Terrance (Yuan) Li

About Terrance (Yuan) Li

Business disputes sit at the centre of Terrance Li's work as an associate in Gowling WLG's Advocacy group. Contract claims, shareholder matters and regulatory problems are the daily fare, for clients in Canada and abroad, and Li's focus also takes in arbitration (both international and domestic), insurance and professional liability, and entertainment and sports law.

Li isn't new to legal practice. Before being called to the Ontario bar in 2025, Li spent close to ten years practising in Beijing. That career started in-house, as legal counsel to a carbon and energy advisory firm, and then turned mostly to the sports and entertainment world and the wider technology, media and telecom sector. That work included media rights and licensing deals, along with copyright and competition litigation and investment, shareholder and contract disputes, on matters involving global rights holders, sports organizations, consumer brands and online media platforms.

Ahead of joining the firm, Li was vice president of the Toronto Rush, the city's team in the Ultimate Frisbee Association, working on new revenue, investment and the club's brand. There was also a research role at York University's Glendon campus, helping start-ups commercialize their ideas. In 2026 The Advocates' Society gave Li its David Stockwood Memorial Prize, an award for advocacy writing, for the article Pricing the Right to Say No: Barry and Settlement Risk.

Sport runs through life outside the office too. Li plays basketball and ultimate, and suited up for York University at the Canadian University Ultimate Championships while studying at Osgoode. Giving back matters here: there's a seat on the KidSport Canada board, which supports kids' social, mental and physical well-being, plus a spot on the Richmond Hill Sport Hall of Fame Committee. Clients can work with Li in English or Mandarin.