Gowling WLG

Partner National Practice Group Leader – Indigenous Law

Paul Seaman is a partner at Gowling WLG and national leader of the firm's Indigenous Law Practice Group. He is also a member of the Environmental Law Group.

Working out of the firm's Toronto and Vancouver offices, Paul has a leading national practice and acts on complex constitutional, regulatory, and transactional matters. His Indigenous law practice focuses on projects and transactions where the Crown's duty to consult Indigenous Peoples is engaged. This includes acting for clients in the contexts of formal regulatory processes, and government-to-government and commercial negotiations involving Indigenous communities, industry, and government.

Paul has represented Indigenous clients in the courtroom, boardroom, and around the negotiation table across Canada on several large scale and high-profile resource development projects, and in related litigation before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. The subject matter of those mandates has included mining, oil & gas pipelines, LNG, forestry, and electricity generation and transmission projects.

In its 2019 and 2020 editions, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory recognized Paul as a top Indigenous law lawyer, and the 2021 edition of Legal 500 Canada recognized him as a top recommended lawyer for Indigenous law.

Prior to practising law, Paul designed and managed a high-speed internet protocol network for one of Canada's largest cable providers. While in this role, he designed the fibre optic network for a school board, assisted in the design of a high-availability commercial metropolitan Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) network, and consulted with the RCMP on lawful intercept technology.

Paul is a proud citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation and an active member of the Métis community. He carried the torch in the 2010 Olympic torch relay on behalf of the Métis Nation of British Columbia.

Year of Call: 2017 - Yukon

Year of Call: 2015 - British Columbia

Year of Call: 2014 - Alberta

Year of Call: 2011 - Ontario