Sean Nixon is a settler of primarily Irish and Scottish descent. He first moved to unceded Lək̓ʷəŋən territory in Victoria in 1993. He is a graduate of UVic’s law school (2000) and of the Environmental Law Centre. He is happy to return as an instructor and clinic lawyer.
After law school, Sean clerked for the Alberta Court of Appeal and Court of Queen’s Bench. He completed his articles at Ecojustice, an environmental law charity, and spent most of the next 25 years (2001-2026) working there. While at Ecojustice, he worked on a wide range of litigation and law reform files, with a primary focus on threats to Canada’s biodiversity. Over the years, he served as a staff lawyer, program director and national practice advisor.
Sean also spent part of his career at Woodward & Company in Victoria, including as part of the team of lawyers acting for the plaintiff in Tŝilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia and Canada, an Aboriginal title and rights case. His main role was to gather evidence from Tŝilhqot’in elders and leaders and lead them through their testimony in court.
Sean is also an avid sea kayaker and hiker, a dog person, and a mediocre keyboard musician.
