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Jeff Waatainen

Associate Counsel
About

Jeff Waatainen is a seasoned forestry lawyer with a wealth of experience regarding regulatory and commercial law in the B.C. forest industry. He has appeared before administrative tribunals that govern the industry, and worked on major commercial transactions within the industry.

Jeff provides legal services to a variety of forest industry and other clientele on a wide range of matters including share-purchase agreements, asset-purchase agreements, services contracts, regulatory issues and commercial disputes.

He has worked on a variety of files for a broad roster of clients in the forest industry. Jeff has advised major licensees to B.C. Timber Sales participants, logging contractors, log brokers and trading companies, private landowners and First Nations.

Jeff taught forestry law as an adjunct professor of law at the U.B.C. Faculty of Law, and has spoken to various groups and organizations on a variety of forestry law matters, including as a presenter at the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC conference “Forestry ‎Law 2020”. He has produced numerous publications, including several Forestry Bulletins on subjects related to the forest industry including stumpage, aboriginal rights and legislative developments, and writes a regular column in BC Forest Professional magazine.

Areas of FocusCorporate
Bar admissionsBritish Columbia, 1996
Languages
  • English

Awards

  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Forestry Law), 2025 – 2026
  • Chambers Canada (Agribusiness: Forestry), Star Associate, 2019-2026
Education
  • LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1995
  • M.A., University of British Columbia, 1992
  • B.A., (Honours), University of British Columbia, 1991

Publications

  • Compliance and Enforcement Investigations and Limitation Periods, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • DLA Piper’s British Columbia Forestry Law: an Annotated Guide (Toronto: Thompson Reuters) (‎updated semi-annually) ‎
  • Use of Open Fires and Liability for Fire Control Costs of Government, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • Bill 22 Revisited: The Risks of a Change of Control, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • Forest Landscape Plans, Forest Operations Plan, and Indigenous People Engagement under Bill 13, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • Recent Change to the Wildfire Regulation: What Does it Mean for Forestry Operators in British Columbia?, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • Forestry Service Providers Protection Act, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • The “Obligation” to Issue Cutting Permits under Bill 41, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • Unresolved Aboriginal Title Claims:  Risk Allocation and BCTS, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • Handshakes Are Fine, But Get it in Writing, DLA Piper Forestry Law Commentary, 2026
  • The Forest Amendment Act, 2021; Bill 28 and Tenure Redistribution, BC Forest Professional, Spring 2022
  • The Role of Precedent at the Forest Appeals ‎Commission, BC Forest Professional, Winter 2021‎
  • Rate Determinations under the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation Revisited (Again), BC Forest Professional, Fall 2021
  • The Rule Against Multiple Convictions Revisited, BC Forest Professional, Winter 2020‎
  • Frustration and Force Majeure: Unexpected Events and contractual Non-‎Compliance, BC Forest ‎Professional, Summer 2020‎
  • Surrogate Bidding, Truck Loggers BC, Winter 2020 ‎
  • Bill 21 - The Forest and Range Practices Amendment Act, BC Forest Professional, May-June 2019‎
  • Bill 22, the Forest Statutes Amendment Act, 2019: Transitioning Control of Forest ‎Tenures, BC Forest ‎Professional, November-December 2019‎
  • For Sake of Certainty, Get it in Writing, BC Forest Professional, March-April ‎‎2018‎
  • Southern Mountain Caribou and the Species at Risk Act, BC Forest Professional, July-August 2018‎
  • Judicial Deference to Regulators and the Workers Compensation Act, BC Forest Professional, Nov.-Dec. ‎‎2018‎
  • Recovery of Government Costs under the Wildfire Act, BC Forest Professional, Nov.-Dec. 2017‎
  • Public Lands and Forest Policy in BCBC Forest Professional, September/October 2016.
  • Priority Disputes Over Hydraulically Connected Surface and Ground Water Under the New Water Sustainability ActBC Forest Professional, January/February 2016
  • The Tsilhqot'in Decision: Live at the Conference! BC Forest Professional, May/June 2015
  • Occupational Health and Safety in the Forest Industry: A Matter of Superordinate ImportanceBC Forest Professional, January/February 2015
  • The Inherent Insecurity of Log Purchase Transactions, BC Forest Professional, November/December 2014
  • Standing in the Shadows of Delgamuukw: Uses of Aboriginal Title Land Under the Tsilhqot'in Decision, BC Forest Professional, September/October 2014