About Jonathan Lisus

Clients rely on Jonathan to handle their most difficult problems. He “has our utmost trust on critical matters” (Chambers Canada 2023). “Jonathan Lisus is in a class of his own”, “He is one of the best litigators in Canada”, “He really is brilliant: incredibly hard working, diligent and able to deal with legal issues in a creative way” (Chambers Canada 2022), “an extremely creative and brilliant lawyer”, a “hard hitting litigator”, a “master at creating compelling case theories” (Chambers Global, Chambers Canada), and “a real dynamo, who can pretty much try anything” (Benchmark Litigation). In 2020, Jonathan was named Canada’s Trial Lawyer of the Year by Benchmark Litigation.

Described by his peers as ‘the gold standard in this space, a phenomenal litigator’, for more than thirty years Jonathan has won landmark decisions across a broad variety of subject matter including competition law, constitutional law, liability of public authorities, professional liability, criminal law, financial services, franchise law and contract disputes. He has tried over 90 cases to judgment and argued over 55 appeals in provincial appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Jonathan regularly appears as Special Counsel to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in challenges to government action. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a member of the Chief Justice of Ontario’s Advisory Committee on Professionalism, and a member of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute, a select group of appointed advocates who provide pro bono peer review to counsel appearing in the Supreme Court of Canada. He maintains an active trial and appellate practice across Canada.

Known to be fearless, Jonathan is always approachable and respectful towards everyone he encounters.