Donnelly Law
1 lawyer · Established 2008 · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 369 handling Administrative & Regulatory Law.
About Donnelly Law
Donnelly Law is a solo environmental and land use planning practice based in Toronto. David Donnelly founded the firm in 2008 to represent environmental non-profit and charitable organizations, citizen groups and First Nations, and the firm has served as counsel to Environmental Defence since 2000. Its work spans environmental law, land use planning, First Nations consultation and accommodation, and policy reform, along with compliance and enforcement matters, drafting, and lobbying on proposed legislation.
Donnelly holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Toronto (1987), a Master of Environmental Studies from York University (1994), and an LL.B. from the University of Windsor (1999), and has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 2002. Before founding the firm, Donnelly was executive director of Environmental Defence Canada from 1988 to 1996 and later practiced at a Toronto litigation firm based in the city's historic Gooderham "Flatiron" Building. Matters handled by the firm have included the Oak Ridges Moraine hearings in Richmond Hill, the Big Bay Point marina hearing on Lake Simcoe, and consultation work for the Huron-Wendat Nation on archaeological sites tied to the Seaton lands in Pickering.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- David Donnelly founded the firm in 2008 after more than two decades of environmental advocacy and legal practice.
- Donnelly Law has been counsel to Environmental Defence since 2000.
- Before founding the firm, Donnelly served as executive director of Environmental Defence Canada from 1988 to 1996.
- Donnelly was a full member of the Canadian Institute of Planners from 2004 to 2008.
- The firm's work on a lengthy Big Bay Point marina hearing on Lake Simcoe helped build public support for what became Ontario's Protection of Public Participation Act, 2014, the province's anti SLAPP law, and the firm also drafted an early forerunner to the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, 2008.
- David Donnelly received the Toronto Star's inaugural Green Angel award in 2009 and Earth Day Canada's Hometown Hero award in 2008.
- Donnelly received the Prix Merite de la Nation huronne wendat in 2011 for work with the Huron-Wendat Nation.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessibleWho handles what
The neighbourhood
Donnelly Law's office is on Carlaw Avenue in Toronto's Leslieville area, in a complex built in 1907 for the Phillips Manufacturing Company and designed by architect Edward J. Lennox, who also designed Old City Hall. Reliable Toys later occupied much of the same complex through the mid twentieth century. Like many of the former factories along Carlaw, the building has since been converted into commercial and live work space rather than torn down.
The setting fits a practice built around land use and heritage. Carlaw grew into a manufacturing corridor by the 1920s, when the area hosted gum, soap, paint and varnish, brickyard, coal, and paper box businesses, more than a hundred factories in all. Many of those buildings have since been adapted for offices, lofts and studios instead of demolished, a pattern of preservation over replacement not unlike the heritage and greenspace disputes the firm takes on elsewhere in Ontario.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of clients does Donnelly Law represent?
- Donnelly Law represents environmental non-profit and charitable organizations, citizen groups, ratepayers' associations, and First Nations. The firm has been counsel to Environmental Defence since 2000.
- Can Donnelly Law help a residents' group fight a quarry or development proposal?
- Yes. The firm has represented community groups and ratepayers' associations opposing quarry and aggregate applications, including cases near the Niagara Escarpment and Muskoka Lakes, and in disputes over subdivision and condominium proposals before the Ontario Municipal Board and its successor, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
- Does Donnelly Law work on First Nations consultation and accommodation matters?
- Yes. The firm has worked with the Huron-Wendat Nation on cultural heritage, consultation, and accommodation matters in Ontario, including preservation of ancient village sites during the Seaton Land Exchange in Pickering.
- Is Donnelly Law a large firm?
- No, it's a solo practice run by David Donnelly, who founded the firm in 2008 after serving as executive director of Environmental Defence Canada from 1988 to 1996.
- Does the firm handle environmental assessment and regulatory compliance matters?
- Yes. Donnelly Law advises on environmental assessment, regulatory compliance, and enforcement, and has been involved in prosecutions and requests to elevate projects to a full environmental assessment under Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act.
- Where is Donnelly Law located?
- The office is at 276 Carlaw Avenue, Suite 203, in Toronto.
Where to find them
290 Carlaw Ave, Suite 204A, Toronto, Ontario M4M 3L1 · 416-572-0464
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