Gordon Vance

Gordon is a litigator at Ross Nasseri. He is well-versed in civil and regulatory law and has a diverse practice that includes acting as counsel on complex commercial proceedings, property and estates disputes, and disciplinary hearings before various tribunals. He is also building an appeal practice and appears routinely before the Divisional Court and Court of Appeal. Gordon has experience as trial counsel in civil and criminal proceedings and has amassed sixteen reported decisions across all levels of court in Ontario. He has steered clients through successful mediations and has been lead counsel in complex cases including successfully resisting an injunction, multiple motions to strike a claim, and an appeal concerning alleged fraudulent conveyances.

Before joining Ross Nasseri, Gordon gained valuable courtroom experience serving as an Assistant Crown Attorney in London, Ontario. He completed his articles by clerking with the judges of the Superior Court of Justice. During his clerkship, Gordon assisted several Ontario judges with a wide variety of cases including commercial disputes, professional negligence matters, and judicial review applications. Before his clerkship, Gordon also worked as a student at Polley Faith where he gained experience assisting lawyers with several civil cases including providing support on trials and hearings.

Gordon graduated with a J.D. /M.B.A. with honours, and on the Dean’s List, from the University of Toronto in 2019. He was awarded several prizes and accolades including the Gerald W. Schwartz Gold Medal for the highest overall average in his program, the Bregman Scholar award from the Rotman School of Management, and prizes for the top grades in administrative law and contract law.

Before law school, Gordon completed a Bachelor of Arts (with distinction) and Masters of Arts at the University of Western Ontario.

In his spare time, Gordon volunteers at Cancer Care Ontario, where he represents the interests of cancer patients on provincial committees, working groups, and research funding panels.

Decisions

• Information and Privacy Commissioner Order PO-4398 re: Appeals PA 20-00171 and PA20-00787 Financial Services Regulatory Authority, 2023 CanLII 49384 (ON IPC) – successfully appealed decisions of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario to deny access to a Notice of Proposal from the Fortress syndicated mortgage prosecutions
• Jacobs et al. v. McGee, 2023 ONSC 2765, 2023 ONSC 3427; successfully resisted an urgent Norwich order, obtained a costs order in favour of client on a substantial indemnity basis
• Kawa v. 1Plus12 Corporation, 2023 ONSC 6527, 2023 ONSC 1069; counsel in successfully resisting the majority of relief sought in multiple motions to strike a claim concerning a real estate fraud scheme; successfully resisted leave to appeal motion at Divisional Court
• Ontario Securities Commission v. Carmerlengo Holdings Inc., 2023 ONCA 93 rev’g 2023 ONSC 22; counsel on a case concerning whether transfers of assets at a pre-creditor stage could be attacked as fraudulent conveyances
• Lee v. 964988 Ontario Inc., 2022 ONSC 3687; lead counsel in successfully defending an injunction in a commercial property dispute
• Binscarth Holdings LP v. Grant Anthony, 2022 ONSC 3426, 2022 ONSC 5526; counsel on a motion for leave to commence a derivative action on behalf of a limited partnership
• Mansteel v. Katebian et al., 2021 ONSC 5273, 2022 ONSC 731; successfully obtained security for costs on a pay-as-you-go basis against a corporate plaintiff in a multi-million dollar action alleging fraud and conspiracy, secured costs in favour of client for the motion
• Raghurai v. Chung, 2021 ONSC 5004; counsel on a summary judgment motion arising from a real estate joint venture dispute
• Espartel Investments Limited v. Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation No. 993, 2024 ONCA 18 – counsel on an appeal concerning the discoverability doctrine and what constitutes reasonable diligence when assessing the limitation period applicable to a contract claim arising from a utility sharing agreement between a condominium corporation and a hotel
• Skymark Properties Corporation, Inc. v. 63263101 Canada Inc., 2023 ONCA 861 – counsel on an appeal concerning the letters rogatory doctrine and the evidence required to enforce a request for enforcement from a foreign court
• Bayliss v. Burnham, 2023 ONSC 7161 – counsel on two successful motions, one to compel third-party productions from a major tobacco company, and one to obtain leave to examine two non-parties for discovery

Firm

• Best Law Firms in Canada 2025 - Tier 1 Nationally for Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Tier 1 in Toronto for Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Administrative and Public Law, Appellate Practice
• Chambers Canada 2025: Highly Regarded firm in Commercial Litigation in Ontario (2024)
• Lexpert: Recognized as a Consistently Recommended firm for Corporate/Commercial Litigation (2024)
• Lexpert: Repeatedly Recommended firm for Professional Liability by Lexpert (2024)
• Lexpert: Who’s Who Bullseye for leading firms in Civil Litigation (2024)
• Lexpert: Who’s Who Bullseye for leading firms in Commercial Litigation (2024)
• Benchmark Litigation: Leading litigation firm in Canada (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• RN LLP recognized in The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Best Law Firms list for Dispute Resolution (Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations) (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)

• Lucas v. Semelhago: Is it Open Season for Specific Performance? in Justice Darla A. WIlson (ed.), Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2024 (Thomson Reuters) (co-authored with Sara Romeih and Daniel Milton)
• Rule 15 – Representation by Lawyer in Noel Semple (Ed.), Civil Procedure and Practice in Ontario, 2nd ed. (Canadian Legal Information Institute, 2022) (co-authored with Justin Nasseri)

• Speaker, "The Six-Minute Debtor-Creditor and Insolvency Lawyer 2024", Law Society of Ontario (October 16, 2024)
• Presenter: “Keeping Current for Civil Litigators”, The Ontario Bar Association, February 27, 2024