Nicole Henderson (she, her, hers) Partner | Toronto

About Nicole

Nicole litigates class actions and other complex disputes, including in the areas of cybersecurity, product liability, and competition. She also practises public law, including constitutional, administrative, regulatory and freedom of information matters.

In her cybersecurity practice, Nicole frequently advises organizations dealing with a data breach or information security incident. She also represents defendants in privacy class actions and regulatory investigations arising out of cybersecurity incidents.

In addition to defending competition class actions, Nicole's competition litigation practice includes contentious merger reviews and other criminal and civil litigation under the Competition Act.

Prior to joining Blakes, Nicole clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal.

Select Experience

Counsel to an investment firm in a class action relating to alleged privacy breaches, successfully opposing the plaintiffs' motion for certification (upheld by the Ontario Divisional Court)
Counsel to a gaming facility and public-sector entity in a privacy class action arising out of a cyberattack, successfully opposing the plaintiffs' motion for certification
Trial and appellate counsel to a leading energy services company in a C$2.3-billion enterprise value merger before the Competition Tribunal and the Federal Court of Appeal, including successfully opposing multiple applications to block closing of the transaction
Trial counsel to an insurer in a national class action relating to business interruption claims in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (named one of Lexpert's Top 10 Business Decisions of 2023)
Member of the trial team in the first medical products class action to go to trial in Ontario (146 trial days), which obtained a trial ruling dismissing the action against one of the world's leading manufacturers of life-saving cardiac devices in a national class action claiming more than C$1-billion in damages, alleging negligent design, testing and warning
Counsel to a defendant in a competition class action seeking approximately C$1.4-billion in damages, successfully obtaining summary judgment prior to certification on the basis of the regulated conduct defence (upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal)
Counsel to a leading engineering and technology firm in several consumer protection class actions relating to diesel emissions, successfully opposing motions for certification
Counsel to an intervenor in the Supreme Court of Canada in an appeal concerning the scope of the duty of honest performance of contractual obligations
Counsel to a public-sector procuring entity in a judicial review application challenging its debarment of a contractor, successfully opposing the application (named one of Lexpert's Top 10 Business Decisions of 2018)
Lead counsel to a national railway company in a successful statutory appeal of a decision of the Canadian Transportation Agency
Lead counsel to a leading manufacturer of heavy equipment, successfully obtaining early summary judgment in a product liability case seeking over C$7-million in damages
Counsel on a judicial review application under the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act addressing the scope of the third party information exemption

Awards & Recognition

In 2023, Nicole was named a Lexpert Rising Star, one of Canada's leading lawyers aged 40 and under. She has also been recognized in the following publications:

Chambers Canada Legal Guide 2025 (Privacy & Data Protection)
The Best Lawyers in Canada (2025: Administrative and Public Law; 2021–2025: Class Action Litigation, Competition/Antitrust Law, Product Liability Law)
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2025: Competition Law, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity; 2021–2025: Class Actions, Litigation – Product Liability; 2021–2024: Data Protection & Privacy)
Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers – 2019–2024 – Independently Rated Lawyers (As nominated by senior in-house counsel)
Benchmark Canada's 40 & Under List – 2019–2023
Lexpert Special Edition: Life Sciences 2023
Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys – 2019–2023 (Future Star)
Global Data Review 40 Under 40 2021 (Recognized as an individual who represents the best of the upcoming generation of data lawyers)

Professional Activities

Nicole is a past chair of the Ontario Bar Association's Class Actions Section Executive, having served on the Executive from 2014 to 2022. She is a member of The Advocates' Society, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Defence Research Institute and the International Association of Defence Counsel.

Nicole sits on the Firm's Pro Bono Committee, and has acted pro bono on a variety of matters. She is also the director of the Wilson Moot, a national law school mooting competition which focuses on constitutional law issues affecting equity-deserving groups.

Professional Appearances

Speaker : Top Class Action Cases and Trends in Canada
Blakes Business Class Seminar, December 12, 2023.
Speaker : Proactive Litigation Management
Blakes Business Class Seminar, September 24, 2023.
Speaker : AI! AI? AI. Oh?!?: AI Is ‘Intelligent’ but Is It Fair? Unbiased? Non-Discriminatory? Legal and Business Resolutions to Implementing This Intelligent Tool
2023 Annual Meeting, International Association of Defence Counsel, Waimea, Hawaii, July 12, 2023.
Panellist : Privacy and Mandatory Reporting Compliance
Compliance Transformation Conference, George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario, May 3, 2023.
Speaker : Post-Data Breach – Evolving Best Practice
Property and Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation Webinar, March 22, 2023.
Speaker : Cybersecurity Trends 2022
Responsible Distribution Canada Semi Annual Meeting, Brampton, Ontario, November 2, 2022.
Speaker : Cybersecurity Considerations for Pension and Benefit Plans
Blakes Business Class Webinar, October 20, 2022.
Panellist : Developments in Regulatory & Criminal Antitrust Enforcement
Lex Mundi Litigation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution North America Practice Group Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, September 30, 2022.
Co-speaker : Cybercrimes Are Evolving: Are You?
Episode 22, Blakes Sound Business Podcast, August 3, 2022.