Apart from new partner, firm also adds associates Melanee Bryniawsky and Jared Knott in Vancouver
MLT Aikins LLP has welcomed three new Vancouver-based lawyers focusing on Indigenous businesses, Aboriginal rights and interests, and First Nations and Métis communities: partner Saul Joseph and associates Melanee Bryniawsky and Jared Knott.
Joseph, who joined effective June 2, is an Indigenous business lawyer with significant experience in Aboriginal law, on- and off-reserve real estate development and leasing, corporate/commercial law, and regulatory matters involving forestry, fishery, mining, oil and gas, and renewable energy.
He assists Indigenous leaders and entrepreneurs in designing and implementing commercial ventures reflecting Indigenous perspectives, according to the firm’s news release. He regularly helps Indigenous communities promote and protect Aboriginal and treaty rights, governance, and business matters.
Joseph guides Indigenous Nations and industry in building partnerships. He advises industry on how to collaborate effectively with Nations and deal with Canada’s Aboriginal and environmental law landscapes.
According to his firm biography, he is of Coast Salish and European descent and is a member of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation). His practice brings him to the unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations.
Joseph’s LinkedIn page provides more information on his professional and educational background. At Clark Wilson LLP in Vancouver, he worked as a partner and chairman of the firm’s Aboriginal law group beginning in January 2022 and as an associate starting in October 2018. He was an associate at Miller Thomson LLP in Vancouver beginning in October 2015.
He joined the BC bar in 2015. He earned his JD in 2014 and his BS in geography in 2011 from the University of Victoria.
The firm’s news release also provided details on the experience of the newly added associates.
Bryniawsky focuses on negotiating and advocating for the implementation of Aboriginal rights and interests. She tackles matters involving economic development, resource management, governance, and intergovernmental relationships.
According to her firm bio, she became a member of the BC bar in 2021. She obtained her JD in 2020 and her BA in 2016 at the University of Victoria.
Knott helps First Nations and Métis communities navigate various commercial and environmental matters. He also assists these clients with major project environmental assessments, negotiations and general business matters.
His firm bio states that he gained admission to the BC bar in 2022 and the Saskatchewan bar in 2023. He acquired his JD in 2021 and his BA in 2018 from the University of British Columbia.
