Sarah’s legal expertise is in general commercial litigation. She has represented individuals, government, industry, and First Nations in a wide-variety of commercial disputes including breach of contract and tort claims, criminal and quasi-criminal environmental defense matters, contaminated sites, judicial reviews and shareholder and other corporate disputes. She has appeared throughout western Canada in several courts including the Alberta Court of Appeal, Queens Bench, and Provincial Court, the BC Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, and Provincial Court, and the Supreme Court of Yukon.
With over 20 years of practice, she has specialized in the areas of environmental and Aboriginal law. She represents clients in complex commercial litigation matters in relation to various energy projects (both fossil fuel and renewable energy) focusing on regulatory and administrative law, contractual disputes, extra-provincial regulatory regimes, industry standards, sustainable energy practices, climate change and environmental compliance issues. She has experience in various sectors including wind energy, forestry, electricity, mining, oil and gas, eco-tourism, organics composting, bio-gas and run-of-river hydro projects. She has represented clients in environmental defense matters, in respect of both federal and provincial charges.
She has represented parties in cost recovery claims, reclamation and remediation of complex contaminated sites, and the purchase and sale of the contaminated sites includ-ing residential, commercial, and industrial properties. She has worked with regulatory authorities and several municipalities on various legal challenges.
With respect to Aboriginal law, Sarah represents clients in matters relating to land claims, environmental assessment processes, judicial reviews and injunctions and various other issues concerning consultation with and accommodation of First Nations in relation to energy projects.
Sarah is called in Alberta (2000), BC (2005) and the Yukon (2010). She is a past Exec-utive Member at Large of the National Energy, Environment and Resource Law Section (NEERLS), 2017-2023 and a past Executive Member at Large, CBA, BC Branch, Environmental Law, 2008-2011.
She is the Chair of Miller Thomson’s Indigenous Reconciliation Committee and a member of the Business Development Committee and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Sarah is the recipient of the following awards:
- Benchmark Canada, Litigation Star: Aboriginal, Environmental, General Commer-cial, 2017-2021
- Viscount Bennett Fellowship Award, 2004
- Campbell McLaurin Achievement Award (Silver Medal ion), 1999
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Indigenous Law, 2021; Environmental Law, 2023
Updated April 2024
