Michael B. Niven, Q.C. | Carscallen LLP Law Firm

Expertise

Commercial Litigation
Utilities Regulation
Oil and Gas/Energy Law
Land Use Planning, Municipal & Development
Corporate and Commercial Transactions
Professional Liability
Regulatory Advocacy
Wills, Trusts, Estates, and Estate Litigation
Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning
Commercial Real Estate and Leasing
Banking and Financial Services

Year of Call

1980, Scotland
1983, Alberta

Education

Bachelor of Laws, University of Dundee, Scotland, 1976
Master of Laws, University of Alberta, 1977

Professional Associations

Canadian Bar Association
Calgary Bar Association
Director, Freehold Owners Association of Alberta
Law Society of Scotland
Lawyers Associated Worldwide

Representative Work

Was involved in sale of all of the assets of a public oil and gas company in 2010, valued at $35 million.
Was involved in sale of all of the assets of a public oil and gas company in 2006, valued at $100 million.
Defended litigation by the buyer of all of the assets of a public oil and gas company. Settled without payment on a no costs basis in 2007.
Negotiated and documented $9-million pipeline sale and long term gas processing agreement in Northern Alberta in 2006.
Has assembled and supervised teams of title lawyers on numerous oil and gas asset transactions with values varying from under $1 million to hundreds of millions, 1990 to 2012.
Represented landowner groups before the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board at the 500Kv North-South Transmission Line and participated in the application to the Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (QB) to have that hearing suspended as a result of the EUB ‘spy scandal’, 2007.
Represented landowner groups before the Alberta Utilities Commission at the Heartland Project in 2011, the Western Alberta Transmission Line in 2012, and the Eastern Alberta Transmission Line in 2012.
Represented landowners affected by Heartland Transmission Project and by EATL before the Alberta Surface Rights Board.
Represented landowner groups before the Alberta Utilities Commission at the ATCO Urban Pipeline Renewal Project, 2013.
Represented oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies before the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board in 4 and 5 days hearings for well licences (2010, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013).
Was court-appointed mineral owners’ representative co-counsel in the Gross Royalty Trust test cases in Alberta QB in 1991, Alberta Court of Appeal in 1994 and leave application to Supreme Court of Canada in 1995. Court-appointed mineral owners’ representative since that date.
Has acted for hundreds of mineral owners to have their Gross Royalty Trusts successfully collapsed and removed from the mineral title (1989 to present).
Represented a dependent adult who was being emotionally and financially abused by a relative and alternate guardian. Alternate guardian discharged and new guardian appointed and accounting ordered.
Represented a corporation which had engaged in sophisticated tax planning for 10 years based on a certain class of shares having been issued. They in fact had not. Negotiated retroactive approval of the share issuance with Canada Revenue Agency (with no additional tax being paid) and obtained the appropriate retroactive Order from QB. (2009)
Represented an inventor whose right to a patent was being challenged by the engineer hired by the inventor to draft the drawings for the device. Settled the engineer’s claim without payment and worked successfully with patent counsel to obtain the patent for the inventor. (2000) That inventor is now the largest private employer in a small town in Alberta.

Community Involvement

Former member of Federal Judiciary Advisory Committee for Alberta, 2008-2011
Member of the Provincial Court Nominating Committee for Alberta 2008-2014 and it’s Chair 2009-2014
Founder and director, national board, Canadian Stuttering Association http://www.stutter.ca/
Lawyer for Canadian Cancer Society, Alberta/NWT branch
Board member, ISTAR (Institute for Stuttering Treatment and Research) http://www.istar.ualberta.ca/

Awards, Recognition & Accomplishments

Appointed Queen’s Counsel, 2006
Recipient of Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012