Robin Phillips She/Her/Hers

Robin Phillips is a lawyer and mediator based in Victoria, British Columbia, practicing with JFK Law LLP. She has extensive experience in Aboriginal law, collaborative dispute resolution, and environmental law. Robin was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2016 and the Alberta Bar in 2018. She joined JFK Law in 2019 and recently became a partner in 2024. Her practice areas include governance, negotiation, consultation, administrative law, land use planning, and contaminated sites.

Robin works as legal counsel for many Indigenous Nations on a wide range of governance issues. She has considerable experience drafting laws, bylaws, and policies, as well as understanding the complex jurisdiction that applies to Indigenous lands. Robin has experience incorporating Indigenous legal order into contemporary laws and advising on the development of laws that are based both on statutory authority and inherent jurisdiction.

Robin does not believe that one size fits all. In all her governance work, Robin takes a client-centered approach and endeavours to meet her clients’ needs and aspirations in the way that works for them. Robin also has experience implementing laws and legal regimes, and works with her clients to develop the guidelines, regulations, and forms that support legislative development.

Robin works to negotiate government-to-government agreements with the Crown and with local governments. She always strives to advance her clients vision for their territories, and to make sure Indigenous interests are not subordinate to that of the settler state. Robin has a strong background in local government law and has worked with various communities across British Columbia and Alberta.

Robin Phillips has worked as a mediator since 2013 and has been a member of Mediate BC’s Civil Roster since 2017. She helps people work through complex disputes using collaborative, interest-based approaches that address both the legal and personal sides of conflict. Robin has particular experience with disputes involving Indigenous Nations, First Nations lands, and Crown relations. In this work, she focuses on building consensus, preserving relationships, and designing dispute-resolution processes that fit each party’s goals, circumstances, and broader interests.

In addition to her legal practice, Phillips has contributed to several publications and presentations on topics such as procurement, cannabis regulation on Indigenous lands, trusts, riparian rights, expropriation, defamation, corporate governance, first nation and local government partnerships, and conflict resolution. Prior to being called to the bar, Robin had the opportunity of being a judicial law clerk for five Justices of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Her academic background includes a JD from the University of British Columbia and a BA in English (Hons.) from the same institution. In law school she co-created a documentary on Inglis et al v. The Minister of Public Safety, which challenged the decision to terminate a program that allowed women prisoners to remain with their newborn babies.