Lawson Lundell LLP

Brad Armstrong

Brad has extensive experience in civil litigation, Indigenous law, administrative and constitutional law, and environmental law. He represents clients involved with land use issues, project development, regulatory approvals, environmental assessments, Indigenous consultation, and litigation, in a range of natural resource industries including mining, forestry, agriculture, aquaculture, energy, independent power projects, oil and gas, and transportation. His practice extends through Western Canada and the North (including Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut). Brad acts as counsel in court hearings and in public review hearings, in all levels of the British Columbia Courts and the Federal Courts, and before federal, provincial and territorial boards, panels and commissions. Brad also has extensive experience in corporate and commercial litigation, injunctions, and environmental prosecutions, as well as competition law.

Clara Ferguson

Clara practices primarily in the area of energy and regulatory law with a focus on public utility regulation and administrative law. She advises private sector, public sector and government clients on a broad range of matters before regulatory boards and the courts including, market rules and compliance, rate design, regulatory requirements and facilities applications. Clara has appeared as counsel before administrative tribunals in BC, Alberta and the Northwest Territories and regularly assists clients in proceedings before the British Columbia Utilities Commission and Alberta Utilities Commission. Clara also acts for clients with respect to matters before the BC Oil and Gas Commission and Canada Energy Regulator (formerly National Energy Board). Clara has appeared at all levels of the Alberta court, including numerous matters before the Alberta and BC Court of Appeal. Clara has trial experience and participated as counsel at a Coroner's Inquest in the Northwest Territories.

Craig Ferris

Craig is one of British Columbia’s most accomplished litigation lawyers and acts for clients in commercial and business disputes. His particular areas of focus include shareholder remedies, trust, pension and fiduciary disputes, securities and transactional litigation, product liability, mining disputes and real estate litigation. Craig has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. He also has extensive experience, both as counsel and as a neutral, in international and domestic arbitrations as well as in administrative settings, including before the British Columbia Securities Commission. Craig has particular knowledge of class actions and acted as lead counsel in several successful defences of major class proceedings in a wide variety of industries. Craig is a B.C. roster member of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute, a fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Litigation Counsel of America (Order of Certus and Order of Centurions), a member of the Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society and the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, and is a domestic and international arbitration panelist with the Vancouver International Arbitration Centre.

David Allard

David practices primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate and commercial and corporate finance and securities law. David has extensive experience focused on advising private and public company clients on transactional and corporate commercial matters, corporate reorganizations and restructurings, as well as corporate governance issues. He works with clients at all stages of development, from senior public companies to startups and entrepreneurs, and represents clients across a variety of industries, particularly forestry, services and technology.

Deborah Cushing

Deborah practises labour and employment law, advising clients on a range of matters including wrongful dismissal, employment standards, business immigration, labour relations, and human rights issues. Deborah attended law school following a career in human resources. She worked in labour relations in the public sector followed by experience as an employee relations manager in the financial industry. Deborah works with clients in a wide range of sectors including mining, retail, hospitality, health care, government and non-profit.

Greg Hollingsworth

Greg is both a lawyer and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) who practices in the areas of business law, mergers and acquisitions, and taxation. Greg’s combined legal, taxation and accounting background enables him to advise clients on both the commercial and taxation aspects of transactions. Clients and their financial advisers particularly value his unique ability to converse with them at a high level on financial and accounting matters. A significant part of Greg’s practice is focused on the formation of private equity funds and M&A transactions involving private equity funds. Greg is the head of Lawson Lundell’s Private Equity Group and is recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada (2023) as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in the area of Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity law. He acts for a number of private equity clients including CAI Capital Partners, Highland West Capital, Lighthouse Equity Partners, Fulcrum Capital Partners Inc. (formerly, HSBC Capital (Canada) Inc.), Parallel49 Equity (formerly Tricor Pacific Capital Inc.), Stern Partners, Beedie Capital Partners, Yellow Point Equity Partners, Breakwater Management LP, Arviat Equity Partners, and Headland Capital Partners, Greg has acted for both CVCA ‘Deal of the Year’ award recipients (2007, 2014 and 2022) and ACG Vancouver ‘Deal of the Year’ award recipients (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019). Greg qualified as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) in 1988 while working with Ernst & Young in Toronto. He joined Lawson Lundell in 1992 and worked in both the Business Law and Tax Groups of the firm until 1999. Between 1999 and 2004, Greg worked in Dublin, Ireland with William Fry, Solicitors, one of Ireland’s top corporate-commercial law firms, where he practiced both corporate-commercial and taxation law in the Technology and Taxation Groups of the firm. His practice in Ireland focused primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and inbound and outbound investment. Greg re-joined Lawson Lundell in 2005 upon his return to Canada.

