Alberta

BLG’s Calgary office houses some of the firm’s biggest luminaries in its construction practice. Jeffrey Vallis receives universal acclaim. “He’s frequently on the other side of us and he makes us work for our money,” quips one peer. Another raves, “He is a superb advocate in counsel and has done a ton of arbitrations in Alberta and Manitoba in particular.” Trish Morrison, also acknowledged as “excellent, just really first-rate,” leads the defense of a claim made by Dow Chemical Canada and ME Global Canada for damages in the amount of $210 million arising out of negligence and breach of contract related to the failure and forced shutdown of a boiler feedwater preheat exchanger, which is part of the process of cracking ethane gas into ethylene. Patrick Heinsen, who practices in the firm’s celebrated health law space, represents Alberta Health Services (AHS) against four unvaccinated doctors practicing in Alberta who have commenced a litigation against the client and its CEO concerning the implementation and constitutionality of AHS’s mandatory immunization program. 

Calgary’s Burnet Duckworth & Palmer enjoys a historic reputation in the market while at the same time keeping an eye on the future, boasting an array of cutting-edge work attended to by an increasingly younger group of litigators. “Burnet Duckworth has been crazy busy this year because they have seven people up against seven people from [a major regional firm] in a major landlord-tenant case concerning a building in Downtown Calgary.” Clients have turned out to the champion the firm’s cause; one testifies, “I use other firms but I prefer Burnet Duckworth, as they allowed me to be more involved with the process and they seemed to me more structured, in an easier-to-follow manner. BDP is typically more responsive and has a greater bench strength given the comparative size, and their advice is typically more practical and commercially savvy.

     Jeffrey Sharpe led a team that provided counsel to IPL in a precedent-setting decision before the Alberta Securities Commission that addressed Brookfield's use of total return swaps in its takeover bid of IPL. Brookfield had challenged certain defensive tactics IPL adopted in response to the Brookfield offer, including a break fee negotiated between IPL and Pembina, and a second-generation shareholder rights plan. The Commission dismissed Brookfield's application and found that Brookfield's use of and disclosure relating to the total return swaps was clearly abusive to IPL shareholders and the capital market, and therefore contrary to the public interest. “Jeff Sharpe is the main senior strength in that group. I’m against him right now, and he is as good as it gets,” asserts a peer, voicing the consensus of several others. All-purpose commercial litigator James Murphy, along with Richard Steele, is counsel to DIRTT Environmental, which has brought lawsuits in Alberta and the US against several of its founders, who have since departed to a new company, and numerous other departed employees, alleging that the defendants conspired to misappropriate its confidential and proprietary information and then use it to compete with DIRTT in the interior construction market.  DIRTT also alleged that the founders violated the fiduciary duties they owed to DIRTT and the restrictive covenants contained in the Executive Employment Agreements they entered into with DIRTT as part of its initial public offering. “James Murphy is a lovely guy,” offers a peer, who goes further to qualify, “but do not underestimate him in court! I once witnessed an opposing counsel who made the mistake of doing so, being extremely rude and disrespectful to him, and James just was came back hard and crushed them. I was impressed, and so was the judge. [James] is tough!” Steele, who attends to an employment law niche, represents the plaintiff in a claim seeking approximately $750,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal and contractual entitlements. The counterclaim for approximately $1.5 million alleges breaches of fiduciary and other duties, and responsibility for losses suffered by corporate entities while under the plaintiff's leadership. Steele also represents class plaintiffs in a class action being brought on behalf of female firefighters and employees of the City of Leduc. The class action seeks damages for having to endure what is alleged to have been 20 years of discrimination, sexual misconduct, and sexual harassment. Robert Martz, who works with Steele on this matter, is also acting with Andrew Sunter representing the class plaintiffs in an action, successfully certified in 2021, in which hundreds of unitholders who invested over $40 million in Northwynd REIT, which was wound up in 2017 by its trustees. The main allegation by the plaintiff class is that at the time of the wind up, Northwynd had about $40 million in contingent assets, and that instead of ultimately distributing those assets to the unitholders, the trustees transferred them to a holding company owned by Northwynd's CEO for no consideration.

International legal juggernaut Dentons maintains a formidable Alberta footprint through its Calgary and Edmonton locations and is somewhat unique in the sense that it is noted to have equal litigation horsepower in both offices. These two offices also attend to work that demonstrates the firm’s muscle on the international stage. Calgary’s co-head of litigation Gord Tarnowsky has made a notable mark in the international arbitration arena as of late. Tarnowsky represents Niko, a claimant in two ICSID arbitration proceedings seeking payment for gas delivered to Bangladesh Oil and Gas Mineral Corporation and seeking a declaration, with respect to liability, as well as any compensation payable to Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Company Limited arising from two gas well blowouts in Bangladesh. Tarnowsky is also acting for Niko in an Alberta action in which its relief well contractor has sought indemnification from Niko, with respect to the claims made in the Bangladeshi suit. In February 2019 a decision issued by the Tribunals found Dentons was successful in arguing against the respondents’ claims of corruption. Tarnowsky also represents two Italian companies in a claim involving a joint venture offshore from the Falkland Islands, alleging breaches of contract and copyright, amongst other accusations. In the Edmonton office, Dennis Picco is a noted standout, with a practice that comprises elements of construction, professional liability, insurance, arbitration and even intellectual property work. Picco represents pipeline entity Enbridge as a plaintiff in a case against a pipeline expansion construction consortium that was constructing an expansion to a crude oil pipeline and also crossing Enbridge’s pipeline. During the crossing exercise the construction contractor altered the agreed-to crossing process and struck one of Enbridge’s pipelines.

