Find Lawyers in Alberta, Canada for Appellate Practice
Practice Area Overview
Arguing an appeal involves dealing with the case based on a fixed evidentiary record. It is only in rare instances that courts of appeal will entertain fresh evidence. Appellate practice involves putting together the appeal record and drafting the written argument, or factum, for the appeal. These steps are required in order to “perfect” the appeal, or to have it ready for argument. The respondent to the appeal will then file a responding factum. Appellate counsel have to be aware of the specific timelines associated with these tasks, which can be fairly condensed. Once the appeal is perfected, it is scheduled for an oral hearing with time limits normally assigned by the Court. Counsel for the appeal then argues the appeal in front of a panel of judges, normally three for courts of appeal and seven or nine for the Supreme Court of Canada. When counsel are attempting to overturn a court of appeal’s previous precedent, it is normally necessary to request that a five judge panel hear the appeal. Motions in courts of appeal are normally heard by a single judge. The majority of appeals are unsuccessful, meaning a premium is placed on appellate counsel who can advance concise and convincing arguments based on the record that exists. Appellate practice requires strong written and oral advocacy skills.
The majority of appeals to provincial appeal courts are as of right, but some appeals require to leave from the Court before the appeal can proceed. Leave is required for any appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Leave to appeal is normally determined based on paper record, without oral argument. At the provincial level, the test for leave normally requires conflicting decisions and/or an issue of importance. At the Supreme Court of Canada, the test for leave to appeal is a matter of national importance. As a result, the majority of appeals heard by the Supreme Court of Canada involve constitutional or administrative law issues, which tend to affect all of Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada grants leave for a very small proportion of leave applications, meaning it is difficult and rare to get leave. Generally, leave to appeal is normally only granted for legal issues, not factual issues, which tend not to be of general importance and for which the standard of review is very deferential.
Mike Donaldson, QC, has practiced energy, commercial, and securities litigation, and commercial arbitration in Calgary for over 25 years. He has extensive experience with claims in the electricity, oil & gas, midstream, petrochemical, and pulp & paper industries both before the courts and in complex commercial arbitrations. Mike has appeared as counsel in over 100 reported cases before all Alberta Courts, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada, the ...
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Mr. Halt graduated as the gold medal recipient from the University of Saskatchewan in 1986 and in 1988-89 he had the honour of serving as a law clerk to Madam Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada. Following his clerkship, Mr. Halt relocated to Calgary and has since practised civil litigation, including insurance with an emphasis on professional liability, corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation, franchise litigation, insolvency, construc...
Carsten is a founding member and senior partner of JSS Barristers, the largest civil litigation boutique law firm in western Canada. His practice emphasizes complex and multi-party corporate and commercial litigation, commercial class actions, oil & gas litigation including royalty, environmental and CAPL issues, shareholder disputes, advising creditors and others in insolvency matters and professional negligence claims. During a leave of absence from JSS Barristers, he served as Senior L...
Jim Lebo finds legal solutions that protect businesses. With his detailed knowledge of the people and the intricacies of the court system, he guides his clients through every step of the litigation process with skill and expertise. Jim handles corporate commercial litigation, appeals, and arbitrations. He has specialized expertise in appeals for complicated regulatory proceedings as well as an interest in constitutional litigation. His clients come to him for help with a range of issues in ma...
A senior partner with McLennan Ross, Graham has assisted clients to resolve all types of civil claims. Graham has focused on commercial litigation, including class action proceedings, professional liability claims against accountants and construction litigation. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Graham conducts cases in Edmonton, Calgary, British Columbia and Ontario. Graham has appeared before all levels of Court in Alberta, the B.C. Supreme Court, the Ontario Court of Justice, the Northwest Terri...
Glenn now practices in the areas of administrative law and civil litigation, focusing on corporate, commercial and contract litigation (including corporate and securities disputes, oil and gas litigation, contract disputes, commercial landlord and tenant disputes, land disputes, employment litigation and debt collection), wills and estates litigation, Securities Act and Alberta Securities Commission proceedings, Judicial Review hearings, real estate litigation, serious personal injury, profes...
David Marshall joined JSS Barristers in 2016, having previously articled and worked as an Associate at a large national law firm, practicing in general civil litigation. David has represented clients before all levels of court in Alberta. David continues to practice in most areas of civil litigation, including administrative, public and regulatory law, appeals, corporate and commercial litigation, defamation and communications, employment law, insurance and coverage disputes, professional neg...
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