Stephen Garrod and Peter Pickfield are both certified as specialists in environmental law by the Law Society of Upper Canada. They are currently the only lawyers in Ontario, practicing outside the Greater Toronto Area, to have attained this accreditation. Both have extensive experience in assisting municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, private landowners, community groups and government agencies in addressing a range of environmental law matters including land/groundwater contamination issues, environmental and land use approvals, and expropriations. As adjunct professors at the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph, lecturing on environmental, municipal and planning law, both Mr. Pickfield and Mr. Garrod teach on the latest developments in their field of expertise.

Stephen obtained his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1978. That same year, he also received his Masters degree in Environmental Studies, becoming the first student to successfully complete the joint LLB/MES program at York University. He successfully completed the Bar Admission Course and was admitted to the Ontario Bar by the Law Society of Upper Canada in April, 1980.

Prior to studying law, Stephen studied chemistry, math and geography at McMaster University, graduating summa cum laude with an Honours degree in urban-economic geography in 1974. From 1979 to 2009, Stephen taught environmental, municipal and planning law to planning and environmental studies students at the University of Waterloo on a part time basis, as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning in the Faculty of Environmental Studies.

Since 1980, he has practised exclusively in these areas of law, full time, serving a broadly based clientele. Stephen is a partner in the law firm, GARROD PICKFIELD LLP, based in Guelph, Ontario. He is the author of several publications and often speaks at conferences and professional development seminars. Stephen is certified as a specialist in environmental law by the Law Society of Upper Canada. He also practices and teaches mediation and other alternative dispute resolution techniques in the context of environmental, municipal and land use planning issues.

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Peter Pickfield has practiced exclusively in the areas of environmental, municipal and planning law since being called to the Bar in 1986. Mr. Pickfield also obtained his Master of Law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1990.

Mr. Pickfield appears regularly as lead council on hearings before the Environmental Assessment Board, the Environmental Appeal Board, the Ontario Municipal Board and Joint Boards. He holds the position of Adjunct Professor at both the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph, where he lectures on environmental , municipal and planning law.  He recently co-authored a book on Environmental Law and Policy in Canada.

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Vanessa Bacher joined Garrod Pickfield as an associate in 2011, and enjoys an expanding practice in environmental, municipal and planning law. A graduate of University of Western Ontario Law School, Vanessa articled with the City of Toronto, gaining valuable insight into municipal politics, policies, litigation and planning approvals. Prior to law school, Vanessa spent her summers carrying out field work in the Canadian Arctic, working on contaminated soils remediation projects at former military sites.

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