Nate Read Ellis

Nathaniel Read-Ellis

Partner

  • He | Him | His

Nate is a business-minded litigator, focused on providing practical advice and solutions. His peers describe him as a "solid litigator and very insightful" and "very professional and [with] maturity and civility beyond his years" (Benchmark Litigation, 2023). Clients appreciate that Nate understands how their legal disputes fit into the big picture. They rely on his strategic insight and thoughtful advice to guide them through challenging situations.

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  • Featured Work

Nate is a solution-oriented advocate with a broad commercial litigation practice across a wide range of industries, including renewable energy, commercial real estate, financial services and telecommunications. His experience includes major contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, director and officer liability, insolvencies and receiverships, class actions, tax litigation and advertising litigation. Nate is an effective advocate, both in and out of the courtroom. He has delivered results for clients in private arbitrations and at all levels of court in Ontario.

For his achievements, Nate has been recognized by his peers in leading legal publications. Benchmark Litigation has identified Nate as a “Future Litigation Star” and top “40 & Under” litigator, and noting that his peers describe him as one of the "'next-generation' level of stars" and note that "[h]e is not one of these people who is blinded by ego, he is just all about, ‘How do we move this forward?’ He’s very professional and has maturity and civility beyond his years." (Benchmark Litigation, 2023). Nate is also recognized by Best Lawyers for corporate and commercial litigation.

Prior to joining Adair Goldblatt Bieber, Nate worked for several years in the litigation group at Davies Ward Philips & Vineberg LLP. He earned his law degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he continues to teach as an adjunct lecturer. As a law student, Nate received several awards recognizing his academic achievement, including the Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Prize in Contracts, the Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Award for academic excellence, and the Blakes Scholar Award. Nate has volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto.

  • Member, The Advocates’ Society
  • Adjunct Lecturer, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
  • Volunteer Big Brother, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto

Bar Admissions

  • Ontario, 2013

Education

  • JD (Honours), University of Toronto, 2012
  • BSSc (Magna Cum Laude), University of Ottawa, 2008