Brendan is a litigation and appellate lawyer with more than a decade of experience at all levels of Court in Canada and numerous tribunals. His cases have garnered over 50 reported decisions, and he has significant experience in matters before courts of appeal, including having appeared as appellate counsel at the Supreme Court of Canada three times to date.
Brendan’s commercial litigation practice deals with all forms of business disputes. This includes prosecuting and defending claims regarding breach of commercial agreements of all kinds, negligent services, product liability in the oil and gas sector, commercial lease disputes, and countless other areas. He also acts in all manner of corporate, partnership and other business association disputes. He has experience in acting for both employers and employees in high conflict wrongful and constructive dismissal litigation, as well as before the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Further, Brendan defends professionals before their colleges and boards when allegations of professional misconduct are made against them.
He has acted as defence counsel on complex criminal and regulatory matters including commercial offences (charges of fraud, charges under the Securities Act, Consumer Protection Act, Income Tax Act etc.), commercial transportation offences, environmental offences, as well as Occupation Health and Safety charges where serious injury or death has occurred. Further, Brendan acts as defence counsel on all forms of charges under the Safety Code Act (Building Code, Fire Code, and Electrical Code etc.).
Brendan’s constitutional law practice involves invoking the constitution to defend businesses and individuals’ rights against government activity and unconstitutional legislation, and includes First Nations rights. He has been counsel on numerous precedent-setting cases in the area, he holds a Masters of Constitutional Law from Osgoode Hall Law School where he studied under some of Canada’s most noteworthy constitutional practitioners and scholars. Brendan has acted as counsel before the following courts, administrative tribunals, commissions and boards including:
- Supreme Court of Canada
- Federal Court of Appeal
- Alberta Court of Appeal
- Alberta Court of King’s Bench
- Superior Court of British Columbia
- Superior Court of the Yukon Territory
- Federal Court of Canada
- Alberta Court of Justice
- Provincial Court of British Columbia
- Provincial Court of Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territorial Court
- The Alberta Securities Commission
- Canadian International Trade Tribunal
- Law Society of Alberta
- Chartered Accountants of Alberta Disciplinary Tribunal
- Alberta College of Social Work Disciplinary Tribunal
- Alberta Insurance Council
- Alberta Teachers Association
- Parole Board of Canada Appeal Division
- Municipal Councils
- Subdivision and Development Appeal Boards
- Service Canada Board of Referees
- Transportation and Safety Board of Alberta
- Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council
- Alberta Legislature’s Ethics Commissioner
- Alberta Chief Electoral Officer
From 2009 to 2021 Brendan was a guest lecturer at Mount Royal University in constitutional rights. He was an instructor in the Trial Advocacy Course at the University of Calgary Law School from 2015-2020. In 2021 Brendan was the course designer for Canadian constitutional law in the joint program between the University of Sussex Law School and Wilfrid Laurier University, and became the course’s inaugural instructor that same year which he teaches to this day.
In 2019, Brendan was both an editor and contributor of the Alberta Limitations Manual, published by Lexis. In 2020, he authored the chapter on the Consumer Protection Act in the Alberta Business Law Manual.