Julie Abouchar

Practice Areas

Environmental Law, Water Law, Waste Law, Indigenous Legal Issues, Energy Law, and Northern Law.

Career

Julie Abouchar is a Partner at Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP and leads the Indigenous Legal Issues practice at our firm. Julie is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as both an Indigenous Legal Issues Specialist and Environmental Law Specialist. Julie’s broad experience covers the intersection of Indigenous legal issues and natural resources, environmental, and energy law.

A formative event in Julie’s early career was serving as Assistant Commission Counsel to the Walkerton Inquiry, followed by Counsel to the Expert Panel for Safe Drinking Water for First Nations. She learned from these inquiries that thoroughly understanding complex multi-party issues from different perspectives yields solutions. Armed with this skill, Julie helps clients achieve success whether providing strategic legal advice, advocating before regulators and tribunals, or negotiating and drafting agreements.

Julie is a trained mediator and a strong advocate. Julie advises clients in Ontario, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories about Indigenous legal issues (Aboriginal law), partnerships and benefit agreements, environmental impact assessments, compliance and risk management, transactional due diligence, contaminated land, and water law.

Julie advises about resource development in Canada’s near and far North. She is co-author of Ontario Water Law, published by Canada Law Book.

Professional Memberships

Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Law Society of New Brunswick, Law Society of Northwest Territories, Law Society of Nunavut, Law Society of Ontario (Certified Specialist in Environmental Law and in Indigenous Legal Issues), Ontario Bar Association (OBA), and Ontario Water Power Association (OWA).

Publications

Abouchar, J. and McClenaghan, T., Ontario Water Law, Canada Law Book, Toronto, 2014

Various articles are posted on our website - www.willmsshier.com.

Personal

Education - B.Sc. (Hons.), Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, 1987, LL.B. and B.C.L., McGill University, 1992, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Law Society of New Brunswick, 1995, and LL.M., Environmental Law, University of London, U.K., 1995.

Rankings - The Best Lawyers in Canada - Peer selected annually for Environmental Law and Aboriginal Law, The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - Peer selected annually for Environmental Law (Consistently Recommended) and Aboriginal Law (Most Frequently Recommended), The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - Listed in the Special Edition on Energy and the Special Edition on Infrastructure, and Who's Who Legal - Listed as a Global Leader (Environment 2022) and a National Leader (Canada - Environment 2021).

Julie Abouchar is an Environmental Law Specialist and an Indigenous Legal Issues Specialist certified by The Law Society of Ontario.