Matthew C.M. Bernier
Biography
Matthew is an associate in the Administrative Law Group at Goodmans. He is developing his practice in the area of land use planning and municipal law, with a particular emphasis on environmental law and alternative dispute resolution. Matthew acts for real estate developers, corporations, and landowners in connection with business, municipal, environmental, and planning disputes, including contaminated land lawsuits, impact assessment and regulatory prosecutions. He also advises clients on planning and environmental matters, including compliance, remediation, and natural heritage. Matthew has appeared before the Federal Court of Canada and has experience in multi-party arbitrations and mediations. Matthew obtained his J.D. from the University of Ottawa where he was named to the Dean’s List and graduated cum laude. While at law school, Matthew competed in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, where his team received international recognition and was the highest ranking Canadian team. He was also the President of the Environmental Law Student’s Association and organized a national conference on environmental law.
Denisa Mertiri
Biography
Denisa Mertiri practices in the areas of environmental, aboriginal and energy law. Denisa delivers strategic, effective and practical legal advice as well as litigation guidance to confront environmental challenges and ever-shifting regulatory frameworks. Denisa has practiced environmental law and commercial as well as environmental litigation at some of Canada’s leading law firms and represented clients in many of Canada’s biggest commercial and regulatory cases and prosecutions. She has also acted as both defence and Crown counsel on a number of criminal and quasi-criminal cases with a track record of negotiating successful resolutions.
Graham Reeder
Biography
Graham Reeder is an associate in Gowling WLG’s Toronto office. Graham completed his JD at Osgoode Hall Law School. During his time at Osgoode, he won awards for academic achievement and leadership. He also completed the Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic at Osgoode with a placement at an international NGO. Prior to law school, Graham worked with local communities to adapt to climate change in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and the Maldives after graduating from the College of the Atlantic with a Bachelor in Human Ecology. Graham completed his Master of Environmental Studies at York University in the accredited planning program, where he published his research on urban climate resilience in Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Gowling WLG as an associate, Graham worked with the firm as an articling and summer law student.
Nathan Adams
Biography
As an Associate at Mann Lawyers specializing in environmental law, I bring a decade of experience in biodiversity research and international sustainable development, with work spanning Canada, the U.S., Malta, and Indonesia. I specialize in Environmental Litigation. Alongside Michael S. Hebert, I am litigating Canada’s first—and currently only—certified class action concerning PFAS. Representing hundreds of class members affected by PFAS contamination and resulting property value loss, I navigate this rapidly evolving legal frontier by applying emerging scientific and regulatory standards and advancing novel legal arguments at the intersection of environmental science and law.
