Calgary boutique JSS Barristers continues to enjoy a maverick model that allows it the flexibility to take on class-action work in both the plaintiff and defense capacities and a broad range of commercial, bankruptcy and professional liability work, with a good deal of it falling outside of typical oil-and-gas industry matters that drive much of the work for local firms. “They are doing very well in terms of market traction – I joke with them that half my practice is with them,” quips a peer. Peers also feel confident enough in the firm’s individual and collective acumen to increasingly seek them out for referrals. “I’m sending more and more work to JSS,” confirms one. “They have the horsepower, the know-how and the savvy with the courts.” Clients have also been appreciative of the firm’s dogged approach. “They not only know the law, they use it strategically,” enthuses one. “They also seek to understand what motivates the opposition. They are strategic in every move.” Another shares this high opinion: “JSS's strategic advice in litigation is unparalleled. Their significant experience and good judgment has provided us with an advantage in all matters that we have worked with them on. All of their predictions to date have been accurate. They also have a keen attention to detail and are able to distill complex legal issues into understandable information for the business team.” The alluded-to “horsepower” is evidenced by the firm’s increased depth at the “next-generation” level.
Oliver Ho, Andrew Wilson and Kajal Ervin are specifically namechecked by a peer as “people who have really come up and who will be leading as opposed to junioring.”
Glenn Solomon, a firm mainstay, is a hybrid commercial litigator and administrative law specialist who garners cheers from both contemporaries and clients. One such client extols, “If he agrees to work with you, he is engaged in what he does 100%. He is extremely strategic and stays one step ahead of the opposition. He knows the law. He applies it well. He cares deeply. He is the best lawyer I have ever worked with.” Another senior partner,
Carsten Jensen, is also cheered as “still one of the very best in the province [of Alberta.]” Jensen also attends to a varied practice, with arbitrations playing a large role in this, and additionally has found himself being increasingly called into service as a neutral arbitrator. Jensen represents the owners of a 37-floor Calgary office complex in an action involving an agreement to sell the complex for $65 million, which the purchasers then failed to close on. Working with Jensen on this matter is Ryan Phillips, who is championed by a client for his “calm demeanor and ability to explain complex legal issues in a really accessible way.” Said client goes on to extrapolate, “He has excellent writing skills and is very thorough. He is also very responsive and timely.” This same JSS pair acted on a C$30 million action to enforce property-and-earth-movement insurance coverage for a deformation or buckle on a pipeline owned and operated by firm clients that was discovered when an adjoining pipeline on a steep slope suffered a release of hydrocarbons, and the buckle was determined to be the result of earth movement on the slope.