Andrea C. Akelaitis

Andrea Akelaitis* provides advice and representation on a full range of environmental and regulatory matters.  She is a founding partner of the law firm Letcher Akelaitis LLP in Vancouver, BC.

Ms. Akelaitis has been recognized for environmental law in Best Lawyers in Canada 2024, in Lexpert 2024, in Chambers Canada 2024, and as a national leader in Who’s Who Legal Canada 2024.  Ms. Akelaitis has co-chaired the Pacific Business & Law Institute course on contaminated sites for the last five years.  She is a past appointee of the B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy to the Board of Directors for the Contaminated Sites Approved Professional Society (CSAP).  She has authored and presented “Provincial Environmental Law, Regulations and Policy” and “Groundwater, Regulation and Quality Control”.  She has presented on allocating contaminated sites environmental risk for CLEBC, including co-chairing a CLEBC conference on contaminated sites.  She delivered a paper on Expert Evidence at the National CBA Environmental Energy and Resources Summit on Environment in the Courtroom in Calgary.  She has presented at the CBA National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Summit on contaminated sites issues.  She has been a keynote speaker at the International Odour Management Conference.

Ms. Akelaitis has appeared before all levels of British Columbia Courts.  She is called to the bar in Alberta.  Ms. Akelaitis has acted as advisor and co-counsel on many of British Columbia’s contaminated sites matters including before the Environmental Appeal Board on behalf of the successful party in Seaspan ULC v. Director, Environmental Management Act and Domtar Inc. et al.  Ms. Akelaitis also acted as co-counsel with Mr. Letcher in the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board case dealing with brownfield redevelopment, Human Health Risk Assessment and contaminated sites issues, Cherokee Canada Inc. et al v. Director, Red Deer North Saskatchewan Region, Alberta Environment and Parks.

Ms. Akelaitis is a leader in air quality and odour management regulatory issues and in a range of issues related to recycling and waste management, including composting.  She acted as co-counsel in the leading Canadian odour management decision West Coast Reduction Ltd. v. District Director of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (BC Environmental Appeal Board).

Ms. Akelaitis also works in permitting, compliance, defending environmental prosecutions and environmental assessment regulatory and litigation issues.  She appeared as co-counsel in the B.C. Environmental Appeal Board case Worthington MacKenzie Inc. and Daniel Alexander White v. Director, Environmental Management.  Ms. Akelaitis has also had significant experience working in foreign tort issues concerning environmental law matters.  Ms. Akelaitis has acted for a range of Canada’s leading corporations and has acted for the Nisga’a Nation in litigation involving important aboriginal law and environmental law issues, including project environmental assessment and has worked on First Nations contaminated sites issues.

*Personal Law Corporation