Overview
Nafisah Chowdhury is a lawyer practicing in employment and commercial litigation. She provides day-to-day strategic advice to businesses of all sizes on a broad range of matters, including navigating workplace issues, resolving corporate disputes, and addressing privacy law concerns. Over the course of her career with Miller Thomson, she has built a reputation as a trusted adviser who not only understands the business realities of her clients, but who can be relied upon to provide timely and practical advice.
The breadth of Nafisah’s litigation experience encompasses such areas as the enforcement of restrictive covenants, defending employers against wrongful dismissal lawsuits, and asset recovery in commercial fraud cases. She regularly appears before various Courts and Tribunals.
Nafisah completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo in 2004 and obtained her law degree from the University of Toronto in 2007. After graduating from law school, she articled with Miller Thomson and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2008. She is a past recipient of the Lexpert Rising Star award, which recognizes Canada’s leading lawyers under 40, and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in Canada for her expertise in Employment Law.
In her spare time, Nafisah is actively involved in various community projects. She is a past executive member of the Ontario Bar Association’s Labour & Employment Section, as well as a past executive member of The Advocates’ Society’s Labour & Employment Practice Group. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), the operator of Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
Professional achievements & leadership
- The Best Lawyers in Canada – Labour and Employment Law, 2024-2025
- The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - Employment Law, 2022-2023
- Lexpert Rising Star, Canada's Leading Lawyers Under 40, 2018
Thought leadership
- Presenter, “Litigation update: Guidance for employers on how to manage their workplace liabilities and claims exposure”, Canadian Lawyer Employment Law Masterclass, April 2022
- Presenter, "Motions", Ontario Bar Association CPD: Litigating An Employment File - The Essential Course, October 2020
- Co-Moderator, "Disability-Related Litigation Teleseminar", The Advocates' Society, April 2020
- Panelist, “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Cultural Competence for Legal Professionals”, Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development, June 19, 2019
- Panelist, "Witness Demeanour and Cultural Differences in the Courtroom", The Advocates Society CPD: Winning Body Language for Litigators, November 15, 2018
- Co-Presenter, "What's New in the World of Wrongful Dismissal?", Miller Thomson Client Conference, 2018
- Co-Chair, "The Inclusion Imperative: Cultural Competence Skills for Legal Professionals", Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development, April 6, 2018
- Presenter, HRPA Quarterly Employment Law Updates, HRPA Webinar Series, 2017 - 2018
- Co-Presenter, “Hot Button Issues in Employment Litigation”, Miller Thomson Webinar, October 25, 2017
- Presenter, “Update on Constructive Dismissal”, Law Society of Ontario CPD: The Six-Minute Employment Lawyer 2017, June 20, 2017
- Co-presenter, “You’re Out!”, Miller Thomson’s 2017 Labour Relations & Employment Law Conference, April 6, 2017
- Co-presenter, “Reasonable Notice and the Duty to Mitigate, A Year in Review”, Miller Thomson Client Conference, 2016
- Co-presenter, “Bhasin and Sattva: The Real World Experience One Year Later”, Corporate Counsel Professionalism Boot Camp, 2015
- Co-presenter, “Employment Law in Canada”, Lawline Webinar, 2015
- Co-presenter, “Commercial Litigation in Canada”, Lawline Webinar, 2015
- “Constructive Dismissal 101”, Miller Thomson Coffee Talk Webinar, 2015
- “Who’s Your Client? (Inadvertently) Acting for a Corporate Employee and the New Definition of ‘Client’”, Corporate Counsel Series, 2014
- “Constructive Dismissal”, Grant Thornton Annual Seminar for Charities and NPOs, 2014
- “Restrictive Covenants: Confidentiality Clauses, Non-Competition Clauses and Non-Solicitation Clauses”, Miller Thomson Client Conference, 2014
- Co-presenter, “Electronic Documents in the Litigation Process”, OBA 7th Annual Current Issues in Employment Law, March 2008
- Co-presenter, “Facebook, Myspace… Dealing with Employee Internet and Email (Ab)use”, OBA 7th Annual Current Issues in Employment Law, March 2008
- Survey of Recent Employment Law Summary Judgment Decisions Made in Ontario, Ontario Bar Association: Litigating An Employment File - The Essential Course, October 14, 2020
- Ontario Court of Appeal Clarifies Scope of ESA’s Sale of Business Provision in Context of Asset Sale, Labour and Employment Communique, December 4, 2017
- Update on Constructive Dismissal, Law Society of Upper Canada: The Six-Minute Employment Lawyer 2017, June 20, 2017
- Court Denies Entitlement to Discretionary Bonus on Termination, Labour and Employment Communiqué, March 3, 2017
- Avoiding Bonus Payments to Terminated Employees Just Got Tougher, Labour Notes, LexisNexis, September 29, 2016
- Contributing Author, Xpert HR International Manual, “Canada: Termination of Employment” Chapter 2015, 2016
- Co-author, Asset Recovery (Canada), Getting the Deal Through – Asset Recovery in 18 Jurisdictions Worldwide, 2014 and 2015
- To Litigate or Not to Litigate? Practical Pointers to Pursuing Litigation, It’s Personal (Preserving Wealth for People and Private Companies), (Volume 6, Issue 2), Thomson Reuters Carswell, May, 2013
- Co-author, Is Sunlight Always the Best Disinfectant? Practical challenges to the judicial interpretation of Canada’s ‘Access to Information’ laws, It’s Personal (Preserving Wealth for People and Private Companies),(Volume 5, Issue 2), Thomson Reuters Carswell, May, 2012
- Co-author, Norwich Orders: a Tool for Tracing and Protecting Assets When Having Fallen Victim to Fraud, Corporate Liability Journal, Vol. XVI, No. 1, 2011
- Co-author, 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, 2009
- Co-author, Ontario Energy Board Decision on Town of Essex and E.L.K. Energy Inc., 81 Admin L.R. (4th) 175, 2009
Professional memberships
- Institute of Corporate Directors
- Law Society of Ontario
- The Advocates’ Society
Bar admissions & education
- Ontario, 2008
- ICD.D, ICD-Rotman, Directors Education Program, 2023
- J.D., University of Toronto, 2007
- B.E.S. (Bachelor of Environmental Studies), University of Waterloo, 2004
