Justin Nasseri

Practice Areas

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

Career

Justin Nasseri is an experienced trial and appeal lawyer and a co-founder of Ross Nasseri LLP. He has a significant track record of success in complex commercial, regulatory, and professional liability matters. He is also a go-to litigator for civil or regulatory proceedings where there is a parallel criminal law component. Clients trust Justin’s advice because of his breadth of experience and battle-tested instincts and judgment. He has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in Ontario, numerous arbitral panels, and administrative tribunals including the Financial Services Tribunal, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, and the Discipline Committees of several Ontario health colleges.

Justin has been widely recognized for his accomplishments as a lawyer, including being ranked in Chambers and Partners for general commercial litigation, receiving the Lexpert Rising Star – Leading Lawyer Under 40 award, and winning the Emerging Talent Litigator of the Year for Canada from Benchmark Litigation in 2022. He has been ranked as a leading litigator by Lexpert (Consistently Recommended in Corporate Commercial Litigation), Benchmark Litigation (Litigation Star), and Best Lawyers (Corporate and Commercial Litigation and Administrative and Public Law). According to Chambers’ research, Justin has been described as “a client-first type of lawyer and…a great advocate”, and a “dedicated, driven and passionate advocate.” One client remarked that Justin is “smart, capable and a real leader. His client service is a cut above…” 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’s wins include resisting an urgent Norwich motion for which he secured substantial indemnity costs in favour of his client, and resisted a leave to appeal motion at the Divisional Court, overturning an unprecedented $9M judgment as a sanction for contempt at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, winning a significant commercial property trial over the sale of a religious institution, resisting the appeal of a jury verdict in a significant medical malpractice case, and 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 also 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.

Before co-founding Ross Nasseri LLP, Justin trained with the leading litigation firms McCarthy Tétrault and Pape Barristers (now Pape Chaudhury LLP). He graduated with a JD from the University of Toronto, and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science with First Class Honours from the University of Alberta.

Publications

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

Work Highlights

-Bayliss v. Burnham, 2024 ONCA 464; successfully defended third-party production motion from 2023 ONSC 7161, described below

Law Society of Ontario v. Kazembe, 2024 ONLSTH 10; successfully defended a lawyer at the Law Society Tribunal Hearing Division on several allegations of harassment and discriminatory conduct

-Espartel Investments Limited v. Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation NO. 993, 2024 ONCA 18 – counsel on an appeal concerning the discoverability doctrine and what constitutes reasonable diligence when assessing the limitation period applicable to a contract claim arising from a utility sharing agreement between a condominium corporation and a hotel

-Bayliss v. Burnham, 2023 ONSC 7161 – counsel on two successful motions, one to compel third-party productions from a major tobacco company, and one to obtain leave to examine two non-parties for discovery

-Ontario (College of Massage Therapists of Ontario) v. Registrant R; successfully defended a massage therapist against sexual abuse allegations

-Nobul Technologies Inc. v. Reed, 2023 ONSC 7514 – counsel for defendants to counterclaim who supported a successful motion to have an international law firm removed as counsel of record for a conflict of interest

-Jacobs et al. v. McGee, 2023 ONSC 2765, 2023 ONSC 3427, 2023 ONSC 4394 (Div Ct); successfully resisted an urgent Norwich order, obtained a costs order in favour of client on a substantial indemnity basis, and defeated the leave to appeal application from the motion decision at Divisional Court

-Information and Privacy Commissioner Order PO-4398 re: Appeals PA 20-00171 and PA20-00787 Financial Services Regulatory Authority, 2023 CanLII 49384 (ON IPC) – successfully appealed decisions of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario to deny access to a Notice of Proposal from the Fortress syndicated mortgage prosecutions

-Kawa v. 1Plus12 Corporation et al., 2022 ONSC 6527; counsel in successfully resisting the majority of relief sought in multiple motions to strike a claim concerning a real estate fraud scheme

-Law Society of Ontario v. Ali, 2022 ONLSTH 101; counsel to a member in a discipline hearing; negotiated a brief suspension for member in a decision in which the member’s “remarkable efforts” at restitution were lauded by the Law Society Tribunal

-Rubner et al. v. Bistricer et al., 2022 ONSC 4489; counsel to an ETDL obtaining a motion under Rule 45 for the return of jewellery at issue in a will challenge

-Thrive Capital Management Ltd. v. Noble 1324, 2021 ONCA 722; retained as appellate counsel; successful in overturning a decision from the Commercial List to grant final judgment of $9M as sanction for contempt of court

-Mansteel v. Katebian et al., 2021 ONSC 5273; successfully obtained security for costs on a pay-as-you-go basis against a corporate plaintiff in a multi-million dollar action alleging fraud and conspiracy

-Canadian Constitution Foundation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 ONSC 1224; successfully acted for intervener in a constitutional challenge to amendments to the Canada Elections Act on the basis of unfair infringements on free speech rights

-Stubbs v. College of Psychologists of Ontario, 2021 CanLII 37 (HPARB); acted for applicant in a review concerning registration guidelines at the College of Psychologists of Ontario

Awards