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation
Member
2020 - 2023
Canadian Network of Agencies for Regulation
Member
2020 - 2023
December 2024 - 7 min read
A Refresher on Assessing “Good Character” in Registration Process
Perspectives for the Professions Newsletter
Regulators have a critical role in assessing character, competence, and skill of applicants before they are admitted as members of their profession. However, the question of “good character” can be challenging to tackle. Th...
October 2024 - 5 min read
Navigating Charter Values in Unchartered Waters
Perspectives for the Professions Newsletter
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in York Region District School Board v Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario highlights the need for regulators to consider both Charter rights and values in disciplinary proceedings. Ev...
September 24, 2024
Navigating Discipline Decision Appeals
Workshop
Appeals of discipline decisions arising from a Hearing Tribunal are a complex and nuanced process to navigate as counsel, participants, staff members or decision makers.Join Gregory Sim and Vita Wensel from Field Law’s Profess...
June 13, 2024
Reviews of Registration + Practice Permit Decisions Under the Health Professions Act
Virtual Workshop
The majority of the work done by Council members consists of governance with respect to the College’s regulatory functions and operations. Council members also have important adjudicative functions, and are also responsible for conducting re...
February 28, 2024
Let's Talk About the Charter
Roundtable
Join Field Law’s Professional Regulatory Group and your professional regulatory colleagues for our first roundtable of the year.This session will focus on the intersection of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and professional ...
November 2023 - 6 min read
What Can Right Touch Regulation Mean to You?
Perspectives for the Professions
Right touch regulation is a strategy for regulatory organizations seeking to adapt and evolve in a rapidly changing landscape. This approach should be applied after first considering the balance of personal freedoms with public safet...
November 2023 - 2 min read
Recent Commentary on the Health Professions Act
Perspectives for the Professions
Recently, the Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel report was released. The report focuses on how the provincial government responded to COVID-19, reflects on current legislation and makes recommendations, with the goal of enhancing future...
September 2023 - 4 min read
New Tax Law Amendments That May Affect Employers
Workwise Newsletter
Recent changes to the Income Tax Act may affect how employers approach settlement. Under these new amendments, any transaction that meets the updated definition of an “avoidance transaction” must be reported and filed with ...
Education
University of Toronto, 2023, Master of Laws, Health Law, Ethics, and Policy
University of Ottawa, 2018, Juris Doctor, cum laude
University of Alberta, 2015, Bachelor of Arts, Major: Spanish and French, Minor: Latin American Studies, with distinction
Admissions
Alberta,2019
Languages
French (Limited working proficiency)
Spanish (Proficient)