I support organizations to engage in good governance by advising on their legal obligations, helping clarify roles and responsibilities, and helping organizations develop governance structures and practices that work well for their purpose and operations. My approach begins with understanding the organization’s context and designing strategies and solutions based on that understanding.

To this practice area, I bring extensive board governance experience spanning well over a decade, including many years in board leadership roles. I also have deep knowledge of governance from professional experience before I became a lawyer, including experience with a distinguished national governance think tank that provides governance advice internationally and experience running my own governance consulting practice before and during law school.

I advise non-profit societies, charities, and businesses, including values-driven businesses. This work can also include advising Nation-owned corporations, development entities, cultural enterprises, impact businesses, and partnership structures, as well as governance processes that support economic development.

My services in this practice area may include:

• Organizational structuring and formation, including societies, charities, sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives, and incorporated companies, including benefit corporations and community contribution companies.
• Governance design and support, including constitutions, bylaws, policies, procedures, and practice advice.
• Board director and officer advice, including fiduciary duties, roles and responsibilities, and legal risk management advice.
• Regulatory and compliance matters, including records and reporting obligations.
• Supporting organizations through growth, transition, conflict, and governance change.
• Charities and charitable status, including governance and compliance considerations for organizations seeking charitable registration and for registered charities.

In public-facing, values-driven organizations, good governance is part of how trust is built and maintained. To this work, I bring experience where environmental, social, and governance issues were central to my work, including in connection with resource development oversight, impacts to communities, and negotiated monitoring and benefit arrangements. I also advise organizations where legal strategy intersects with public campaigns, social movements, and public scrutiny.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations often show up in organizational life as governance questions: what commitments are being made, who is accountable for them, how they will be implemented, and what structures will make them real rather than aspirational. Where it is within scope of a legal retainer, I can advise on how ESG considerations intersect with legal and governance obligations and how they can be reflected in governance documents, agreements, and organizational practices in a way that supports credibility and accountability.