Lauren Mar Associate

Lauren Mar

Lauren Mar is an associate in Gowling WLG's Vancouver office and a member of the firm's Indigenous Law Group.

Her practice primarily involves advising Indigenous clients on matters at the intersection of Aboriginal, environmental and natural resource law. Lauren has experience assisting clients with:

• Environmental assessments and other review processes for major projects, with an emphasis on cumulative effects and opportunities for Indigenous-led environmental assessments and decision-making;
• Negotiations between First Nations, project proponents, and the Crown, including with respect to Indigenous equity ownership of major projects and impact benefit agreements;
• Judicial reviews and other litigation, often where the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate is engaged; and
• Band council and governance matters, such as trespassing on reserve and elections.

Lauren has appeared before the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Having joined the firm as a summer student in 2020, Lauren completed her articles in 2022 after receiving her law degree from the University of Victoria. During law school, Lauren worked for Native Counselling Services of Alberta as a law and policy researcher and completed a co-op term at a boutique Aboriginal law firm. In 2020, she received the JFK Law Corporation Prize in Indigenous Lands, Rights and Governance and the Lawson Lundell LLP Prize in Secured Transactions.

Before law school, Lauren completed a BSc in environmental and conservation sciences at the University of Alberta. Born and raised in the Edmonton area, Lauren prides herself on surviving countless prairie winters before becoming accustomed to the balmy climate of BC’s lower mainland.

Lauren is a member of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, the Canadian Bar Association and the Vancouver Bar Association.