Rick is the National Leader of BLG's Environmental Law Group and the Regional Leader of the Regulatory and Oil and Gas Groups as well as a member of the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) leadership team.

Rick regularly represents and advises clients on the commercial, regulatory and litigation aspects of project development, permitting and operations in the energy and natural resource sectors, including land, environmental and Indigenous issues. Rick also represents and advises clients on dispute resolution including regulatory proceedings, corporate/commercial litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on the areas of oil and gas, transportation, forestry and mining.

Rick has appeared at all levels of court in British Columbia, the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada. He has represented clients before the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), the Surface Rights Board, the Oil and Gas Appeal Tribunal, the B.C. Safety Authority, the Environmental Appeal Board as well as the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and the National Energy Board (NEB). Rick also has significant experience advising clients on their applications and dealings with the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission.

Rick provides legal services through a Law Corporation.

• Lead counsel in the first common carrier/common processor hearing before the BCUC in more than 30 years, which established the test to be applied in BC.
• Lead counsel in the successful challenge of a public utility's discriminatory security deposit policy before the BCUC.
• Acted on successful applications to the ERCB, obtaining one of the largest interim shut-ins ever.
• Lead counsel on number of appeals to the Oil and Gas Appeal Tribunal.
• Lead counsel on many successful arbitrations/motions before the BC Surface Rights Board.
• Acted in a precedent-setting environmental case, the first trial in BC to consider reasonably incurred costs of remediation under BC's legislation.
• Represented the British Columbia Ministry of Forests on a 20-day trial, resulting in its acquittal of all charges under the federal Fisheries Act.
• Lead counsel for a foreign bank in the arrest and judicial sale of a vessel, including overseeing a courthouse auction (part of global efforts to enforce a $77-million judgment from a US court).
• Acted for an international shipping company in successfully defending the validity of an arrest to the Supreme Court of Canada.

• Court of Appeal finds Federal Impact Assessment Act unconstitutional
• Can you dig it? Recent changes to regulating excess soils in British Columbia, Ontario and Québec
• ESG claims Managing risks and liabilities for Canadian businesses
• Top energy issues of 2021, with implications for 2022 and beyond
• Presenter, "Key Developments in Indigenous Law," BC, February 23, 2022
• Canadian energy oil and gas: Top 20 of 2020 - Legislative developments
• Amendments to the British Columbia contaminated sites regime
• COVID-19 and your environmental obligations – Cross-country update
• Co-Author, "British Columbia Court Acquits Shipping Company for Marine Pollution Incident," HazMat Mag, May 2019.
• MV Marathassa Acquitted of All Charges Resulting from 2015 English Bay Pollution
• BC Court of Appeal affirms that the Province upheld the Honour of the Crown in William v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2019 BCCA 74
• Contributor, "12 Ways Canada’s Gas & LNG Will Bring Both National And Global Benefits," Canada Gas & LNG ebook, February 2019
• 2018 Top Ten: Regulatory Decisions of Importance to the Canadian Energy Industry
• Co-Presenter, "Spill Response and Cost Recovery," BLG Vancouver Environmental Law Seminar, November 2018.
• 2017 Year In Review: Top 10 Regulatory Decisions of Importance to the Canadian Energy Industry
• 2017 Year in Review: Top 10 Judicial Decisions and Trends of Importance to the Canadian Energy Industry
• 2017 Year in Review: Top 10 Legislative and Regulatory Changes of Significance to the Canadian Energy Industry
• Co-author, "Forced Labour Case To Go To Trial," The Resource: BLG Energy Law Blog, December 7, 2017.
• Quoted, "Liquified Courage," Lexpert Magazine, November 2017
• Time Keeps Ticking: Implications of the New Undue Delay Framework on Regulatory Prosecutions
• Speaker, "Responding to Regulatory Investigations," Environmental Law Seminar, October 2017.
• Co-author, "Wrong Turn Has Court Certify Environmental Class Action," The Resource: BLG Energy Law Blog, July 17, 2017.
• Canadian Energy Law Foundation Jasper Seminar, June 14-16, 2017
• Speaker/Author, "The New Normal? Energy Development, Civil Disobedience, and Injunctive Relief," Canadian Energy Law Foundation Jasper Seminar, June 14-16, 2017.

Professional Involvement

• Business Council of British Columbia
• Environmental Policy Advisory Committee
• Business Council of British Columbia Climate & Energy Policy Advisory Committee
• Canadian Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Member, Air & Waste Management Association
• Past Vice-President Communications, Environmental Managers Association of British Columbia

Bar Admission & Education

• British Columbia, 2000
• LLB, University of Victoria, 1999
• BA, University of Ottawa, 1995