<PAGE>
 
                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1

                      CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
                              One Champion Plaza
                              Stamford, CT  06921


                                        March 29, 1996


Champion International Corporation
One Champion Plaza
Stamford, CT  06921

Dear Sirs:

     As Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Champion International
Corporation (the "Company"), I advise you as follows in connection with legal
and administrative claims and proceedings which are pending or known to be
threatened against the Company.

     I call your attention to the fact that, as Senior Vice President and
General Counsel of the Company, I have general supervision of the Company's
legal affairs.  In such capacity, I have reviewed litigation and claims
threatened or asserted involving the Company and have consulted with outside
legal counsel with respect thereto where I have deemed it appropriate.

     On November 9, 1992, an action was brought against the Company in the
Circuit Court for Baldwin County, Alabama, on behalf of a class consisting of
all persons who own land along Perdido Bay in Florida and Alabama.  The action
originally sought $500 million in compensatory and punitive damages for personal
injury, intentional infliction of emotional distress and diminution in property
value allegedly resulting from the purported discharge of hazardous substances,
including dioxin, from the Company's Pensacola, Florida mill into Eleven Mile
Creek, which flows into Perdido Bay.  However, in February 1994, the plaintiffs
reduced their demand to not more than $50,000 for each class member and in June
1994, the personal injury claims were dismissed.  It is anticipated that the
class, which was certified by the court in June 1994, will consist of
approximately 2,000 members.  The Company and the plaintiffs have entered into
an agreement dated March 13, 1996 to settle the action, pursuant to which the
Company would pay $5 million to the plaintiffs.  The settlement is subject to
court approval.

     In February 1994, the Company received a notice of violation from the Texas
Natural Resources Conservation Commission ("TNRCC") alleging unauthorized air
emissions from the Company's Sheldon, Texas mill.  The notice of violation
alleged several violations, all but two of which have been resolved without
penalty.  In October
<PAGE>

March 29, 1996
Page 2
 

1995, the Company received a letter from the Enforcement Division of the TNRCC
stating that it has recommended to the TNRCC Litigation Support Division that
the two remaining violations be settled for a penalty of $470,400.  The letter
notes that the Company may receive a credit against the recommended penalty if
the Company undertakes an environmental project in Texas.  The Company currently
is considering whether to accept the proposed settlement and is discussing with
the TNRCC possible environmental projects and the amount of the credit.

     While any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, subject to the
foregoing, it is my opinion that the outcome of each such proceeding or claim
which is now pending or known to be threatened, or all of them combined,
including the actions described above, will not have a material adverse effect
on the Company.

     I hereby consent to the reference to this opinion in the Company's Annual
Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1995, and in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1995
(the "Form 10-K"), and to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Form
10-K.
 
                              Very truly yours,



                              /s/ Marvin H. Ginsky
                              Senior Vice President
                              and General Counsel

MHG/col