Maria Morellato, Q.C.

Partner, Mandell Pinder LLP

Phone: 604.566.8563
maria@mandellpinder.com

Assistant: Nicole Chipman | nicole@mandellpinder.com


Profile

Maria Morellato, Q.C. specializes in aboriginal and treaty rights law. She is a civil litigator and negotiator and has acted as legal counsel before all levels of the court system, including the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court. She has also appeared before various administrative tribunals and regulatory commissions relating to marketing boards and international trade issues.

She has negotiated agreements within the treaty context and in relation to consultation and accommodation measures with both the federal and provincial governments and she has advised on the implementation and management of settlement trusts. She has written numerous articles for various academic and professional publications on First Nations and administrative law issues, and has chaired and delivered papers at many conferences on these topics. She is the editor-in-chief of "Aboriginal Law Since Delgamuukw" published in 2009 by Canada Law Book.

Maria has been counsel on many leading aboriginal rights matters and related proceedings, including land, resource and fishing cases. She has provided advice relating to consultation and accommodation requirements regarding resource use and land development projects. She has also advised on treaty negotiations, treaty language, specific claims matters and other negotiations between the Crown and Aboriginal peoples. She has represented many First Nations on a wide variety of administrative and litigation matters.

Maria is recognized in The Canadian Legal L'Expert Directory as one of the leading lawyers in Canada. In addition, she was voted by peers as one of the leading lawyers in Canada in the 2006 inaugural edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada, as well as each subsequent annual edition. Maria has been awarded the Canadian Bar Association (British Columbia) Women Lawyers Forum Award of Excellence for 2008-09. This award recognizes distinguished career achievements and outstanding contributions to women in the legal profession as an agent of change, a leader and a mentor.


Education

LL.B University of British Columbia, 1984
   
B.A. (Honours) Simon Fraser University, 1982

 

During her academic years, Maria received the following awards:

Diana & P.A.E. Irving Fund Scholarship (1983);

Stephen Palmer Memorial Scholarship (1981);

S.F.U. Tuition Fee Repayment Scholarships for 1978, 1980 and 1981; and

S.F.U. Community College Entrance Scholarship (1978).


Selected Publications

Morellato, Maria (Editor-in-Chief), "Aboriginal Law Since Delgamuukw" (Aurora, Ont.: Canada Law Book, 2009).

Co-Chair/Author/Presenter – Continuing Legal Education Society of BC Conference: Aboriginal Law Conference 2010, Vancouver, BC June 11, 2010. Presented Powerpoint entitled "A Pragmatic Guide to the Law on Consultation and Accommodation with Recent Developments" and paper entitled "Aboriginal Title and Rights: Foundational Principles and Recent Developments" (permission to re-print obtained from Carswell)

Co-Chair/Author/Presenter – PBLI Conference: Aboriginal Law – Current Issues, Vancouver, BC March 4-5, 2010. Presented Powerpoint entitled “Understanding the Law on Consultation and Accommodation: A Pragmatic Guide" (updated) and paper entitled "Aboriginal Title and Rights: Foundational Principles and Recent Developments” (permission to re-print obtained from Carswell)

Author/Presenter – inSIGHT Conference: Aboriginal Tax and Financial Management Forum, November 24-25, 2009. Presented Powerpoint entitled "Understanding Law on Consultation and Accommodation: A Pragmatic Guide" and paper (re-printed with permission from Carswell, a division of Thomson Reuters Canada Limited) entitled "Aboriginal Title and Rights: Foundational Principles and Recent Developments" (Calgary, AB).

Author/Presenter - CBA – The McLachlin Court's First Decade: Reflections on the Past and Projections for the Future, June 19, 2009. Presented paper (reprinted with permission from Carswell, a division of Thomson Reuters Canada Limited) entitled "Aboriginal Title and Rights: Foundational Principles and Recent Developments." Also presented PowerPoint entitled "The Crown’s Duty to Consult and Accommodate: The Path Before Us" (Ottawa, ON).

Author/Presenter - CBABC Women Lawyers Forum, Education Day, May 29, 2009. Presented PowerPoint entitled "Navigating Unchartered Waters" (Vancouver, BC).

Author, "Aboriginal Title and Rights: Foundational Principles and Recent Developments," Thomson Carswell’s Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2008.

Author/Presenter – Insight’s 8th Annual Western Canada Aboriginal Business and Economic Development conference. Provided paper entitled "Consultation and Accommodation Law: Developments Across Canada" and PowerPoint presentation, October 20-21, 2008 (Vancouver, B.C.).

Author/Presenter – Assembly of First Nations sponsored symposium on "Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," presented paper "A New Road Ahead: Implementing Self-Government" and PowerPoint "Beyond Consultation and Accommodation: Implementing Aboriginal Governance Rights," February 19-20, 2008 (Vancouver, B.C.).

Co-Author – "Softwood Lumber as Case Study: Canada – U.S. Dispute Resolution under NAFTA and the WTO," Canadian International Lawyer, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 131-143, 2005.

Author – "Aboriginal Title: A Primer for Real Estate Practitioners", Continuing Legal Education Conference: Real Estate Fundamentals for Lawyers, October 19, 2005 (Vancouver, B.C.).


Other Activities

Guest Instructor, University of British Columbia Advocacy Course (Law 472), 2008 to present.

Co-Chair, Continuing Legal Education Society conference: Aboriginal Law Conference (Vancouver, BC), June 5, 2009.

Member, Governance Committee, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, August 2008 to present.

Member, Law Society of British Columbia's Retention of Women in the Law Task Force, May 2008 to present.

Co-Chair, CBA Aboriginal Law Scholarship Trust Fund-Raising Committee, August 2007 to June 2008.

Council Member, The Minerva Foundation of BC, Combining Our Strength Council, January 2007 to present.

Trustee and Warden, St. John's Anglican Church, North Vancouver, B.C., February 2007 to present.

Pro Bono Legal Clinic Volunteer, Western Canada Society to Access Justice, September 2006 to present.

Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Lecturer and Aboriginal Moot Chair, 2001 to present.