COMMERCIAL LAW
Commercial law encompasses a wide range of legal activity with which a number of our lawyers are well acquainted. Leasing, commercial agreements, acquisitions and mergers, purchase and sale of shares or assets of a business are areas of law requiring an innovative, efficient and productive approach. This continually expanding area of our practice demonstrates that we have been able to successfully perform for our clients by providing prompt legal services at reasonable cost while maintaining thoroughness and attention to detail.
REAL ESTATE
Whether it be single family residential purchase or a complex land transaction involving subdivision, redesignation, financing, syndication and purchase or sale, we have the lawyers with the experience, judgment and contacts to successfully close these transactions. We have developed and continue to update both our systems and our precedents to enable the prompt and efficient finalization of all such transactions. This is combined with an innovative approach in finding solutions to new and ever-changing problems that regularly occur as a result of today's fast-moving economy.
BANKING AND COMMERCIAL LENDING
Our expertise in representing the interests of both lenders and borrowers continues to develop with and keep abreast of the creative and complex changes in modern day commercial financing transactions. Benefiting from experience gained in advising lenders with respect to new lending techniques and drafting many different types of banking documents enables us to assist our clients in finalizing their financial and banking arrangements. From Mortgages and Debentures to on-line electronic banking, our intimate knowledge of the banking industry is available to our clients as their needs dictate.
CIVIL LITIGATION
Our extensive involvement in insurance litigation and construction dispute resolution has established our ability to handle the most complex and demanding of litigation matters. This area of our practice also encompasses tax litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency law, collections, receiverships, foreclosures and the pursuit of equitable remedies.
Civil Litigation is a broad field. Wherever disputes arise, our litigation department is ready to assist our clients in resolving those disputes in the most practical manner available. Often the focus is on the resolution of disputes between corporations, however, individuals are parties to litigation too. Those individuals look to our lawyers to assist them in personal injury claims, medical malpractice suits, products liability cases, defamation proceedings, claims for economic loss, actions for wrongful dismissal, and for practical advice on how to favourably resolve a great many types of disputes. We have lawyers experienced in handling litigation in each of these areas who can offer their knowledge, experience and objectivity in counseling litigants.
PERSONAL SERVICES/FAMILY LAW
Many individuals have called upon Bishop & McKenzie to counsel them with respect to their personal and family legal requirements. Each client receives individual attention even though the lawyer consulted may draw upon the expertise and skills of other lawyers in the firm.
Family law encompasses a number of different areas of practice including adoption representation, guardianship applications, divorce and matrimonial property disputes, counseling, negotiating and resolving custody and access disputes. Our extensive agreements, our document precedent system and appropriate use of qualified legal assistants enables us to provide family law counseling and services in a prompt and cost effective manner. Our family law practitioners often draw upon tax, corporate and real estate expertise within the firm in finalizing settlements which lead to creative and satisfactory solutions to difficult family problems.
SECURITIES LAW
We provide advice and opinions on securities law compliance, particularly as it relates to exempt private placement financing, limited partnership financing and prospectus qualification. We counsel and assist our clients in initial public offerings and the raising of capital in both the public and exempt markets. Our approach is direct and practical and we maintain an excellent relationship with the Alberta Securities Commission. We are imaginative and creative in our approach to securities matters drawing heavily on our considerable experience and on our good working relationship with regulatory authorities and contacts in other jurisdictions in Canada.
WILLS AND ESTATES
We recognize that the preparation of a Will is a significant personal decision. We provide not only the requisite legal expertise but personal attention to the particular needs of each client and provide significant and valuable counsel on estate planning. Our experience is reflected in time-tested precedents which have been updated regularly to reflect recent changes in the law. We are proud of our past counsel to executors and administrators or Estates, both large and small, and have displayed an ability to satisfactorily finalize the administration of Estates by prompt attention to all detail. On the rare occasions when the administration of an estate becomes litigious we are able to draw upon the experiences of our litigation department.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Intellectual Property Law encompasses Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents, Trade Secrets, Technology Transfer and protection of Confidential Information. We have served a broad spectrum of clientele in dealing with matters ranging from computer software to entertainment contracts; product research and development to restaurant franchising, and are currently active in matters respecting the transfer and licensing of Inventions, Trade Secrets, Know-how and other Intellectual Property assets.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Although the resolution of private disputes typically involves a court action, many types of proceedings involve representation of a client's interests before other decision-making bodies. We have enjoyed success in expropriation proceedings, compensation hearings, Development Appeal Board applications and appearances before other quasi-judicial tribunals in addition to the traditional trial and appellate court appearances. We have valuable experience and abilities in the areas of public inquiries.
ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION
Bishop & McKenzie reacts to demands for faster, less formal and less expensive alternate forms of dispute resolution. We have lawyers experienced in arbitration and mediation providing a structured, non-adversarial medium in which parties can successfully and more economically resolve a variety of disputes. These extend beyond areas of labour and management relations, into construction disputes, matrimonial mediation, insurance claims, and landlord and tenant disputes. One of our partners is a founding member of the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society. We maintain an active involvement in similar organizations to give us the experience and know-how to assist and counsel our clients in cost effective and prompt dispute resolution.
CONDOMINIUM LAW
Condominiums (and related forms of shared domain living) involve increasingly complex legal issues, and Bishop & McKenzie is involved in all aspects of condominium law, co-operative housing associations, strata plans, etc. We have acted extensively on behalf of developers in condominium developments, and to comply with legislative requirements. We have represented lenders, owners, board members and property managers in a variety of lawsuits involving condominiums. As part of our civil litigation practice area we have represented condominium owners and corporations in construction litigation and in lawsuits against developers.
TAXATION
There are few transactions which do not have a tax element requiring the input of a tax specialist. Our firm provides tax advice ranging from assisting small businessmen in determining optimal tax savings, to providing complex tax opinions in connection with major corporate public offerings. Our tax advice is not limited to planning alone, but also includes successful representation before the Tax Court and Federal Courts.
MUNICIPAL LAW
We are practiced in serving the private citizen, the developer and the municipal government in matters relating to municipal and planning law. Our counsel extends into the areas of development control, administrative tribunal appearances, regulatory enforcement and all other aspects of planning law. In addition, we have extensive experience in the highly complex area of municipal taxation and have developed close working relationships with other professionals with expertise in municipal law matters.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Our firm provides service in addressing environmental legal issues in the following areas:
Underground storage tanks; surface reclamation; waste management and disposal; environmental litigation; occupation health and safety; transportation and handling of dangerous goods; sale of land and secured transactions; approvals and permits; receivership and bankruptcy; environmental mediation.
IMMIGRATION LAW
Bishop & McKenzie provides legal services in both personal and business immigration matters. We deal with individual applications for immigrant status, business applications for landed immigrant status, immigration provisions under the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, refugee matters and immigration inquiries and appeals.
INSURANCE LAW
Representing the interests of insurers in civil litigation is a major part of civil litigation. Our practice includes providing coverage opinions, representing insurers with respect to first party claims, including the prosecution of subrogated actions, representing insurers with regard to brokerage and other underwriting issues and defending the interests of insured persons alleged to be at fault.
A major challenge in this area of our practice is in assisting to obtain a fair and timely final resolution of disputes. We have been at the leading edge of many alternative dispute resolution initiatives.
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