Alberta's leading mergers and acquisitions lawyers in 2021

Here are Alberta’s leading mergers and acquisitions lawyers based on Lexpert’s expansive annual peer survey. For the full roster of the province’s most recommended M&A lawyers and law firms, visit our practice area rankings.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is the branch of corporate law dealing with the purchase of one company by another or the blending of two companies into a new entity.

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Most frequently recommended mergers and acquisitions lawyers

Ross Bentley
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the bar: 1995

Ross Bentley is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. He devotes his practice to securities and corporate law, with a focus on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Bentley has extensive experience in a wide variety of equity and fixed-income offerings, including offerings of investment-grade, subordinated and high-yield debt. He also assists issuers in establishing shelf financing programs both for domestic and cross-border offerings under the Canada and US multi-jurisdictional offering system. Bentley has acted for issuers, underwriters and selling shareholders on offerings for participants in the airline, pipeline and energy infrastructure, agribusiness, railroad, chartered banking, and oil and gas service, exploration and development sectors. He regularly advises issuers on corporate governance matters and has acted for several issuers on high-profile proxy contests. He also regularly advises issuers in connection with continuous disclosure obligations, stock exchange matters and general corporate matters.

Christopher W. Nixon
Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year called to the bar: 1980

Christopher W. Nixon is a partner at the capital markets and mergers and acquisitions groups at Stikeman Elloitt LLP. He also heads firm’s China group. Nixon specializes in business law, with an emphasis on M&A, corporate finance, joint ventures, private equity, corporate and trust reorganizations and corporate governance. His practice involves both transactional and advisory assignments and representing oil and gas exploration entities, oilfield service entities, investment funds and investment dealers in Canada, the US, Europe and Asia.

Chad Schneider
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the bar: 1997

Chad Schneider is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. He practices corporate and securities law, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and governance, private equity and continuous disclosure compliance. Schneider has assisted both buyers and acquired companies in M&A transactions involving domestic and foreign parties. He boasts extensive experience in representing publicly traded issuers listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange. Schneider has also represented private companies and private equity investors. He has acted on behalf of underwriters and dealers in domestic and foreign public and private offerings of equity and debt. Schneider also assists clients on general corporate and commercial matters, including those in the oil and gas industry.

Craig A. Story
Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year called to the bar: 1997

Craig A. Story is a partner at the capital markets and mergers and acquisitions groups at Stikeman Elliott LLP. He devotes his practice to corporate and securities law, including public and private capital markets offerings, private equity and venture capital funds, M&A and corporate governance. His corporate finance practice includes advising issuers, major investors and underwriters in both the public and exempt markets. Specific transaction experience includes bought deals, multi-jurisdictional disclosure system offerings, shelf prospectuses, private equity and venture capital fund creation, restructuring and initial public offerings. Story advises clients and special committees on numerous types of M&A and other strategic transactions. His clients include energy companies, service and infrastructure companies, private equity firms and their portfolio companies, midstream companies and investment bankers.

Consistently recommended mergers and acquisitions lawyers

Marcus W. Archer
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the bar: 1999

Marcus W. Archer is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. He focuses on investment-grade and high-yield public and private debt, hybrid securities and equity financings, public and private mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, reorganizations and purchases and sales of businesses and assets. He acts for corporations, creditors and investment banks. Archer also assists clients in corporate governance, regulatory compliance, continuous disclosure and general corporate and commercial matters. He joined NRF’s Calgary office as an articling student in 1998 and became a partner in 2006.

Robert J. Engbloom
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the bar: 1976

Robert J. Engbloom serves as counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. He advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, transactional, governance and general business matters. Engbloom has acted as lead counsel on a wide variety of significant transactions and has extensive experience in providing advice on M&A, reorganizations and related-party transactions. His practice includes advising boards of directors and special committees on both governance matters and substantive transactions. Engbloom also boasts considerable experience on a broad range of corporate finance matters, representing issuers and underwriters in a variety of public and private financing matters both nationally and internationally. He is also a corporate secretary or director of several public and private corporations. Although Engbloom’s practice is primarily in the natural resources and energy areas, he also acts for clients and on transactions in other industries.

Derek S. Flaman
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the bar: 1996 (ON); 1996 (AB)

Derek S. Flaman is a partner at Torys LLP. His practice focuses on commercial law in the energy sector, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and project development in the oil and gas industry. Flaman boasts expertise in the acquisition and divestiture of upstream, midstream and downstream assets, onshore and offshore exploration and production matters, pipeline and transportation matters and the marketing of energy and energy-related products. He has worked with private equity funds, exploration and production companies, institutional lenders and midstream and downstream companies. Flaman is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and the Canadian Bar Association’s natural resource law and international business law sections.

Brock W. Gibson
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the bar: 1983

Brock W. Gibson is the chair of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. He devotes his practice to corporate and commercial law, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and private equity transactions. His clients include leading issuers, financial institutions, investment dealers, energy and service companies. Gibson's recent M&A and corporate finance experience includes acting as lead counsel on more than 170 M&A, reorganizations, and public equity and debt offerings. Gibson has advised on some of the largest commercial transactions in Canada. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Canadian General Counsel Awards.

Alyson F. Goldman
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the bar: 1997 (ON); 1998 (AB)

Alyson F. Goldman is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s business law group. Her practice focuses on securities and corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, shareholder activism and corporate governance. She also boasts expertise in the energy sector. Goldman’s corporate and securities experience includes public and private offerings of debt and equity securities. She has more than 25 years of experience in navigating clients through significant transactions and in capital markets, including acting for both issuers and underwriters and as lead counsel on complex securities and corporate law matters. Goldman is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation board, serving as chair of its governance committee and member of the finance and audit committee. She is also a member of the Alberta Bar Association, Law Society of Alberta, Law Society of Ontario, Canadian Bar Association and Calgary Bar Association. Goldman is a chartered financial analyst and a member of the Calgary CFA Society. She earned ICD designation in 2019.

Brent W. Kraus
Law firm: Bennett Jones LLP
Year called to the bar: 1999

Brent W. Kraus is a partner at Bennett Jones LLP, where he also co-heads the corporate department. He advises international and domestic clients on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, special committee mandates, capital markets, private equity and governance matters. Kraus’ practice focuses on the acquisition and sale of public and private entities through takeover bids, plans of arrangement, amalgamations, share and asset sales, joint ventures and reorganizations. He represents issuers and underwriters on initial and secondary public offerings and private placements of debt and equity. He also represents sponsors and management teams on significant equity investments and liquidity events. Kraus acts for clients in the energy, energy services, private equity, financial, industrial, consumer products and other sectors. Kraus is a former law clerk to Justice J.C. Major of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Patrick T. Maguire
Law firm: Bennett Jones LLP
Year called to the bar: 1992

Patrick T. Maguire is the managing partner of Bennett Jones LLP’s Calgary office. He is one of Canada’s leading international energy, commercial transactions and mergers and acquisitions lawyers. Maguire acts for domestic and international energy companies on a range of transactions, including purchases, sales, joint ventures, energy project development, project financing and energy commodity transportation and sales. He also assists borrowers and lenders in structuring and negotiating full and limited recourse financing arrangements for oil, gas and electricity companies. His considerable experience is complemented by his MBA in risk management and financing of international energy projects. Maguire has co-authored papers for several legal publications and has taught oil and gas law at the University of Calgary. He is a former president of the Canadian Energy Law Foundation and a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

Firm(s)

Bennett Jones LLP Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP McCarthy Tétrault LLP Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP Stikeman Elliott LLP Torys LLP