Sean Nixon

Lawyer

Email: snixon@woodwardandcompany.com

Profile

Sean Nixon (and his trusty side-kick Tessa) recently re-joined Woodward and Company, after spending several years working for Ecojustice Canada (formerly called Sierra Legal Defence Fund) in Vancouver.  Sean graduated from the University of Victoria Faculty of Law in 2000, and then went on to clerk with the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Court of Queen's Bench. He was called to the British Columbia bar in March of 2002.

When Sean was previously with Woodward & Company, he served as a member of the legal team for the Tsilhqot'in Nation in their historic aboriginal rights and title case, Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, 2007 BCSC 1700.

While at Ecojustice, Sean served as lead counsel for a coalition of environmental groups in a series of successful cases challenging the federal approval of the Kearl oil sands mining project in north-eastern Alberta (e.g. Pembina Institute et al. v. Attorney General of Canada et al., 2008 FC 302). Sean was also the lead author of a report outlining a principled framework for new provincial endangered species legislation.

Professional Standing:

Member, Law Society of Alberta (2011)
Member, Law Society of B.C. (2002 )

Selected Cases, Publications, Papers & Presentations:

The Last Place on Earth: British Columbia needs a law to protect species from habitat loss and global warming (Ecojustice, David Suzuki Foundation, ForestEthics and Wilderness Committee: October 2008). Sean Nixon, Devon Page and Susan Pinkus.
“The Kearl Oil Sands Cases: climate change in environmental assessment and in the courts.” In Stanley Berger and Dianne Saxe, eds., Key Developments in Environmental Law 2008-2009 (Canada Law Book: June 2009).

Other Activities:

Sean is an avid cyclist, hiking enthusiast, and outdoor adventurer. He has a canned luncheon meat collection (don’t ask).