Carscallen Blog

Written by Sean R. MacLachlan

Conducting a thorough legal, financial and commercial due diligence review is one of the most important steps to take when buying or selling a business (i.e. an M&A transaction).

Written by Michael B. Niven QC and Theresa M. Nolan 

Carscallen LLP litigators Michael B. Niven and Theresa Nolan successfully represented clients Keith Koebisch and Harry Hodgson (the “Applicants”) in a recent dispute with Rocky View County (“County”) over proposed gravel extraction plans in the case of Koebisch v Rocky View County¹ (“Koebisch”) in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.

Written by Hema Ahuja and Michael A. Custer

Employers and employees in Alberta should be aware of important changes made to provincial employment standards legislation effective September 1, 2019. These legislative changes are a result of the newly-elected provincial UCP government’s enactment of Bill 2: An Act to Make Alberta Open for Business (the “Act”).¹  

Written by Sean R. MacLachlan

There are a number of legal issues that potential buyers and sellers of an existing business should take into consideration before entering into any transaction. An experienced transaction team will make a significant difference to the purchase and sale process.  These are three important things a buyer or seller should consider about their transaction team when preparing to buy or sell a business. 

Written by Catherine A. Crang and Theresa M. Nolan

Employment agreements are contracts that define the terms, conditions, rights and obligations in an employment relationship.  Employment contracts can be written or oral (or a combination of the two) and can vary widely in scope and detail.  Often, employers will make a written offer of employment to an employee, and once that written offer is accepted by the employee, it becomes a binding written employment agreement. 

Written by Sean R. MacLachlan.

For business owners, a unanimous shareholder agreement (commonly referred to as a “USA”) that is drafted by an experienced corporate lawyer and tailored to the specific needs and objectives of your business can prevent a number of potential problems by anticipating and providing for issues before they may arise. A well-drafted USA can also save shareholders time and money by helping to avoid costly litigation in the event of disagreement and/or deadlock.

Written by John M. Davidson

In late June 2019, Health Canada commenced a public consultation period on the potential market in Canada for health products containing cannabis. This new class of product is referred to as “Cannabis Health Products” or “CHPs".

Written by Catherine A. Crang

The employment standards legislation in Alberta^[1] changed January 1^st, 2018. As the first big update to employment standards legislation in Alberta in almost 30 years, the 2018 Code created a number of new forms of employee leave, in addition to making changes to existing forms of employee leave.  By now, many employers and employees are aware of the changes, but often they are not aware of the extent of those changes, or the obligations and entitlements relating to them.

Written by Nicholas M. Ramessar

Pipelines, transmission lines or utility lines running across private land present a number of potential legal issues for landowners. One of the most important steps a landowner can take if a pipeline, transmission line or utility line is being proposed on their land is to retain experienced legal counsel, in order to help them understand their rights and obligations as landowners and to assist in navigating this process.  

Written by John M. Davidson

The highly-anticipated amendments to the Cannabis Regulations^[1] (the “Amended Regulations”) were released by Health Canada today, and officially come into force on October 17, 2019.