Mr Bruce A Lawrence Partner Borden Ladner Gervais LLP - Lawyer Biography - International Law Office

Background

Bruce Lawrence is a partner in our Calgary office. Mr. Lawrence was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1983. He graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1979 and thereafter graduated from the University of Alberta, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1982.

Areas of Practice

• Mr. Lawrence has practised in the corporate/commercial area in Calgary since 1982 with an emphasis on clients involved in the natural resources sector. More specifically, the bulk of his practice involves corporate and securities transactions with exposure to numerous mergers, acquisitions, takeover bids and plans of arrangement.
• Mr. Lawrence is also involved in the areas of franchising, electrical distribution and cogeneration facility developments.

Professional Experience

• Matters in which Mr. Lawrence is often retained with respect to securities related transactions include:
  • Initial Public Offerings and Secondary Offerings involving, amongst other securities, trust units, common shares, preferred shares, exchangeable shares, warrants, limited partnership units, special warrants and debt securities ranging in size of up to $1 billion;
  • Initial Listings and ongoing Compliance with various stock exchanges including the TSX-V, TSX and NYSE;
  • Take-over Bids (friendly and hostile) involving private and public companies, several with transaction sizes in excess of $1 billion;
  • Plans of Arrangement of all types including conventional take-over bids, trust mergers, trust conversions, public newco spin-outs and cross-border take-over bids utilizing exchangeable shares, with typical enterprise values of between $25 million and $200 million;
  • Mergers and Acquisitions both locally and internationally, via corporate reorganizations and outright purchases;
  • Significant numbers of Private Placements in all provinces of Canada and in the United States, with subscription proceeds ranging up to $6 billion;
  • Rights Offerings (both to finance ongoing operations and to create public newco entities) and Issuer Bids;
  • Numerous Appearances before, and Discretionary Relief Applications to, various securities commissions in Canada;
  • Preparation and review of Franchise offering documents and agreements;
  • Provide counsel on all aspects of Corporate Governance including the creation of internal policies regarding reserve committees, audit committees and insider trading, as well as acting as counsel to special and independent committees;
  • Day-to-day Corporate Activities including stock option plan preparation and grants, board meeting attendances and counsel, and contract review and drafting; and
  • Currently on the Board of Directors and Audit Committees of a select number of private and public companies operating both locally and internationally.
• Natural resources retainers in which Mr. Lawrence has been involved with include:
  • 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);
  • Provide counsel on various Oil Sands Initiatives (including providing advice on acquisitions and ownership of oil sands leases in Alberta, acting for parties during the purchase and sale of interests in oil sands leases as well as negotiating and finalizing a variety of agreements such as 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);
  • Conventional Asset Purchases;
  • Purchases and sales of Off-shore Arctic and East Coast Assets including related tanker and transportation issues;
  • Sale and licensing of both on and off-shore Seismic Data and seismic companies; and
  • Purchase and sale of Hard-Rock Mining interests and companies.

Professional and Community Activities

• Member of the Canadian and Calgary Bar Associations
• Past Chairman, Securities Sub-Section, Southern Alberta Branch, Canadian Bar Association
• Past Member, Securities Advisory Committee, Province of Alberta
• Former Director of The Glenbow Society
• Member, Western Showcase Committee, Calgary Exhibition and Stampede
• Lectured and participated as a panel member at numerous conferences and seminars (including forums such as Toronto Stock Exchange sponsored seminars, the Bar Admission course and society groups such as the Canadian Investor Relations Institute) Mr. Lawrence has also delivered many papers on commercial topics such as public offerings, public disclosure obligations, director’s liabilities and contentious shareholder meetings.

Practice areas to which Bruce A. Lawrence belongs:

• Electricity Markets
• Franchise and Distribution Law
• Oil and Gas
• Securities and Capital Markets