Arbutus Law Group

Our team practices primarily in the field of Aboriginal Law – the area of Canadian law that applies to Indigenous peoples in Canada. When we are invited to do so, we work with our clients to incorporate their Indigenous laws, customs and legal orders into the work we do for them.

Our primary focus is governance.

We act for Indigenous governments, communities, and organizations. With regret, we do not act for individuals.

We acknowledge that we are guests on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Indigenous Peoples in what is now called Canada. As guests, we act with the good intention to build respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples. We do our best to be respectful not only to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, but to their territories, and to all of the lands, animals, plants and natural resources within those territories.

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.




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 send, store and receive documents through secure platforms.
  • We limit our travel as much as possible – we work and attend most meetings remotely. When travel is required, we try to combine trips to reduce our footprint, and we purchase carbon offsets.
  • 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, energy-efficient and low-impact products wherever possible, giving preference to recycled, reusable and biodegradable products
    • we try to purchase goods and services from local suppliers to minimize carbon emissions from transportation.
  • Wherever possible, we fix products rather than replacing them.
  • When products can no longer be reused, we recycle them.


Our Logo

Our logo was created by Lou-ann Neel, an award-winning Kwagiulth artist from the Kwakwaka’wakw (“Kwakwala-speaking people”). Lou-ann comes from a family of artists on both sides of her family, and draws upon the ancient forms that comprise Kwakwaka’wakw design in all her works – traditional and contemporary. We thank her for this beautiful piece of art.

Our logo includes the arbutus tree and the tree frog, each of whom embodies qualities that inspire our work and guide our practice.

The arbutus tree represents integrity, strength, creativity, adaptability, and resilience.

The tree frog symbolizes adaptability, knowledge, abundance, renewal, and effective communication skills.



We acknowledge and honour the Indigenous Peoples on whose traditional, ancestral and unceded lands we live and work.  Thank you to the lək̓ʷəŋən-, SENĆOŦEN-, and Klallam-speaking peoples of the area that is now known as Victoria, BC; the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking people of the area that is now known as Vancouver, BC; and the Kanyen'kéha-speaking people of the area now known as Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec.