Roger Townshend, a founding partner of OKT, is now a senior counsel to the firm. As such, he advises other lawyers in the firm about legal strategy, and participates in legal teams pursuing First Nations’ Aboriginal title and rights. He has practised constitutional, human rights and administrative law, but in recent years he primarily advised on and litigated land claims for First Nations. This included most recently acting as lead counsel in the Ontario Superior Court and Ontario Court of Appeal on the Saugeen Ojibway Nation cases claiming Aboriginal title to water spaces of the Great Lakes, and claiming a breach of honour of the Crown and breach of fiduciary duty related to historic treaties. Roger has appeared in courts across Canada at all levels, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Prior to his legal career, he worked in the area of land claims research and negotiations for eight years on behalf of Manitoba First Nations. Roger has been selected annually by his peers for inclusion in directories of leading lawyers in the area of Aboriginal law, including The Best Lawyers in Canada and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. Roger was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1993.
