Profile
Nafisah Chowdhury is an Associate in the firm’s litigation group. She obtained a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo in 2004 and a J.D. from the University of Toronto in 2007. Upon graduating from law school, Ms. Chowdhury articled with Miller Thomson and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2008.
Since joining the firm, Ms. Chowdhury has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and has assisted with cases before various levels of court, including Federal Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal. She has also assisted with cases before various administrative tribunals. She currently enjoys a broad litigation practice encompassing areas as diverse as wrongful dismissal actions, judicial review of administrative decisions, contractual disputes, professional discipline, and environmental remediation. Ms. Chowdhury has a particular interest in regulatory law and has assisted clients with matters involving the Ontario Energy Board. She is a member of both of the firm’s Employment Law and Electricity Law Practice Groups.
In her spare time, Ms. Chowdhury is actively involved in community outreach.
Education
- J.D., University of Toronto, 2007
- B.E.S. (Bachelor of Environmental Studies), University of Waterloo, 2004
Representative Work
- Zawislak v. Siemens Canada Limited, 2012 ONSC 1043 (brought successful summary judgment motion dismissing action for expiry of a limitation period)
- Mooney v. Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants, 2011 FC 496 (CanLII) (served as co-counsel in a successful judicial review application of three decisions made under the professional discipline rules for immigration consultants)
- Vigneault v. Brosseau, [2010] O.J. No. 1569 (ON S.C.)(successfully defended against motion to extend an ex parte interim Mareva injunction)
- Toronto District School Board v. Molson Breweries Properties Ltd., 2009 CarswellOnt 1385 (ON S.C.) (successfully defended against motion to dismiss or stay an action in a case where the registered owners of the subject property submit that they were not bound by the Education Development Levy Agreement that was registered against their property before it was purchased)
- Bank of Nova Scotia v. PCL Constructors Canada Inc., 2009 CanLII 56303 (ON S.C.) (successfully defended against motion to add cause of action following the expiry of a limitation period)
- Sierra Flower Trading Ltd. v. Floral Supply Chain International Limited et al, 2009 CanLII 64800, additional reasons at 2009 CanLII 72067 (ON S.C.), affirmed by the Ontario Divisional Court (successfully obtained judgment at trial in a breach of contract case)
Memberships
- Member, Law Society of Upper Canada
- Member, The Advocates’ Society
- Member, Ontario Bar Association
Presentations
- “Electronic Documents in the Litigation Process”, OBA 7th Annual Current Issues in Employment Law (March 2008)
- “Facebook, Myspace… Dealing with Employee Internet and Email (Ab)use”, OBA 7th Annual Current Issues in Employment Law (March 2008)
Publications
- “Is Sunlight Always the Best Disinfectant? Practical challenges to the judicial interpretation of Canada's 'Access to Information' laws”, It's Personal, v. 5, issue 2, p. 17 (Toronto: Carswell, May 2012)
- “Norwich Orders: a Tool for Tracing and Protecting Assets When Having Fallen Victim to Fraud”, Corporate Liability Journal, Vol. XVI, No. 1, pp. 953-955 (2011)
- “OEB Decision on Town of Essex and E.L.K. Energy Inc. on the Sale of Voting Shares will Have Implications for Local Distribution Companies”, EDA The Distributor (April/May 2009)
- “Ontario Energy Board Decision on Town of Essex and E.L.K. Energy Inc.”, 81 Admin L.R. (4th) 175 (March 2009)
- “Should Engineers give Legal Opinions?”, EDA The Distributor (November 2007)
Industry Expertise
Key Practice Expertise
Year of Call
- Ontario Bar, 2008