Year called to bar: 1981 (ON); 2014 (NU); 2014 (NT)
Charles J. Birchall, BA (Hons), LLB, LLM, is a Law Society of Ontario certified specialist in environmental law. He has over 30 years' experience devoted exclusively to environmental law and the intersection of environmental law with Indigenous law, consultation, and economic development. He has particular expertise with environmental assessments, compliance issues, contaminated lands, and energy law. He advises clients across Canada, including environmental boards and tribunals in the northern territories, about administrative law and environmental assessment issues raised by mining, oil and gas, and energy and infrastructure projects. He provides advice on environmental aspects of corporate/commercial negotiations and transactions, and defends clients being investigated or prosecuted for breaches of environmental laws and orders. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees in the Senate and House of Commons on proposed environmental legislation. He was named by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2013 as “Lawyer of the Year” in environmental law and by The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 as “Lawyer of the Year” in Aboriginal law.
