Reem Zaia
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.Partner at Gowling WLG
- Called to the bar
- 2016
- Languages
- English, Arabic, French
Administrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawAbout Reem Zaia
Reem Zaia is a partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office and the firm's White Collar/Criminal Defence Lead. Zaia defends people accused in the criminal courts as well as those facing regulatory or administrative proceedings. The litigation side of the practice also takes in professional liability, constitutional and national security cases, and it's common for files to involve allegations of sexual impropriety, whether civil, criminal or quasi-criminal. Zaia works in English, Arabic and French.
Courtroom experience runs from the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice up to the Court of Appeal, along with matters before the Supreme Court of Canada. Zaia's also appeared in front of bodies like the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, and takes on corporate investigation mandates. Outside the courtroom, clients get advice on privacy and on government relations.
Windsor is Zaia's hometown. From 2008 to 2015, Zaia worked as a political aide and parliamentary researcher for two MPs, one of them a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. While studying at the University of Ottawa, Zaia clerked for Ontario Court of Justice judges, including Justice Charles Vaillancourt in the Senator Michael Duffy case, then articled with the Crown in Windsor. In 2014 Zaia and moot partner Sarah Sullivan won the Sopinka Cup, a first for the faculty, and Zaia was named Best Overall Advocate. After a call to the Ontario bar in 2016 and an LL.M. at the University of Toronto as the Nathan Strauss Q.C. Fellow, Zaia practised criminal and regulatory law at a Toronto litigation firm before coming to Gowling WLG in 2018.
Government work came back into the picture in 2022 to 2023, when Zaia was Director of Policy and Legal Affairs to the Honourable Marco Mendicino, then Minister of Public Safety, working alongside the RCMP, CSIS, the Canada Border Services Agency and others on legislative reform and litigation. Zaia also teaches part time at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, where the upper-year seminar "Extremism in Canada" was Zaia's co-creation, and publishes on national security and criminal law. The County of Carleton Law Association gave Zaia its Regional Senior Justice Award in 2023. Away from work, Zaia's often been found running and watching debates on CPAC.
Practice areas
White collar and criminal defence
Defends accused people in the criminal justice system and in regulatory and administrative settings, as the firm's White Collar/Criminal Defence Lead.
Regulatory and tribunal work
Appears before regulatory and administrative bodies such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. Zaia's work more broadly regularly involves files with allegations of sexual impropriety, whether civil, criminal or quasi-criminal.
Constitutional, national security and appellate litigation
Litigates constitutional and national security matters, with counsel work at every level of Ontario court and before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Privacy, government relations and investigations
Advises on privacy and government relations files and handles corporate investigation mandates.
Education & credentials
- LLM (Nathan Strauss Q.C. Fellowship in Canadian Constitutional Law), University of Toronto (2017)
- JD, University of Ottawa (2015)
- B.Soc. (Hons.), University of Ottawa (2011)
- Called to the bar of Ontario (2016)
- Called to the bar of British Columbia (2026)
Awards & recognition
- Regional Senior Justice Award, County of Carleton Law Association (2023)
- Best Overall Advocate, Sopinka Cup, The Advocates' Society and the American College of Trial Lawyers (2014)
Publications & speaking
- Awakening Section 8 in Wakeling: Legal Implications on Wiretap Intercepts, Intelligence Sharing and Beyond, UBC Law Review (2017)
- Mental Health Experts in Terrorism Cases: Reclaiming the Status of Rehabilitation as a Sentencing Principle, Criminal Law Quarterly (2017)
- On Pardons and Miscarriages of Justice: Extracting and Dissecting Institutional Bias from the Conviction Review Framework in Canada, UBC Law Review (2016)
- Navigating Concurrent Legal Proceedings for Regulated Professionals, Ontario Bar Association, Health Law Section (2025)
Memberships & affiliations
- Canadian Association of Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS): Member of the Board of Directors.
- Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Society (TSAS): Non-academic affiliate.
- Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa: Member.
- The Advocates' Society: Member.
- Women's White Collar Defence Association: Member.
- County of Carleton Law Association: Member.
In the community
- Served on the Sopinka Cup Executive Committee from 2016 to 2018.
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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 Reem Zaia’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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