 Bennett Jones Education Queen's University, BA (Hons.), 2003 University of Western Ontario, LLB, 2006 Bar Admissions Alberta, 2007 British Columbia, 2022 Overview Justin Lambert maintains a complex commercial litigation practice focusing on securities litigation, fraud recovery and energy disputes. A practical litigator, he works to align litigation with his clients’ broader strategic and business objectives. Justin is frequently called upon to handle intricate securities litigation matters including shareholder disputes, oppression claims, directors’ duties, corporate mergers, proxy solicitations and regulatory issues. He also assists corporations and special committees in conducting internal investigations into whistleblower complaints. His experience includes investigating allegations such as insider trading, foreign corrupt practices, vendor kickbacks and misstatements in publicly released audited financial statements. These matters often require coordination with auditors, domestic regulators and cross-border collaboration with colleagues in other jurisdictions. Justin helps clients trace, freeze and recover fraudulently misappropriated funds using various legal tools and court orders including court-appointed receivers. He has extensive experience tracing and recovering assets across provincial and international borders. His energy litigation practice includes disputes over royalties, leases and ownership of interests in wells. He also assists clients in resolving conflicts related to industry-standard form operating agreements, leases and accounting procedures. Beyond these areas, Justin advises clients on a wide range of commercial litigation matters. He has appeared before all levels of court in Alberta and has experience in both domestic and international arbitration. Justin is also a founding board member of Brady’s Foundation for Pediatric Palliative Care, a charitable organization that provides financial and other assistance to families of children with rare life-limiting diseases and genetic conditions. Select Experience • Successfully compelled a former provincial cabinet minister to attend questioning in a matter involving the alleged expropriation of mineral leases: Cabin Ridge Project Limited v Alberta, 2025 ABCA 53 • Joint venturers in the tracing, location and freezing of assets following the fraudulent misappropriation of COVID government support by a corporate hotel manager • Riverstone Pipestone LP and Riverstone V REL CNOR LP, the largest shareholders of Pipestone Energy Corp., in connection with the acquisition by Strathcona Resources Ltd. of all of the outstanding shares of Pipestone pursuant to a plan of arrangement. • Riverstone Holdings LLC, through its subsidiary Riverstone Pipestone LP, in its investment in the $67.9-million private placement of convertible preferred shares of Pipestone Energy Corp. • Bow River Capital, a Denver-based alternative asset manager, in a majority recapitalization of Vitruvi ("Company"), a geospatial-based Construction Management software platform. • Objecting shareholders on successfully opposing the Court approval of a plan of arrangement: HEAL Global Holdings Corp, 2023 ABKB 451. • Counsel to a court-appointed receiver in successfully setting aside the wrongful transfer of $3.3 million: 2022 ABKB 767, 2022 ABKB 768 • Alcanna Inc. in its approximately $320-million acquisition by Sundial Growers Inc. by way of court-approved plan of arrangement. • A domestic ad-hoc arbitration involving claims about an alleged shortfall in the minimum volume commitments existing under a products handling take-or-pay contract. The arbitration involved disputes about a material adverse change clause, repudiation, and contractual good faith duties. • Bidell Equipment LP, in a successful trial against Caliber Midstream GP LLC and Caliber Midstream Partners, L.P.: 2019 ABQB 296. • Calfrac Well Services Ltd., in finding that an activist investor breached a confidentiality agreement: 2019 ABQB 340. • Confidential client in representing the Board of Directors in connection with an auditor-initiated internal investigation into executive compensation payments being conducted by the Audit Committee. • The acquisition by International Petroleum Corporation of BlackPearl Resources Inc. (with an estimated enterprise value of approximately $675 million) by way of a share exchange pursuant to a plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act. • Eagle Energy Inc., in the successful defense against activist investors in a proxy contest for control of its board of directors. • PointNorth Capital, in litigation aspects of its successful proxy contest for renewal of the board of directors of Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd. • TerraPro Group Inc., an Alberta-based provider of environmental, terrain protection and remote access solutions, in its reorganization pursuant to a plan of arrangement and concurrent refinancing. • Group of employees departing from an employee-owned corporation, in negotiating the multi-million-dollar buyout of their shares in the face of management attempts to reduce the purchase price. • A public company in the investigation of possible tipping by an employee contrary to the Securities Act, and responding to associated securities commission inquiries. • Defendant companies in class action proceedings in which it was alleged that the defendant companies had charged improper interest rates on late payments. • Audit Committee of Penn West Petroleum Ltd., in a management-initiated, voluntary review of certain accounting practices, and in connection with the restatement of the company's previously filed financial statements arising from the review. • The operator of a private oil sands airfield in defending an $81-million claim for conspiracy, wrongful competition, and interference with contractual relations. • Set aside a fraudulent transfer of assets carried out for the purpose of defeating a creditor. • Obtained a multimillion dollar summary judgment for clients whose funds were misused by a promoter of a land investment: 2013 ABQB 499, affirmed by the Court of Appeal of Alberta, 2014 ABCA 205. • Defeated an application brought by a non-Operator to replace the Operator of 5 wells. • Obtained an injunction prohibiting a joint-Operator from conducting an operation which threatened a wellbore and future production. • Defeated an injunction application in which the applicant sought to prohibit the screening of a film at a film festival. • Proposed representative plaintiffs in a
class action relating to an alleged Ponzi scheme alleged to have
received in excess of $100 million from Albertan and Canadian
investors. In this regard, have obtained Receivership Orders
against the key companies and Attachment Orders freezing the assets
of alleged key defendants. • Defeated an application for a stay of disciplinary proceedings being conducted by a professional organization against one of its members: 2008 ABQB 522. • A national non-profit organization, in recovering funds and other property wrongfully misappropriated to form a competing organization. • Rolling Thunder Exploration Ltd., in its
acquisition by Action Energy Inc. by way of court-ordered plan of
arrangement. • Foreign defendants, in proceedings to stay a claim
brought against them in Alberta on the basis of forum and
jurisdiction. |