Arbutus Law Group
Our team practices primarily in the field of Aboriginal Law, with a particular focus on governance. We act for Indigenous governments, communities, and organizations. With regret, we do not act for individuals.
Our Name
In Canada, the arbutus tree is found on the West Coast of the British Columbia mainland and on Vancouver Island. The arbutus tree, sometimes referred to as the Tree of Knowledge, is associated with integrity, strength, and resilience. It is highly adaptable – its branches twist and turn to find the sunlight, resulting in its distinctive shape. We aim to incorporate the qualities of the arbutus tree in our work.
Our Logo
Our logo was created by Mike Dangeli, a highly regarded Indigenous artist residing in Vancouver.
The arbutus tree – Tree of Knowledge – sits in the centre of the circle, representing the qualities of integrity, strength, creativity, adaptability, and resilience that inspire our work.
Surrounding the circle are four animals – from the top left, the eagle, wolf, frog, and killer whale. Each animal represents one of the four founding partners of Arbutus Law Group LLP, the predecessor to Arbutus Law Group. Kathryn Deo, Principal, chose the frog. Frogs symbolize adaptability, knowledge, abundance, and renewal, and are often represented as communicators.
Each quadrant of the circle contains the symbol of a person and a hand. The people represent our clients and the communities we serve, and the hands represent the sharing of knowledge.
Green Policy
As a firm, we are committed to making choices that reduce our impact on the environment. We want to tread lightly and leave as small a footprint as possible. To this end, we have adopted the following practices:
- We are paperless: we save documents electronically, and when possible we send documents electronically rather than by mail
- We try to purchase goods and services from local suppliers in order to minimize carbon emissions from transportation
- We purchase energy-efficient equipment whenever possible
- We reduce our energy consumption by turning off, unplugging, or putting into standby mode lights, computers and other equipment that are not in use
- When making purchases, we choose sustainable and low-impact products wherever possible, giving preference to recycled, reusable and biodegradable products
- When products can no longer be reused, we recycle them