Nadia Jandali Chao

Nadia Jandali Chao is a Toronto-based partner at Lerners, and member of its Specialty Risk and Insurance group, Business Law group, and Privacy, Data and Information Security group. She provides trusted and strategic advice on matters relating to privacy law, health law, commercial matters, risk management, and corporate governance. 

With nearly two decades of experience in demanding and complex in-house and private practice environments, Nadia offers a unique and well-rounded perspective.  She started her career in a top-tier civil litigation practice before transitioning to in-house legal and business management roles.  Nadia held several positions, including Acting General Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Secretary, at the largest provincial health agency, Cancer Care Ontario (now Ontario Health), where she was responsible for managing the legal and privacy teams and advising the executive team and board of directors on a wide range of high-risk matters. She was accountable for CCO’s complex and highly regulated privacy program, which protected some of the most comprehensive healthcare data sets in Canada, and she was considered instrumental to the success of numerous digital and technology initiatives. She then took that experience to the private sector to act as General Counsel and Head of Privacy for a healthtech start-up in the mental health space where she built out a legal and privacy function during a period of intense growth. 

Having now returned to private practice, Nadia works with clients in both the public and private sectors on a variety of privacy matters, such as privacy program development, risk assessments, policies and procedures, training, incident management and response, as well as access to information requests, and data sharing agreements. She also advises clients on various commercial matters, including contracts, board governance, and enterprise risk management. 

Clients appreciate that Nadia is strong at forging relationships, understanding organizational dynamics and providing advice that is practical, goal-oriented and of excellent quality. She approaches each matter with the highest integrity and insight. As a former in-house counsel, Nadia understands that legal issues are only one piece of a much bigger puzzle that decision-makers must manage.

Nadia was recognized by her peers for her expertise in Privacy and Data Security Law in the 2025 and 2026 editions of Best Lawyers in Canada.  She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (Canada), issued by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and a member of the global IAPP Advisory Board (Training for Privacy and Data Protection).  Additionally, she has a Master of Laws in Privacy and Cybersecurity at Osgoode Hall Law School.