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Bruce Lawrence

Senior Counsel

Calgary
BLawrence@blg.com
403.232.9597

Expertise

Nicole Peterson

Practice Assistant

Calgary
npeterson@blg.com
403.266.1395
403.232.9150

Bruce has over four decades of experience advising clients on all aspects of corporate/commercial law, working closely with many clients involved in the natural resources sector.

Bruce has been consistently recognized in various rankings including:  The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Natural Resources Law, Oil & Gas Law and Securities Law); The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Corporate Finance and Securities, and Corporate Mid-Market); Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A, Lexpert Global Mining Special Edition – Canada’s Leading Lawyers in Global Mining; Lexpert®/ROB Special Edition – Canada’s Leading Energy Lawyers; and The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Corporate Finance & Securities, and Corporate Mid-Market). Bruce has been recognized as an Acritas Star, as well as receiving a Distinguished Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell®.

Bruce advises clients on various corporate and securities transactions, including:

  • Public and private financings
  • Mergers
  • Acquisitions
  • Take-over bids
  • Plans of arrangement
  • Asset and securities purchase and sale transactions
  • Corporate and trust reorganizations
  • Corporate governance and regulatory compliance

Bruce has presented at numerous conferences and educational seminars, and contributed to a variety of articles on subjects such as: oil and gas law; cross border securities transactions; U.S. political implications for Canadian business; energy trends; bankruptcies, receiverships and restructurings; and takeover bids and plans of arrangements. Bruce has given lectures at the University of Calgary and the University of Edmonton Law School on oil and gas fundamentals.

Bruce is also involved in oil sands and off-shore oil and gas development.

In addition to his work in natural resources and M&A, Bruce is active in the health sector.

Bruce is also the former Regional Chair of BLG’s Oil and Gas Group.

Bruce provides legal services through a Law Corporation.

Experience

  • Leading a broad based legal team with respect to the sale of a specialty insurance agency to a private equity firm.
  • Representing key shareholders in the sale of a specialty insurance agency with respect to a sale to a global insurance enterprise.
  • Acting as prime legal counsel for an intellectual property/software developer from its start as an emerging market player to a dominant worldwide provider in its space. This included acting for the company on its ultimate sale.
  • Managing a legal team assisting an AI client on all aspects of its operations including establishing its initial ownership and governance structure, subsequent private equity and convertible debt financings, as well as multiple private placements.
  • Acting for several oil and gas drilling and completion companies.
  • Representing several engineering firms with respect to their operations, financing needs and acquisitions, as well as domestic and foreign joint venture arrangements.
  • Acting for several automobile dealerships with respect to day to day operations together with their ultimate restructuring and sale to consolidators.
  • Acting as lead counsel for a diverse team of specialists in relation to providing legal advice to oil and gas companies at all levels of operations, including adoption of unanimous shareholder agreements, debt and equity financings, issuer bids, conventional bank financings, takeover bids, mergers and acquisitions and going public transactions.
  • Acting for multinational oil companies with respect to their Canadian securities regulatory filings and compliance.
  • Acting as local counsel for several Australian mining operators.
  • Acting as lead counsel for a dynamic and prolific real estate developer.
  • Acting as counsel on behalf of a pre-eminent ski and snowboard resort in western Canada.
  • Public offerings of all types including IPOs and Secondary Offerings involving trust units, common shares, preferred shares, exchangeable shares, warrants, limited partnership units, debt and other securities.
  • Advising on mergers, acquisitions and take-over bids (friendly and hostile) involving private and public companies.
  • Conducting plans of arrangement including conventional take-over bids, mergers, public newco spin-outs and cross-border take-over bids utilizing exchangeable shares.
  • Assisting on numerous private placements in all provinces of Canada and in the United States.
  • Acting as counsel on all aspects of corporate governance, including the creation of internal policies regarding whistle blowing, reserve committees, audit committees and insider trading, as well as acting as counsel to special and independent committees.
  • Providing advice on day-to-day corporate activities, including stock-option plan preparation and grants, board meeting attendances and counsel, and contract review and drafting.
  • Assisting on all aspects of conventional and frontier oil & gas operations (ranging from routine lease acquisitions and interpretations, area acquisitions and dispositions, to facilities construction, ownership and operation agreement negotiation and finalization).
  • Acting as counsel on various oil sands initiatives (including acquisitions, ownership and management, as well as negotiating and finalizing supply, transportation and sales contracts of bitumen and refined products, and operational contracts involving the construction, ownership and operation of mining and refining co-generation facilities).
  • Providing advice on the sale and licensing of both on and off-shore seismic data and seismic companies.
  • Acting as an advisor on all aspects of franchise operations including management, financing and the preparation and review of franchise offering documents and agreements.
  • Providing counsel on the purchase and sale of hard-rock mining interests and companies.

Beyond our Walls

Professional Involvement

  • Member, Canadian Bar Association (CBA); former Chair, CBA Securities Subsection, Southern Alberta Branch
  • Former Member, Securities Advisory Committee, Province of Alberta
  • Member, numerous Boards of Directors (public and private) and Audit, Compensation and Reserves Committees

Community Involvement

  • Member, Western Showcase Committee, Calgary Exhibition and Stampede
  • Former Director, Glenbow Museum Acquisitions Society

Awards & Recognitions

  • Recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Natural Resources Law, Securities Law), in the 2022 edition (and since 2017) of The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Oil & Gas Law), in the 2022 edition (and since 2021) (Corporate Law, Natural Resources Law) and in the 2022 edition (Mergers and Acquisitions Law).
  • Recognized in the 2024 edition of Lexpert Special Edition: Energy and Mining
  • Recognized in the 2023 (and since 2021) edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Corporate Finance & Securities) and since 2015 (Corporate Mid-Market).
  • Recognized in the 2022 edition of Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A
  • Recognized in the 2020 edition (and since 2014) of the Lexpert Global Mining Special Edition – Canada's Leading Lawyers in Global Mining
  • Recognized in the 2023 edition (and since 2014) of the Lexpert®/ROB Special Edition – Canada's Leading Energy Lawyers.
  • Recognized in the 2021 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Corporate Finance & Securities) and since 2015 (Corporate Mid-Market).
  • Recognized as a 2019 Acritas Star.
  • Martindale-Hubbell® BV® Distinguished™ 4.4 out of 5 Peer Review Rated.

Bar Admission & Education

  • Alberta, 1983
  • LLB, University of Alberta, 1982
  • B.Comm., University of Calgary, 1979