In Indigenous law arena, he has helped First Nations with high-stakes negotiations
Gowling WLG has announced that Robert Mainville has rejoined it as a partner in the Montreal office after more than 15 years in Canada’s judiciary.
Pierre Pilote, Montreal managing partner, welcomed Mainville back to the firm. Pilote said Mainville’s “broad perspective—shaped by decades of legal advocacy and time on the bench—enhances how we support clients in pursuing solutions rooted in respect, clarity and long-term impact.”
Mainville has a practice spanning national and international arbitration, complex and high-stakes litigation and negotiations, and Indigenous law, as well as cross-sector insight into public, private, and Indigenous legal systems, according to the firm’s news release.
He joined the Federal Court in 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal in 2010, and the Court of Appeal of Quebec in 2014. He was also a member of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and the Competition Tribunal. In his judicial career, he penned judgments covering constitutional, administrative, commercial, civil, and criminal law.
As an Indigenous law practitioner, Mainville represented multiple First Nations in significant litigation and negotiations. He was lead counsel for historic agreements like La Paix des Braves in 2002 and the Agreement Concerning a New Relationship between the Government of Canada and the Cree of Eeyou Istchee in 2007.
Mainville worked as a partner at Gowling WLG from 2002–09 and led the firm’s national Indigenous law practice. He has negotiated agreements valued at over $6 billion in total financial transfers to his clients.
He joined the Quebec bar in 1976. He holds an LLM from McGill University and an LLL from the Université de Montréal. He has authored two law books and can speak English and French.
Gowling WLG is one of Canada’s only full-service law firms that represent Indigenous clients as well as private industry, project proponents, and all government levels, the firm said in its news release.
The firm’s Indigenous law group, which dates back to the 1950s, has worked with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples on self-government agreements, resource development projects, and Supreme Court of Canada cases.
“As Indigenous nations continue to assert jurisdiction, build governance systems and strengthen their legal relationships with the Crown, clients are engaging with legal questions that are both layered and deeply meaningful,” Pilote said in the firm’s news release.
