Currently Ratcliff’s managing partner, Melinda started with the firm as an articled student and has practiced here ever since. She is an accomplished and dedicated legal advisor to First Nations governments, assisting her clients with governance, litigation, and regulatory matters. A key area of this practice is providing governance advice and assisting in the implementation of self-governance through all stages of the development of law and policy. She is committed to engaging closely with client communities to develop laws that reflect their cultures, practices and values.
Melinda is an experienced litigator and advocate who has appeared in all three levels of court in BC and before various administrative tribunals. She was counsel on Thomas and Saik’uz First Nation v. Rio Tinto Alcan Inc, which established that Aboriginal rights provide standing to sue in tort.
Melinda serves as treasurer of the board of CELL – the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation and is past director and board president of the Georgia Strait Alliance.