Deborah Overholt  

Deborah Overholt is a partner in our Corporate Commercial Group in our Vancouver office. Deborah practises in the areas of environmental law, energy-related transactions, procurement, and general commercial transactions. In the environmental area, she represents various industrial and commercial enterprises, including forest companies, mining companies, manufacturers, transportation entities and financial institutions, in due-diligence investigations, the negotiation and drafting of environmental provisions in transaction documents, environmental compliance issues, developing environmental management systems, environmental impact assessment and permit issues, and contaminated site issues.

Deborah also has significant experience in the electricity sector, having represented BC Hydro in the design and implementation of several power procurement programs. As well, Deborah has experience in advising on procurement issues in the energy and transportation sectors. 

• Advising on environmental assessment, permit and regulatory issues for two proposed LNG projects in British Columbia.
• Advising the proponent of a proposed natural gas pipeline in British Columbia regarding federal and provincial environmental assessment and permit issues.
• Advised BC Hydro in the design and implementation of all major power procurement processes since 2001, and in the negotiation of associated power purchase agreements. In these processes, BC Hydro has awarded over 100 contracts to independent power producers across the Province.
• Co-counsel to British Columbia Railway Company in connection with the sale of Vancouver Wharves, a marine terminal facility handling bulk cargo located on Burrard Inlet in Vancouver.
• Co-counsel to the Province of British Columbia in connection with CN Rail’s public/private partnership with respect to BC Rail Ltd.
• Co-counsel to BC Rail group in a 10-week hearing before the Environmental Appeal Board in an appeal regarding a remediation order.
• Lead environmental counsel for a large US-based forest company in connection with the sale of its BC coastal forest operations.
• Lead environmental counsel in connection with the purchase, by a US forest products company, of a BC pulp mill with a lengthy history.

• Speaker, “Federal Environmental Assessment,” Environmental Managers Association of British Columbia, September 2012.
• Speaker, “Federal Environmental Assessment – Dawn of a New CEAA,” BLG Environmental Seminar, June 2012.
• Speaker, “Get the Deal Done:  Contractual Allocation of Environmental Risk,” Canadian Bar Association National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Annual Summit entitled “Environmental Issues in Business Transactions,” April 26-27, 2012.
• Author, “Environmental Provisions” chapter (12), Commercial Leases, The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (CLE BC), March 2012.
• Author, “Developments in Environmental Assessments – Recent Cases,” Environmental Law in BC, 6th Edition, Insight Information, January 2012.
• Speaker, “Vexing Issues in Transactions,” Environmental Law Forum, January 2012.
• Keynote Speaker, “Ethics in the Practice of Law,” Women Lawyers’ Conference, November 2011.
• Speaker, “Addressing Environmental Risk in Transactions,” CLE BC, November 2011.
• Author, Addressing Environmental Issues in Negotiating Purchase and Sale Agreement, Federated Press, April 2011.
• Author/Presenter, “Let’s Talk Tendering,” CLE BC, April 2008 (with Doug Sanders).

• Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2013 edition (and since 2006) of The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law).
• Recognized in the 2013 edition of Chambers Global - The World's Leading Lawyers for Business (Environment).
• Recognized in the 2012 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Energy – Electricity).
• Martindale-Hubbell® BV® Distinguished™ 4.4 out of 5 Peer Review Rated.
• Recognized in the 2012 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Canada (Environment).