Jagdeep Shergill

Partner

Jeff Christian

Jeff is a litigation partner practicing exclusively in the energy, utility and natural resource sectors. He represents clients before regulatory tribunals such as the BC Oil and Gas Commission, Canada Energy Regulator, and Alberta Utilities Commission. He also advises clients on cross-border energy and natural resource development; regulatory and legislative reform issues; and related litigation and dispute resolution. He has a background in engineering and earth sciences, and is head of the Regulatory Litigation Department at Lawson Lundell. Currently, Jeff is a member of the Canadian delegation negotiating a modernized Columbia River Treaty with the United States, representing BC Hydro.

John Olynyk

John is a member of Lawson Lundell’s Indigenous, Environmental, and Project Development practice groups. His practice includes advising private sector and government clients throughout Canada on Indigenous, environmental, regulatory and natural resources matters. John advises oil sands developers, conventional oil and gas companies, railways, mining companies, utilities and other resource developers on environmental regulatory matters and on Indigenous law matters, including Indigenous consultation issues and negotiation of cooperation protocols and impact benefit agreements related to natural resource project development. John is also the firm’s General Counsel.

Karen MacMillan

Karen is the Co-Leader of Lawson Lundell's Mining Group and Chair of the firm's Executive Committee. Karen practices corporate/commercial, mining and energy law with an emphasis on commercial arrangements in the mining sector including asset level acquisitions and dispositions, negotiation of earn-in, option and joint venture agreements, royalty agreements, procurement, construction and engineering agreements, and other strategic ownership arrangements. She also regularly advises clients in the energy sector in connection with the ownership and development of major power generation projects, power purchase and sale agreements, renewable energy transactions and a variety of related commercial/contracting matters. In addition, Karen has represented domestic and foreign-based clients in various industries on general business law matters involving domestic and cross-border transactions. Karen’s experience includes advising on share and asset acquisitions and divestitures, licensing arrangements, corporate and contractual joint venture arrangements, and debt and equity financings. Her experience covers a range of sectors and industries including energy, mining, forestry, pulp and paper, financial services, consumer products manufacturing and distribution, recreation and resorts, transportation and education.

Keith Bergner

Keith advises private sector, public sector and government clients on Indigenous law and regulatory matters. He has appeared as counsel before numerous regulatory tribunals and all levels of Superior and Appellate Courts (both Federal and Provincial), including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has acted for clients in a number of natural resource industries including hydro-electric generation and transmission, oil and gas, mining, aquaculture, forestry, transportation and independent power projects. His practice extends throughout Western Canada and the North (Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon). In the area of Indigenous law, Keith advises governments, Crown corporations and private sector clients on the extent of the duty to consult and, if necessary, accommodate, in respect of potential adverse effects to Indigenous rights or title by major industrial projects. He advises on the development of consultation programs and has negotiated several dozen impact-benefit agreements with First Nations. Keith acts as hearing counsel for proponents seeking regulatory permits and approvals. He also represents project proponents and governments in appeals and judicial reviews challenging project approvals. In the area of regulatory/energy law, Keith acts as counsel for proponents and users of energy, mining and other natural resource projects. He appears regularly before administrative tribunals, including the National Energy Board and the British Columbia Utilities Commission. He also appears as counsel on appeals or applications seeking judicial review of decisions by administrative boards and tribunals.

Khaled Abdel-Barr

Khaled practices mining law and is the Co-Leader of Lawson Lundell's Mining Group. He provides legal support for mineral exploration activities and mine development and operations. He advises on acquisitions and dispositions of mines and mining projects both domestically and around the world, mine financing, and on a broad range of mining matters, including the negotiation of earn-in, joint venture, strategic alliance, royalty and streaming agreements, and mineral title review. Khaled also practices corporate and commercial law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. Khaled advises clients on a broad range of transactions, both domestic and cross-border, and in many different industries, including share and asset acquisitions and divestitures, debt and equity financings and corporate structuring and reorganizations. Khaled also advises clients in the energy sector, having significant experience dealing with contractual issues in connection with the purchase and sale of energy and other energy related transactions.

