Alain Bartleman is a partner in the firm’s Indigenous Practice Department and a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. He advises First Nations in complex negotiations involving Indigenous and Treaty rights, governance, and major resource and infrastructure projects.
Alain’s practice focuses on the negotiation and implementation of impact and community benefit, participation, revenue sharing, resource development and similar agreements (IBAs) on behalf of First Nations across Canada, as well as consultation, regulatory, and economic development matters. He advises First Nations on strategic engagement with all levels of government and negotiates with proponents in the mining, energy, and infrastructure sectors. His work also includes land management, project approvals, on-reserve real-property development, and the structuring and governance of band-owned enterprises.
Alain brings a strategic, principled, and solutions-oriented approach to all of his work. His practice is grounded in the belief that legal tools must reflect the values and priorities of the communities they are built to serve.
Alain has held leadership and advisory roles with several national and community-based organizations, including as Treasurer of the Indigenous Bar Association, Special Advisor on Indigenous Issues to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and as a board member of Native Child and Family Services of Toronto. He regularly mentors Indigenous law students and early-career lawyers, and speaks on Indigenous legal issues at civic, legal, and educational forums. He is also the founder of the Bartleman Award for First Nations students at Western University. In recognition of his contributions to the profession and to Indigenous communities, Alain was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
