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Alan has an extensive litigation and regulatory practice including 12 years as a prosecutor in the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office and over 20 years at two large business law firms. He has experience in federal legislation, policies, and policy-making processes pertaining to fisheries regulation and aquaculture, and practices in hazardous waste and waste management, contaminated sites and redevelopment, environmental permitting, environmental impact assessments, product stewardship programs, WorkSafeBC prevention and assessment decisions and policies, and land use planning law. He has represented parties in administrative tribunals, including public inquiries and regulatory boards, as well as in the B.C. Supreme Court and Provincial Court, the Nunavut Court of Justice, and the Federal Court of Canada.

During his last six years as a prosecutor, he was one of the five environmental prosecutors with the shared responsibility of prosecuting all major environmental infractions undertaken by the Province of British Columbia, including individuals, private corporations, crown corporations, and various levels of government. As one of the original two members of this group, Alan was involved in the evolution of environmental enforcement in the province. He was responsible for drafting the enforcement training manual which has been used, predominately, by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Forests and has lectured these groups on a number of occasions.

Alan also practices extensively in the area of occupational health and safety law. He has frequently been called upon to provide advice with respect to industrial accidents involving serious injuries to workers. Alan also defends clients charged under Provincial and Federal health and safety legislation and has acted for clients across Canada and in the northern territories. He draws on this experience when advising clients on how to achieve and maintain a safe workplace.

Alan has a thorough knowledge of governmental policies which have, over the years, shifted from negotiating compliance to a more frequent use of court sanctions to enforce non-compliant behaviour. This has resulted in successful defences and reduction of liability in a series of significant cases on behalf of his clients. His background experience has also been most useful to many of our clients by assisting them in integrating the principle of due diligence into their operations to avoid actions which could otherwise lead to prosecution. His clients include companies in the mining, oil and gas, forestry, chemical, landfill and manufacturing industries, as well as various government departments and personnel. Large scale energy projects dominate development in western Canada and, over the years, Alan has represented companies involved in pipeline construction and ongoing compliance issues with their use. Land use planning considerations are an area of particular focus in his practice. Alan represents a government planning authority as they map out geographic strategies for economic growth and environmental protection.

Alan is regularly recognized as a leading environmental lawyer in British Columbia. Alan has been listed as a leading lawyer in several legal industry publications, including The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, Chambers Global, Who's Who Legal: Canada, Best Lawyers in Canada and Canadian Legal expert Directory.

Alan’s experience in the areas of environmental and occupational health and safety law includes:

corporate compliance and management systems including corporate policies, contingency plans and corporate manuals;

directors’ and officers’ liability;

defending environmental and health and safety prosecutions in the Courts;

defending against administrative reviews and Court challenges to permits brought by environmental groups;

defending against permit appeals under various environmental statutes;

representation of "responsible persons" under the Contaminated Sites Regulations;

litigation involving claims for damages relating to environmental contamination;

defending against administrative penalties brought against corporations by administrative bodies;

assisting clients with compliance issues in water, waste water and effluent treatment systems;

major project review and approval processes under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act;

the B.C. Environmental Assessment Act, the Fisheries Act and Environmental Management Act; and 

preparation of submissions to all levels of government respecting policy, legislation and regulation.

Alan has worked in the area of project approvals, both on the side of the industrial proponent and as counsel for the administrative boards that review such proposals for compliance with local requirements, including land use planning considerations. Many of these projects affect First Nations interests and Alan has assisted in the resolution of issues of common concern.

Alan has been a guest lecturer at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, the Simon Fraser University MBA Resource Managers program and Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He has participated in the Federal Government's expert witness training program for investigations and has been a guest speaker at the Provincial Judges Education Seminar on the issue of due diligence standards necessary in prosecutions. Alan has been a panel member with the annual Canadian Institute seminar on Western Canadian Environmental Law and Regulation, and with the Government Institutes Inc.’s review of Canadian Environmental Law in Washington, D.C. Alan has been a panellist in seminars held in the U.S., Mexico, the UK and South America for legal and business groups in matters relating to environmental law.