Justin Nasseri

Appeals

Corporate & Commercial Litigation

Real Property Litigation

Professional Liability & Regulation

Estates & Trust Litigation

Injunctions & Crisis Management

Construction Litigation

Tort & Negligence Matters

Securities Litigation

Advice & Opinions

Justin Nasseri is widely recognized as a leading Canadian litigator with a track record of success in complex commercial, estates, and regulatory/public law disputes. Clients appreciate Justin’s judgment, litigation acumen, and extensive experience with injunctions, trials, and appeals. He has appeared as counsel before various tribunals (including the FST, HPARB, and the Discipline Committee of several Ontario health colleges and the HCRA), arbitral panels, all levels of court in Ontario, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Justin is regularly recognized as a leading lawyer by legal industry publications that solicit feedback from clients and peers. He is ranked in Benchmark Litigation (Litigation Star), Best Lawyers (Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Appellate Practice, Trusts and Estates, Administrative and Public Law), and Chambers and Partners (General Commercial Litigation). Lexpert ranks Justin as a leading lawyer in Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Professional Liability, Regulatory and Public Law, and Director and Officer Liability. He is also ranked in the Lexpert 500 Cross-Border Guide, which lists the leading practitioners in cross-border litigation. Justin has also been the recipient of (i) the inaugural 2025 Ontario Bar Association Civil Litigation Emerging Leader Award, recognizing a lawyer with exceptional skills in oral/written advocacy, integrity, civility, professionalism, and mentorship; (ii) the Lexpert Rising Star – Leading Lawyer Under 40 award, and (iii) the Emerging Talent Litigator of the Year for Canada from Benchmark Litigation in 2022.

According to Chambers’ research, clients described Justin as “practical, smart”, and “strong, decisive, and knowing how to win”. One client said Justin is “relentless in the courtroom…Outside of the courtroom, he is very thoughtful and evaluates strategic options for his clients”. Similarly, anonymous peer reviews collected by Benchmark Litigation remarked that Justin is “an exceptional advocate”, a “one in a million type of lawyer,” someone for whom “any client would be lucky to have in their corner”, “a natural advocate with an instinct for identifying and preparing winning arguments, and deep experience in appellate advocacy….”. According to one peer: “In my 14 years of Bay Street practice, his was one of the best advocacy performances I have seen.”

Justin has over 60 reported decisions. His trial advocacy highlights include (i) successfully defending a developer in a $32M regulatory prosecution trial which CBC covered; (ii) co-leading the successful challenge to the will of a tobacco magnate with a multi-million dollar estate; (iii) winning a commercial arbitration on behalf of a company, including an award of punitive damages and full indemnity for legal costs; and (iv) successfully defending a sexual abuse discipline hearing prosecuted under the Regulated Health Professions Act. Most recently, Justin won a trial for malicious prosecution against a private citizen, establishing that she deliberately fabricated sexual assault allegations against an ex-spouse, motivated by financial gain and revenge. His appellate wins include resisting two appeals under the Arthur Wishart Act, resisting an appeal from a non-party production order made against a tobacco manufacturer, resisting the appeal of a jury verdict in a significant medical malpractice case, and overturning an unprecedented $9M judgment as a sanction for contempt at the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

Justin also has significant wins in motions and application court, including (i) securing an interlocutory injunction against a partner in a development project who unlawfully acquired the senior loan on the project to influence the litigation, (ii) resisting an urgent Norwich motion for which he secured substantial indemnity costs in favour of his client, and (iii) successfully representing PEN Canada in a constitutional challenge to an overly broad ‘false statements’ prohibition in Canada’s federal election legislation.

Justin is also widely published on litigation topics including contract law, civil and criminal procedure, and injunctive relief. His publication history includes works in the Annual Review of Civil Litigation, the Alberta Law Review, the Canadian Privacy Law Review, and the Advocates’ Journal. Justin is frequently asked to speak at and write for legal education conferences hosted by the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, and the Advocates’ Society. Justin is also a past Chair of the Executive Committee of the Ontario Bar Association’s Civil Litigation section, where he organized legal education programs and was involved in advocating for policy reforms that included increased adoption of technology and removing the need for pregnant counsel to wear robes in court.

Rule 15 – Representation by Lawyer in Noel Semple (Ed.), Civil Procedure and Practice in Ontario, 2nd ed. (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2022) (co-authored with Gordon Vance)

“Pulling the Chute: Motions to Get Off the Record Pursuant to Rule 15.04”, Law Society of Upper Canada: A Litigator’s Guide to the Challenging Lawyer-Client Relationship (with Shantona Chaudhry)

“More Deference, More Problems: The Standard of Appellate Review”, Ontario Bar Association – Your First Civil Appeal, October 17, 2016 (with Shantona Chaudhry)

“Economic Duress after Bhasin v. Hyrnew: Does the Organizing Principle of Good Faith Offer a New Framework?” in Todd L. Archibald and Randall Scott Echlin, eds., Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2016 (Toronto: Thomson Carswell, 2016) (with Brandon Kain)

“When Worlds Collide: A Look At Key Issues When Simultaneously Litigating Civil and Criminal Proceedings”, For the Defence (Vol. 37, No. 1)

“Summary Judgment Motions: Where Are We Now? (An Appellate Perspective)” The Advocates’ Society Summary Judgment Motions conference, May 27, 2016 (with Tanya A. Pagliaroli)

“Honour Among Businesspeople: the Duty of Good Faith and Contracts in the Energy Sector”, (2015) 53 Alta. L. Rev. 349 (with Neil Finkelstein, Brandon Kain, and Craig Spurn) (Reproduced with permission of Alberta Law Review)

“The Art of Juggling: Defending Concurrent Criminal, Civil, and Professional Discipline Proceedings” (2014) 43 Adv. Q. (with Christopher A. Wayland)

“The Digital and Internet Age Meets the Law of Search and Seizure” as the S.C.C. Clarifies the Law on Search Warrants and Computers in R. v. Vu, (2014) Canadian Privacy Law Review, Vol. 11, No. 3

“What are the Implications of the Digital Age Meeting the Law of Search and Seizure? A Comment on R. v. Vu”, Ontario Bar Association’s Institute 2014 – Criminal Justice – Litigating a Smarter Charter, February 8, 2014

University of Toronto

JD

2009 - 2012

University of Alberta

BA (Econ/PoliSci)

2005 - 2009

Ontario Bar Association Inaugural Civil Litigation Emerging Leader Award

Ontario Bar Association

2026

Emerging Talent Litigator of the Year (Canada-wide)

Benchmark Litigation

2022

Leading Lawyers Under 40

Lexpert

2022