Will Willier
BA, LLB was born and raised in High Prairie, Alberta. He is a member of the Dene Tha' First Nation and is the grandson of Grand Chief Harry Chonkolay former Chief of Dene Tha' First Nation from 1938-1993. Will Willier has given lectures on the need for First Nations consultation and is keenly aware of the affect of industry on the First Nations People and their traditional lands. Will has also helped Dene Tha' conduct a referendum pursuant to the Indian Act in 2003.
Will graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary in 1993, and was called to the bar in 1994. After being called to the bar Will was employed by the Department of Justice Canada, first as a legal advisor with the Tax Litigation section and then as an Advisor to the Prosecution section. While with the Department of Justice Will worked with the Income Tax Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, and the Canada Pension Plan Act. While advising to the prosecution Will had the opportunity to work extensively with offences that fell under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act.
In August of 1997 Will began to work as an associate with the Law firm Howard Mackie. Here he helped senior council in large commercial litigation files, arbitrations, and appeals to higher courts. Secondly Will worked with Aboriginal Law, Employment Law, Oil and Gas Law, Copyright Law, and Federal court matters.
In November of 1998 Will became a partner in his first law firm, Teeling Willier, a full service law firm located in Banff, Alberta. A large part of Will's practice was involving Native law and legal advice to Treaty Seven First Nations. After Will left the firm he worked as general counsel to the Siksika Nation, and was included in all Nation legal matters such as preparation of contracts, drafting all Band Council Resolutions, and also acted as their negotiator with the governments of Alberta and Canada.
Currently Will Willier has maintained an independent Aboriginal Law practice working with the likes of Siksika Nation, Trust Agreements, and Protocol Agreements. Will has also drafted all of the pertinent documents for the Blackfoot Confederacy, including Resolution, Organizational Structure, and Protocol.
Will continues to give back to the community as he regularly attends Duty Council at the Banff and Canmore Provincial Court houses, and continues to teach courses for the Legal Education Society of Alberta. Willier and Company is a full service law firm comprised of First Nation lawyers working on pertinent First Nations legal issues.
Aaron Sparvier
Aaron is a member of the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan. Aaron's practice is focused primarily in the areas of Criminal and Aboriginal Law. Aaron has worked with First Nations in the areas of consultation, governance, treaty rights, and land claims.
Aaron earned his J.D. from Michigan State University in 2004, and his LLB from the University of Calgary in 2007. Aaron was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 2008.
Ameera Ahmad
Ameera Ahmad is from Karachi, Pakistan. She received her LLB in 2008 from University College London, London, United Kingdom. During law school, Ameera was involved in hosting crime awareness workshops and activities on citizenship and criminal justice for primary school pupils.
Ameera joined Willier and Company in March 2011 and is an articling student. During her employment with Willier and Company she has been working on many different areas of law, including Aboriginal law, criminal law, family law, civil law and employment law.
Ameera enjoys traveling, swimming, reading, cooking and working with children in her spare time.