Lana Shipley

Lana practices corporate and commercial law with a particular emphasis on energy, Indigenous and environmental law. She works with public and private companies in a wide range of industries, including mining, energy, natural resources, technology and manufacturing. Within her corporate and commercial energy law practice, Lana negotiates and structures complex commercial arrangements for hydroelectric utilities and energy companies, including tariff arrangements, power purchase and sale agreements, and renewable energy credits. She also conducts a variety of transactions, including asset and share acquisitions and dispositions, reorganizations and various other corporate proceedings, and advises public companies on regulatory matters, continuous disclosure and corporate governance practices. Lana’s Indigenous and environmental law practice involves assisting clients with the negotiation of impact benefit and other agreements with Indigenous groups in relation to proposed developments in the energy and mining industries and other sectors, as well as permitting and regulatory matters that arise throughout the development of both large and small projects. She also provides assistance in obtaining, amending and transferring environmental and other authorizations issued by federal and provincial regulatory authorities.

Laura Bevan

Partner

Leonard Glass

Len is a partner in our Vancouver office and is the co-practice group leader of our Tax Law group. Len’s practice focuses on creating tax effective structures for client’s operating Canadian businesses and their succession planning. Len provides similar advice to Canadian businesses that are expanding outside of Canada and non-resident clients who are expanding into Canada. Len also provides tax advice to Canadian pension plans in connection with their acquisitions and divestments both inside and outside of Canada.

Lewis Manning

Lewis’ practice focuses on Regulatory/Administrative Law energy matters involving both the electricity and oil and gas sectors including all aspects of rate applications, toll design, facilities applications, cost of capital and related matters before the Alberta Utilities Commission (previously the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board), the Alberta Energy Regulator (previously the ERCB) and the Canada Energy Regulator (formerly National Energy Board). He has appeared at all levels of the Alberta courts in relation to various energy related matters both at trial and appeals, the BCUC, OEB, Manitoba PUB, the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry, the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He has also represented clients in arbitrations as well as sitting as an arbitrator in relation to  oil and gas and electric industry related contract disputes. Lewis represents independent power producers, industrial & commercial customers, oil & gas producers, utilities, forest industries, industry associations, regulators, consumers and transmission companies in relation to a variety of regulatory matters. He has participated actively in all matters relating to the restructuring of the gas transmission and distribution sectors in Canada and the electric industry in Alberta. He was also a member of the legislative drafting committee responsible for the Alberta Electric Utilities Act and related matters. Lewis has a strong civil litigation background and has appeared as counsel in the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal in relation to a number of first nation challenges to pipeline projects. He has also acted as counsel before many other administrative tribunals, including the Development Appeal Board, the Workers Compensation Board, Calgary Real Estate Board, and the Municipal Government Board (Commercial Property Tax Assessment Appeals in relation to gas plants).

Murray Campbell

Murray is the head of Western Canada's largest and most experienced Pensions and Benefits Law Group. He has practiced exclusively in the pension and benefits area since 1994. His clients are boards of trustees and other sponsors of pension and benefit plans in the public and private sectors in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. He has significant experience advising clients with respect to the reorganization and modernization of their pension and benefit plans, as well as their governing documents.  He assisted with the introduction of joint trusteeship to pension plans in the British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba public sectors, and currently acts for more than a dozen joint boards of trustees of public sector pension and benefit plans. Recently, he has been assisting his benefit plan clients transition to the employee life and health trust rules.  He has also been assisting his pension clients address the new rules for SMEPs brought in by Bill C-30. While Murray is a solicitor, he regularly provides strategic direction and technical support in pension and benefit litigation matters.

Nancy Diep

Nancy Diep is a partner in the Calgary office of Lawson Lundell. Nancy's practice focuses primarily on the tax aspects of mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, including cross-border transactions or financings and intragroup restructurings. She is particularly experienced in the area of resource taxation. Nancy has worked on a wide variety of transactions for multinationals, private companies, senior, intermediate and junior resource issuers and private equity groups.

Nicole Skuggedal

Nicole practices in all areas of labour and employment law, including advising clients on wrongful dismissal, labour relations, human rights and privacy issues. Nicole has represented clients in matters involving labour arbitrations, labour relations boards, employment standards tribunals, human rights tribunals, privacy commissioners, and has appeared before the British Columbia Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada. Nicole frequently negotiates collective agreements and provides strategic and tactical advice to clients on drafting employment contracts and the labour and employment aspects of commercial transactions.

