Cynthia Westaway carries over thirty years of experience representing Indigenous clients in litigation, negotiation, and consultation on Indigenous rights, title, and treaty matters.

Cynthia is the founder of Westaway Law Group and Senior Counsel at First Peoples Law LLP in Ottawa, Ontario. She is a Certified Specialist in Aboriginal Law with the Law Society of Ontario and has previously been called to the bar in British Columbia, Nunavut, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec. Currently, she is called to the bar in Ontario.

Cynthia also holds a Master’s Degree in Comparative Aboriginal Law (U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia) from the University of Ottawa. In her practice, she has represented First Nations on key land and environmental issues, including pleading at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Cynthia is also a Professor in Residence at the University of Ottawa, where she teaches Indigenous Law with a focus on negotiation and litigation. As Director of the Lands and Consultation Hub, Cynthia leads and supervises law students as they produce legal and strategic materials in support of First Nation clients.

Previously, she worked as a Director General of Legal Services at Global Affairs Canada and as Senior Counsel at the Department of Justice. She has also served as a law clerk at both the Federal Court of Canada (Justice Pinard) and the Supreme Court of Canada (Justice L’Heureux-Dubé).

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Law students from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law contribute to the Lands and Consultation Hub through the Lands and Consultation course, Student Proposed Internships (SPIs), and Directed Research Projects (DRPs). They assist First Nations by conducting legal research, developing resources, and providing support on consultation-related matters to help uphold First Nations' rights.