About Alex Zavaglia

Alex Zavaglia is a Toronto litigator who defends businesses, along with their directors and officers, when shareholder suits or price-fixing claims arrive as class actions. Alex has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Securities Commission.

A University of Toronto law graduate called to the Ontario bar in 2009, Alex was named a partner in Gowling WLG's Toronto commercial litigation group in January 2017, one of 19 new partners the firm announced that month, and now works in its Advocacy department.

Beyond class actions, the practice covers securities disputes, competition and antitrust cases and general commercial litigation. People and companies facing a regulator's investigation into fraud, insider trading or illegal distributions have had Alex in their corner. Alex also served on the Gowling WLG team acting for Ernst & Young Inc. in the appeal of its oppression claim during the Essar Steel Algoma restructuring, work the 2018 Benchmark Canada Awards honoured as one of four Impact Cases of the Year.

At the firm, Alex sits on project teams that follow new developments in class action, competition and securities litigation, and has written on subjects ranging from punitive damages under Ontario's secondary market liability rules to OSC whistleblower rewards.

Practice areas

Class Actions Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Class action defence

Defending class actions is a core part of Alex's work, with files involving alleged price-fixing conspiracies, securities misrepresentation and negligence. Alex defended Penn West Petroleum, together with current and former directors and officers, against several shareholder class actions in Canada.

Securities litigation and regulatory matters

Alex handles securities cases on the civil and the regulatory side, covering misrepresentation, shareholder disputes, illegal distributions and fraud. At the OSC, Alex acted for activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC in an urgent proceeding challenging a TSX decision.

Competition and antitrust

Competition and antitrust litigation is part of the practice. That work has included defending a Taiwanese maker of LCD panels in price-fixing class actions brought in several jurisdictions.

Commercial disputes

Alex also takes on general commercial litigation, from contract disputes to tort claims such as defamation.

Our guide: Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Toronto

Education & credentials

  • JD, University of Toronto Law School
  • BA (Hons.), York University
  • Called to the bar of Ontario (2009)

Notable cases

  • Parsons et al. and Fund Counsel for Ontario v. Ontario et al. (Hepatitis C settlement), SCC file 36456

    Alex Zavaglia and John E. Callaghan of Gowling WLG appeared for the appellant Fund Counsel for Ontario in an appeal over whether an Ontario judge supervising the 1986 to 1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement could sit outside Ontario with counterparts from other provinces without a video link to an Ontario courtroom. The Court allowed the appeal without costs and restored the original order of Winkler C.J.O.

  • Actava TV, Inc. v. Matvil Corp., 2021 ONCA 105

    Alex Zavaglia and Clifford Cole acted for the appellant Matvil Corp., a non-party ordered to produce confidential financial and valuation documents to help experts in a U.S. action calculate damages. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada later dismissed an application for leave to appeal, with costs.

Decisions where Alex Zavaglia appeared as counsel, from public court records. Past cases don't predict future results.

Publications & speaking

Memberships & affiliations

Is this you?

Fix or remove this listing, or add a free listing badge

Something wrong with this listing? Tell us and we’ll hide it right away while we review your request, then correct it or take it down.

Correct this listing Request removal

Add your free listing badge

Add the free LawOnline listing badge to your website. It tells visitors you’re listed in an independent Canadian lawyer directory and links back to this profile. Being listed isn’t a certification or an endorsement, and the badge doesn’t mean we’ve checked your credentials.

LawOnline.ca Canadian Lawyer Directory listing badge

This listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on their firm’s website. Confirm Alex Zavaglia’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗

How this data is compiled and checked · Correct or remove this listing

Call now Visit website