Corporate counsel.
Trusted advice.
VanWest Law advises businesses and individuals across Ontario on corporate, real estate, privacy, consumer protection, and notarial matters. Every file receives the direct attention of senior counsel.
Six practice areas.
One standard of care.
The firm advises businesses and individuals on corporate, real estate, privacy, consumer protection, notarial, and integrated accounting matters across Ontario. Each engagement is handled with the same diligence, regardless of file size.
Your General Counsel,
on demand.
Not every company needs a full-time legal department, but every company may benefit from the judgment, availability, and business fluency that experienced in-house legal counsel provides. VanWest Law Professional Corporation can provide fractional legal services that give you exactly that: a senior lawyer embedded in your business, on a predictable monthly basis, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
You get more than contract review. You get a strategic, business minded solution focused, legal partner who learns your operations, anticipates your risks, and is on call when decisions can’t wait. We can assist with commercial agreements and corporate governance to regulatory compliance and cross-border transactions.
Whether you’re a startup scaling toward your first legal hire, a mid-market company that has outgrown ad-hoc advice, or an enterprise managing Canadian, American or Caribbean market exposure, VanWest Law slots in as your General Counsel — without the headcount.
The continuity of in-house counsel, the flexibility of outside counsel, and none of the overhead.
How the firm works.
What clients can expect.
Senior attention on every engagement
Each matter is handled by the principal directly. Clients work with the same counsel from intake through to the closing of the file.
Disciplined process
Secure intake, written engagement terms, scheduled status updates, and concise written advice. Traditional standards delivered through an efficient process.
Precise, plain-language counsel
Precision where the law requires it; plain English wherever it does not. Clients should always understand where a matter stands and what is required next.
Discretion and confidentiality
Every engagement is conducted with the discretion expected of senior counsel. Conflict checks are completed before any matter is opened.
About the principal.
Richard Van West-Charles
Richard founded VanWest Law to bring an internationally informed corporate practice to clients in Ontario. His career has spanned the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Caribbean, including prior involvement in international institutional environments such as the United Nations.
That experience shapes how each file is approached. Whether the matter is an incorporation, a residential closing, a privacy review, or a consumer-protection dispute, it receives the same discipline and the same plain-language clarity.
Considered counsel.
Measured outcomes.
If a matter would benefit from a measured, conflict-checked review, we welcome the inquiry. Initial messages are answered within one business day.