April 30th, 2010

Walsh Wilkins Creighton LLP is pleased to announce that S. Marc Zybutz has joined our firm.

Marc brings with him 10 years experience practicing law and has maintained a general litigation practice throughout his career.  Marc articled with Walsh Wilkins Creighton LLP in 2000.

Marc joins a team of highly-skilled lawyers at Walsh Wilkins Creighton LLP, a firm that has been providing legal services to businesses and individuals in Alberta for over 50 years.

December 22nd, 2009

The Professional Corporations Statutes Amendment Act is expected to come into force in Alberta in early 2010 having received Royal Assent on November 26, 2009.  This Act provides amendments to the Regulated Accounting Profession Act, the Legal Profession Act and the Health Professions Act extending non-voting share ownership to family members of regulated professionals. This legislation partially aligns Alberta practice with that of other provinces and allows professional businesses to include family members in a manner similar to small businesses in Alberta.

Read more to learn how this change in Alberta law may affect you.

Read More…

November 26th, 2009

Lou Pesta continues to provide his own insight to the world of real estate conveyancing from a legal perspective.  In this edition of the Alberta Real Estate Association’s e-Magazine, Area Update, Legal Lou considers the practical aspects of real property reports.

Lou’s column can be downloaded here: Area Update November/December 2009.

September 14th, 2009

Our own Lou Pesta is back with another installment of “Legal Lou” in the latest release of the Alberta Real Estate Association’s online magazine, the AREA Update.   In this edition, Lou discusses bridge financing and same day closings.

The online version of the AREA Update can be viewed here: AREA Update - September/October 2009 (PDF)

June 2nd, 2009

The March 2009 edition of the Intellectual Property Journal, contains an article by Benjamin J. Kormos wherein he posits that acceding rights to innovators to make, use, or sell their innovations, without bestowing concomitant obligations upon them to ensure, among other things, that their innovations are safe and effective, is irresponsible.  Mr. Kormos goes on to propose reforms to modern patent law to remain viable in the light of concerns for practicality, safety, and economic efficiency in the public interest.

The full version of Ben’s paper is available online, free of charge, courtesy of the Social Science Research Network.

May 19th, 2009

The Alberta Real Estate Association’s online magazine has recently released their May/June 2009 edition.  Our own Lou Pesta is also back with his “Legal Lou” column.  This time around, Mr. Pesta discusses low equity sales and how to mitigate some of the associated risks.   Lou also comments on an emerging trend: sellers obtaining professional home inspections before marketing and selling their homes.

The online version of the AREA Update can be viewed here: AREA Update May/June 2009.pdf

March 30th, 2009

This morning Mr. Creighton sat down with Jim Brown on CBC’s The Calgary Eyeopener to discuss his recent appointment to the Provincial Court.  Audio of the interview can be found here: http://cbc.ca/calgary/media/audio/eyeopener/20090330judge_mar_30_110346_CGY.ram

March 19th, 2009

It is with great pride that WWC announces Eugene J. Creighton, Q.C. has been appointed to the Calgary Regional Provincial Court effective April 6, 2009.

Eugene  graduated from the University of Alberta law school in 1985. He is a member of the Blood Tribe, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy and acted as in-house Counsel to the Tribe from 1986-1994. In 1994, Eugene joined Walsh Wilkins where he assisted First Nations in negotiating claims and agreements and advised in areas of Aboriginal law. In 1999, he became a partner and in 2002 the firm’s name was changed to Walsh Wilkins Creighton LLP.

At the time of his appointment, he was assisting and advising the Blood Tribe in developing its Tribal Justice system with plans for a provincial court on the Blood Reserve and a peace making system.  Eugene has conducted lectures and workshops on Aboriginal issues at the University of Lethbridge and Red Crow Community College. In 1980, Eugene became the first Chairperson of the Blood Tribe Police Commission.

In 2005, Eugene was named the Alberta Aboriginal Role Model in Justice.   In February of 2008, Eugene and his two colleagues, Kenneth R. McLeod and Gary A. Befus were successful at the Supreme Court of Canada in defending the case of The Privacy Commissioner of Canada v. Blood Tribe Department of Health. Eugene was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2007.

Sources: Alberta Justice Press Release March 18, 2009

Lethbridge Herald March 18, 2009

Calgary Herald March 19, 2009

Calgary Herald March 20, 2009

March 16th, 2009

By Tyler S. Shandro

On March 2, 2009, Bill 20, the Civil Enforcement Amendment Act , was introduced at First Reading in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Sponsored by Jonathan Denis, the MLA for Calgary-Egmont, this bill would provide creditor protection for retirement savings and will bring Alberta in line with British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

As it stands, if an individual purchased an RRSP at a bank or credit union (”non-insurance RRSPs”), there is no creditor protection for those retirement savings. Mr. Denis’ bill will amend the Civil Enforcement Act (the “CEA”) such that creditors will not have access to funds in:

a) non-insurance RRSPs;

b) deferred profit savings plans (”DPSPs”); or

c) registered retirement income funds (”RRIFs”).

Creditors will however have access to payments out of the above retirement plans, subject to existing exemptions.

As well, paragraph 4 of Bill 20 will amend the CEA to exempt registered disability savings plans (”RDSPs”) from writ proceedings. RDSPs are intended to help individuals with disabilities and their families to plan for future needs.

March 13th, 2009

Beginning this month, the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) newsletter, Update, has gone electronic.  A PDF version of the bi-monthly publication can be viewed online here: AREA Update March-April 2009 (.pdf)

Our own Lubos K. Pesta, Q.C. will be contributing a legal affairs column.  This month, Legal Lou takes a look at backing out of construction contracts and cash back deals.

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