Paul Negenman

Paul advises clients on the drafting and negotiating of agreements for the acquisition and divestiture (A&D) of oil and gas assets and the drafting and negotiating of joint venture, partnership and joint operating agreements pertaining to the energy industry. Paul also assists clients in due diligence and title opinion preparation in A&D transactions and with respect to custom and complex freehold land matters and the legal consequences of asset retirement obligations (ARO). He provides advice relating to day to day disputes and issues with joint venture participants, royalty owners and fee simple owners of oil and gas properties and ARO disputes. In A&D, he helps clients understand and navigate the closing process and the preparation of closing documentation to ensure a successful transaction. Paul's practice is focused exclusively on oil and gas matters. The significant concentration of Paul's oil and gas focused practice, allows him to provide his clients with timely, detailed and thoughtful assistance in energy matters.

Peter Tolensky

Peter is the Leader of Lawson Lundell's Real Estate Group. His clients include pension funds, asset managers, developers and other private entities to whom he provides advice on a variety of real estate and corporate structuring matters for all types of projects and transactions. Peter also leads our commercial leasing team and negotiates a high volume of retail, office and industrial leases for landlords and tenants.

Reinhold Krahn

Reinhold advises clients on both international and domestic income taxation matters, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate reorganizations, and cross-border transactions. He regularly provides taxation and structuring advice to large institutions and pension funds as well as large public and private clients on multi-billion dollar transactions. Reinhold has extensive experience in structuring complex financial transactions relating to investments across Canada, the United States, South America, Europe and Asia in a variety of fields, including resources, real estate and large industry. Reinhold also has extensive experience in structuring tax efficient investment structures for foreign investors acquiring and making investments and acquisitions in Canada.

Robert Sider

Rob Sider, KC, is the head of the Labour, Employment and Human Rights Group at Lawson Lundell. His practice focuses on management-side labour and employment law. He advises on labour and employment aspects of commercial transactions and day-to-day labour and employment issues. His work includes labour and employment litigation, arbitrations, human rights, employment standards (including director and officer liability issues), collective bargaining and workers compensation. Rob has appeared in front of labour relations boards, employment standards tribunals, human rights tribunals as well as before the British Columbia Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeal.

Ryan Berger

Ryan Berger is a leading privacy and employment lawyer, with a primary focus on providing strategic advice to businesses and employers. Ryan leads the firm’s Privacy Group and routinely advises public and private sector organizations on data protection, business confidentiality and privacy compliance, risk management strategies, breach response, access to information, and litigation. Ryan manages breach response teams for clients, including forensic investigation, crisis communications and notification. On the transactional side, Ryan works closely with the firm’s business group on technology development, innovation and deals involving data, as well as cloud and Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements. Ryan also has substantial employment law practice, having practiced commercial and employment litigation for over 20 years. He advises employers in a wide range of employment and dismissal cases, as well as harassment and human rights complaints. Ryan is experienced in the development and enforcement of restrictive covenants. Ryan has unique experience in the health care space. He has advised and represented health authorities in privileging, discipline and related employment matters. He also combines his understanding of the health care space with keen interest in privacy law to advise electronic medical records providers, clinics and technology companies in the evolving digital health care world. Ryan has extensive experience in commercial litigation, having appeared before all levels of court in British Columbia and the courts of other provinces, as well as various tribunals and boards.

Shannon Hayes

Shannon Hayes practices commercial litigation and arbitration and is the Leader of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group in Calgary. She is approaching 20 years of practice in dispute resolution and has a broad range of experience on commercial dispute matters.  Shannon has appeared before all levels of court in Alberta and acted in many private arbitrations. Clients regularly request Shannon to act on complex contractual and business tort disputes. Shannon is known for creative and think outside-the-box solutions to achieve her client’s goals in the most practical way.

Stuart Breen

Partner

Valerie Mann

Valerie (Val) is the Chair of the firm's Mergers and Acquisitions Group and of the firm's Technology Law Group; her practice is transactional (mergers and acquisitions / corporate finance) as well as advisory. After obtaining an honours bachelor of commerce degree, Val worked in marketing management with a large US based consumer packaged goods company, prior to obtaining her law degree. Val is the former Managing Partner of Lawson Lundell. She has been involved in transactions for private and public companies including mergers and acquisitions, financing and corporate reorganizations as well as, strategic alliances and joint ventures. Her practice includes acting for public and private companies as well as for private equity firms and large institutional investors. She has significant experience in private equity and venture fund formations. Val has been lead counsel on a number of large mid-market transactions including in the resource/commodities, real property (acquisitions and joint ventures for the development of industrial, and other commercial property) and manufacturing sectors in addition to acquisition activity in the technology sector. In 2017, Val obtained her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Management.