Background

Michael Marion is a partner practising in our Calgary office. He was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1999 after articling with the firm and clerking with the Alberta Court of Appeal and Alberta Court of Queen's Bench.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) with distinction, majoring in Finance, from the University of Manitoba.

Michael is a member of the Firm's Commercial Litigation Group and is the Calgary Group Leader of the Environmental, Municipal, Expropriation and Regulatory Law Group. In addition, Michael is involved with the Oil and Gas Group, the International Trade and Arbitration Group, the Expropriation Law Group, the Municipal Law Focus and the Public Law Group.

Areas of Practice

• Michael practises corporate and commercial litigation and administrative law with a focus on Alberta expropriation law, energy litigation, including electricity and oil and gas litigation, shareholder remedies and corporate litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency, and commercial lease disputes.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Selected Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada® 2012 (Energy Regulatory Law)
• Recognized in the 2009 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada as a “Litigation Lawyer to Watch”
• Recipient of the 2008 Lexpert Rising Stars Award for Leading Lawyers under 40

Professional Experience

• Past President and Vice-President, Alberta Expropriation Association
• Lead and co-counsel on several Calgary and Alberta expropriation matters, including the construction of the Calgary Stoney Trail and 'Ring Road', the widening of 16th Avenue and the West LRT project.
• Appeared as lead and co-counsel in trial and interlocutory proceedings before the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, the Manitoba Court of Appeal and the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench.
• Lead counsel in corporate oppression and shareholder remedy actions, on behalf of both corporations and shareholders. Co-counsel in shareholder dissent valuation proceedings.
• Lead and co-counsel for a large electric utility. Matters include general commercial disputes as well as disputes arising out of the restructuring of the Alberta electricity industry.
• Lead and co-counsel for oil and gas exploration and operation companies, and oil and gas industry service companies. Matters include disputes arising out of oil and gas operations as well as transactions for the purchase and sale of oil and gas and other assets.
• Lead and co-counsel in municipal matters, including Subdivision, Development Appeal Board hearings, tax assessment reviews, business license reviews and bylaw challenges.
• Acts on behalf of receivers, monitors, trustees in bankruptcy and creditors in receiverships, bankruptcies and restructurings pursuant to the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act.
• Lead counsel on many other general corporate and commercial disputes, including disputes arising out of franchise agreements, product liability, heavy equipment sales and general breach of contract claims.
• Experience in matters related to fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence and misuse of confidential information.
• Experience in the obtaining of pre-action civil disclosure orders.

Publications

• Author, "Compensation Where No Land Is Taken: Update of the Law in Alberta" (2010) Vol. 48 Alta L.R. 127.
• Co-author, with Layne Thiessen, “The Doctrine of  Estoppel by Convention in Canada,” published in the Annual Review of Civil Litigation (2011).
• Author, "Compensation Where No Land Is Taken: Update of the Law in Alberta ", prepared for the 2008 Alberta Expropriation Association Annual Conference.
• Co-author, with Randall Block and Dan Gilborn,  “Sealed Ex Parte Norwich Orders: Safeguarding Against Abuse of the Pre-Action Disclosure Remedy” (2003), Annual Review of Civil Litigation 225.