Expertise
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Practice Areas:
- Bar Admissions:
- Education:
- LawVision Group (2017) Legal Project Management
- Queen's University (2012) JD (Dean's Honours List)
- University of Toronto (2008) HBA (Criminology, Sociology and Philosophy – High Distinction)
Details
- Bio
- Cases
- Associations
- Blog Posts
- News & Media
- Publications & Presentations
- Recognition
Jonathan Chen
is a partner at Lenczner Slaght.
Jonathan’s litigation practice is focused on class actions, business disputes, product liability and professional negligence matters. His clients have included financial institutions, technology companies, real estate developers and pharmaceutical companies. He has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Federal Court as well as administrative tribunals.
Prior to joining the firm, Jonathan articled and practiced at a leading national law firm where he defended banks, automotive companies, insurers, municipalities, police services boards and educational institutions. He also assisted on various class actions and was counsel on one of the first aggregate damages decisions in Canada.
While at law school, Jonathan was a Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Queen's Law Journal and a Teaching Assistant in Legal Writing and Research.
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Counsel to the defendants in a class action alleging failure to disclose foreign exchange fees in registered accounts.
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Bernstein v Peoples Trust Company
Counsel to the Defendants in a class proceeding alleging that various brands of network-branded payment cards were subject to activation, dormancy, and other fees that constitute misrepresentations, breach of contract, and breaches of various provincial consumer protection legislation and related regulations.
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Counsel to Walmart in two proposed class actions (Ontario and British Columbia) relating to the manufacturing, supply and sale of Zantac Ranitidine.
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Ramdath v George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology
Counsel to the defendant at trial and appeal in a consumer protection class action brought by former students. (Prior to joining Lenczner Slaght)
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Counsel to General Motors in defence of class actions relating to defective ignition switches and airbags. (Prior to joining Lenczner Slaght)
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City of Hamilton Judicial Inquiry
Counsel to the City of Hamilton in a Judicial Inquiry into the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
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Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc v Aon Reed Stenhouse Inc
Counsel to Jardine Lloyd Thompson in an action alleging breach of fiduciary duties, breach of contract and misappropriation of confidential information.
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Petrochemical Commercial Company International Ltd v Nexus
Counsel to individual respondents in an application relating to a worldwide and multijurisdictional Mareva injunction, including Malaysia, Cyprus and Australia.
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Counsel to the homeowners in a successful appeal to determine a question of law that the limitation period did not expire prior to the commencement of the action based on the appropriateness requirement of the discoverability provisions in the Limitations Act, 2002.
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Rovi Guides and TiVo Solutions v Bell Canada
Counsel to TiVo Solutions and its subsidiary Rovi Guides in a patent infringement action, involving patents relating to interactive television program guides, DVR technology, and related technologies.
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Canadian Bar Association
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Ontario Bar Association - Member-At-Large of the Class Actions Executive (2019-2021)
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The Advocates' Society
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Pro Bono Law Ontario - Duty Counsel
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University of Toronto - New College Career Mentorship Program
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Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers
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Recall Remedy Once Again Preferable to Class Action
History has shown that recalls for product defects are often followed by a proposed class action lawsuit. While many products cases in that context have been certified, we have now seen certification of proposed class actions being denied on the basis that there is already an effective recall campaign in place. We have seen this in Maginnis and Magnaye v FCA Canada et al and Richardson v Samsung.
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Lenczner Slaght Litigators Recognized Among the Best Lawyers in Canada
In the latest edition of Best Lawyers in Canada, 39 of our expert litigators are recognized by their peers for their expertise across 24 practice areas.
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Queen’s Wins Provincial Trial Advocacy Moot
Our expert litigators, Brian Kolenda and Jonathan Chen, coached the winning team at the 2022 Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association Cup.
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The 2022 Lexpert Directory Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Litigation Excellence
31 of our expert litigators are recognized by their peers as the foremost practitioners across 18 fields.
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Lenczner Slaght Litigators Ranked Among Best Lawyers in Canada
In the latest edition of Best Lawyers in Canada, 37 of our expert litigators are recognized for their expertise across 25 practice areas.
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Lenczner Slaght Congratulates Newest Partner: Jonathan Chen
We are proud to welcome Jonathan Chen to the partnership.
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Jonathan Chen Joins Lenczner Slaght
Canada’s leading litigation firm continues to attract top talent.
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Navigating Leave, Parenthood, and Return to Work (Part One)
The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) invited Jonathan Chen to share his perspective on balancing new parenthood and work.
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The Coles Notes on Coles: Product Recalls Can Defeat Certification
Jonathan Chen and Angela Hou co-authored an article on the decision in Coles v FCA Canada Inc., a case which further highlights the effectiveness of a thoughtful recall program initiated by the manufacturer at defeating certification. The article was published by The Lawyer's Daily.
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Obtaining the Most Favourable Outcome: Using Litigation Technology to Bolster Your Case at Trial
Jonathan Chen shared his experience and expertise in virtual trial advocacy at the CBA's upcoming program "Obtaining the Most Favourable Outcome: Using Litigation Technology to Bolster Your Case at Trial". He discussed the impact of technology on bringing a case to life and increasing the understanding of testimony and evidence.
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Remedies in Class Actions: Aggregate Damages
Jonathan Chen shared his expertise at the OBA's upcoming program titled Remedies in Class Actions: Aggregate Damages.
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Real Talk: The Life of a Litigator, Civil and Criminal Litigation
Jonathan Chen was invited to speak on episode 1 of FACL's mentorship series on what it means to be a litigator.
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13th Annual Class Actions Colloquium
Jonathan Chen shared his expertise at the OBA's 13th Annual Class Actions Colloquium. Jonathan led a panel discussion on the Latest Developments in Damages.
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Examinations for Discovery: Building Block Series
Jonathan Chen presented at The Advocates' Society's Building Block Series on Examinations for Discovery. Jonathan was invited to speak at the program's first session titled "Theory, Strategy and Preparation" where he shared his expert tips on Preparing Your Witness for Discovery.
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Jonathan Chen spoke at The Advocates' Society's program titled "Tech Hack for Litigators". Jonathan shared his expertise on the panel Taking Command of the Virtual or Electronic Courtroom.
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Jonathan Chen led the May 2020 edition of the OBA Class Actions Law monthly call-in series. Jonathan provided his expert insight on key class action decisions from the past month.
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Jonathan Chen spoke at the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers’ 13th Annual Conference on February 8. He shared his expertise on the panel discussion The Business of Law: Powering It Up on the Tech Side.
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Best Lawyers in Canada (2022-2023)
Corporate & Commercial Litigation
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Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (2022)
Litigation - Corporate Commercial
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David Sabbath Prize in Labour Law: Collective Agreements and Arbitration (2012)
Queen's University, Faculty of Law