Zain Naqi

he/him
T 416 645 3789 F 416 598 3730
E znaqi@lolg.ca

Zain is a business-minded litigator who combines smart advocacy with practical problem-solving. Clients count on Zain’s sharp focus and strategic insight to guide them through their most challenging situations.

Zain’s practice covers all aspects of business litigation. His experience includes oppression claims, contract and real estate disputes, director and officer liability, enforcement of indemnities and guarantees, arbitrations and injunctions. Zain has acted in precedent-setting decisions, among them, the leading case on directors’ liability for corporate oppression.

Zain has represented clients at all levels of court in Ontario, the Federal Court, and the Supreme Court of Canada. His experience extends to constitutional and public-interest litigation for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. He has developed expertise in high-profile judicial review proceedings, obtaining extraordinary remedies including mandamus orders against public authorities.

Zain has been recognized by his peers in the 2022 Edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada “Ones to Watch” in the fields of corporate/commercial litigation and administrative/public law. He is a co-author of the Chambers Global Practice Guide for Litigation in Canada.

Before joining Lax O’Sullivan, Zain clerked for the Honourable Justice Michael Moldaver at the Supreme Court of Canada and worked at a leading New York firm on significant class actions and regulatory investigations. Zain earned joint common and civil law degrees from McGill University, placing second in his class. He was editor of the McGill Law Journal and ranked nationally as the first place oralist in the Laskin Moot Competition.

Credentials

  • Called to the Ontario Bar, 2015

  • Clerkship: Justice Michael J. Moldaver of the Supreme Court of Canada

  • B.C.L. and LL.B. (Aimé Geoffrion Medal), McGill University, 2014   

  • B.A. (Honours with distinction) in Economics, Queen’s University, 2009

  • Osgoode Hall Law School Mooting Program, Coach and Instructor
  • The Best Lawyers™ in Canada: Ones to Watch, 2023: Administrative and Public Law; Corporate and Commercial Litigation
  • The Best Lawyers™ in Canada: Ones to Watch, 2022: Administrative and Public Law; Corporate and Commercial Litigation
  • McGill University Faculty of Law, Aimé Geoffrion Medal (silver medallist); F.R. Scott Prize in Constitutional Law; J.S.D. Tory Writing Award; numerous prizes for individual courses and academic achievement
  • Laskin Moot Competition, first-place oralist