Field Law is one of Alberta’s few independent shops, operating through one office each in Calgary and Edmonton, with bench strength distributed evenly between the two offices. Field is especially touted for its insurance, construction and labor and employment capacities. One Calgary peer confirms, “Field is pretty much the go-to for litigation claims related to insurance. They have built their reputation on that work and it’s paid off for them.” The firm is a favorite with its loyal clients. One extols, “They are professional, very courteous and hard working. The whole team is very good at analyzing, evaluating and negotiating claims.” Edmonton insurance practitioner Sharon Stefanyk stands out to clients as “superb in all areas. [She is an] Expert at negotiations and has a real handle on evidence.” Calgary-based Robert Rakochey manages a multi-faceted practice that largely focuses on the construction industry. A client testifies, “Robert assisted us in a matter in which we were trying to get a partner removed and he did an excellent job.”

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. 

Calgary litigation boutique Peacock Linder Halt & Mack operates in a unique space in the market, carving itself a coveted position as a recipient of “premium” work. “Peacock Linder is always busy, and the size of the disputes they’re handling seem bigger and they seem more fractious and difficult to resolve than the work some other firms deal with,” offers a peer. Another affirms, “Peacock Linder is in the SWEET SPOT! In the Alberta economy, everyone is in the restructuring business, dealing with restructuring commitments, contracts, etc. They have become a necessary adjunct to this with litigation – the demand for their business has skyrocketed. With all of the consolidation going on in the legal field, bigger firms are being conflicted more than they ever were, and so the work is coming to firms like Peacock. They have a specialty – sophisticated oil-and-gas litigation.”

     Peter Linder is known in the Calgary community as “a pit bull,” with one peer and former opponent going on to elaborate, “If you’re up against him, you’d better be ready and you’d better be energized. He’s going to put you through the paces, you have to struggle to keep up.” Ed Halt maintains an emphasis on professional liability representation, directors’ and officers’ representation, corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation and franchise litigation. He also has regularly practiced in the areas of insurance law, insolvency, construction and product liability litigation. “Ed is a more measured litigator but very effective and not to be underestimated,” warns a peer. Mylène Tiessen, who joined the firm in 2008 from what is now Dentons, focuses on commercial litigation and professional liability for corporate and individual clients, as well as acting on administrative proceedings defending individuals before independent tribunals and acting as counsel to tribunals. Perry Mack, increasingly in demand as an arbitrator as well as one of Calgary’s most respected counsel, continues to be a peer favorite. “I’m on for TD on a kickback-scheme case,” testifies one peer, “and whenever it’s Perry that I have to deal with, it’s a pleasure. He gives me a run for my money when I try to be the most reasonable person in the room.” Emi Bossio also continues to be a favorite of the legal community. “Emi is on the other side of those international arbitrations, and I think she will be looking forward to getting back into that game in a big way.”

Rose is a Calgary boutique that saw its genesis in 2013 when a group of partners departed international conglomerate Dentons to establish their own litigation shop. In the eyes of peers, this bold gambit has more than paid off. “The Rose group are some of the brightest stars from Dentons’ Calgary litigation bench,” confirm one peer. “That was a REALLY good move that those people made going out on their own. They just are kicking ass all over the place. I deal with them on a lot of work, and they get a ton of other work as well.” Still another peer speculates in agreement, “I think Rose is turning away work at this point! They are just growing organically and developing a great space in this market, satisfying the need for high-end commercial litigation.” The firm is especially celebrated for its construction and infrastructure work, particularly pertaining to the energy industry and, buoyed by vibrant peer review, ascends into the “highly recommended” category in this edition.

Firm namesake James Rose is confirmed by peers to be “as active as ever. He does lots of commercial and insurance work, and has done every type of case that’s ever been done. He’s doing an IP case in Newfoundland dealing with the information on deposits of offshore oil, with issues dealing with the alleged wrongful acquisition of this information from the government.” Speaking to Rose’s magnetism, one peer offers in summation, “Jim was the guy that everybody knew in Calgary, the one in the middle of the wheel that connected everyone.” While Rose and fellow former Dentons alumnus Lowell Westersund have historically been the firm’s most visible litigators, peers also insist, “You need to take a closer look at Jane Sidnell. She is first-class and is someone who would be well-respected and recognized in this field.” By way of elaboration, another peer offers, “I had an eight-month-long construction file with Jane and she was excellent.” David Wachowich is considered “one of the leaders of the insurance bar. He’s had a long-standing relationship with the insurers in London.” Phillip Scheibel earns near-unanimous rave reviews as “a true leading force there, one who is a prime example of Rose’s strategic recruitment and growth strategy.” Managing partner Matthew Lindsay is another peer favorite, with one such peer confirming, “We were co-experts on a file in Australia and I found him to be very impressive and easy to work with.” Another raves, “You will hear GREAT FEEDBACK about Matt Lindsay. He has a humble nature – he’s from Saskatchewan! – but should not fly under the radar! He’s great, he’s a QC.” Brian Foster acts for a major investment dealer in an investigation by Securities Commissions of its entire business and compliance practices. He also acts for an investment fund in a fair-value claim arising from the exercise of dissent rights on an amalgamation. Foster also acts for an oil and gas company advancing a claim against an investment dealer that terminated a bought deal financing, resulting in significant losses to the company.