An Ontario law firm,
grounded in international experience.
VanWest Law is a Markham-based professional corporation advising businesses and individuals across the Greater Toronto Area. Files are handled with the direct, senior attention of our principal — and, where appropriate, coordinated with trusted accounting and tax counsel.
The firm in a paragraph.
VanWest Law is a focused Ontario practice. We advise businesses and individuals on corporate, real estate, privacy, consumer protection, and notarial matters. Where a file calls for it, we coordinate with accounting and tax counsel so clients receive a complete picture rather than a fragmented one.
Why a focused practice.
Large firms are well-suited to matters that demand their scale. Many other matters — incorporation, governance, a residential closing, a privacy review, a notarial signing, a consumer-protection dispute — are better served by a practice that accepts responsibility for the file from first call to final invoice. That is the firm we run.
How matters move.
Engagements open through a secure digital intake. Scope, fees, and timing are confirmed in writing before any work begins. Status updates and written advice follow at clear intervals so the client knows where the file stands at every stage.
Meet the lawyer.
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, with prior involvement in institutional environments including the United Nations. That experience shapes how the firm advises: globally informed, locally precise.
His practice today centres on the matters that benefit most from direct, senior attention: incorporation and corporate governance, residential and commercial real estate, privacy and data-handling compliance, consumer-protection disputes, and notarial work for clients in Markham and across the Greater Toronto Area.
Outside the practice, Richard maintains an active interest in regulation and emerging technology, and is involved in cross-border initiatives connecting Canadian businesses with Caribbean and Commonwealth opportunities.
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.
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.