Corporate Lawyer.
Helping clients with their business needs.
Year of Call.
Alberta
2021
Practice Areas.
Bio
Stewart is a corporate and commercial lawyer and Partner at Blue Rock Law. He regularly advises founders, management teams, boards, and investors on transactions, financings, and governance. His practice focuses on private M&A, growth-stage and mid-market financings, secured lending and priority issues, shareholder and investor arrangements, and commercial contracting for operating companies across Alberta and Canada.
With a broad corporate law practice, Stewart specializes in commercial matters, serving as a trusted advisor to start-ups, growth companies and businesses navigating day-to-day legal matters and mergers and acquisitions. Stewart routinely helps clients navigate through complex transactions and reorganizations, from structuring deals to negotiating essential transactional documentation. Stewart’s client roster spans a wide spectrum, from early-stage startups to mid-size businesses, where he often serves as their trusted general counsel, offering guidance on a wide range of business transactions and operationalmatters. Stewart represents companies across multiple industries, including energy, government relations and public policy, private equity, manufacturing and hospitality.
Stewart is actively engaged in the not-for-profit sector, contributing his legal acumen to public and private foundations, cultural and performing arts groups, educational and healthcare institutions and various tax-exempt entities.
Stewart also advises sports organizations and adjacent businesses on governance and practical agreements, including sponsorships, facility and event arrangements, participation documentation, and commercial terms that support sports operations. He also supports conduct frameworks and complaint-handling processes, including Safe Sport Implementation, designed to be fair, workable, and enforceable.
With a deep-seated commitment to Western values like integrity, diligence, and community, Stewart’s practice embodies the essence of Alberta’s heartland. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Stewart was raised in Calgary’s Varsity neighbourhood, where his family still resides. When not immersed in drafting contracts or negotiating deals, you’ll find him on the greens of Silver Springs golf course, occasionally, escaping to the aptly named Stewart Creek.
Education
University of Windsor, 2020, JD
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, 2020, JD
Community
Member, Calgary Bar Association
Member, Canadian Energy Law Foundation (CELF)
Recognition
University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Dual J.D. Program: Magna Cum Laude graduate honours
Fred J. and Lottie Chmielnicki Endowed Scholarship Award Recipient
Representative Work
Mergers & Acquisitions
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Clean-tech/energy company: Borrower-side counsel on cross-border secured financing.
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U.S. publicly-traded institutional investment manager: Canadian counsel to a U.S. publicly-traded institutional investment manager on a multi-party debt restructuring and equity swap transaction involving cross-border energy infrastructure assets.
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U.S. publicly-traded institutional investment manager: Canadian counsel in connection with a distressed senior secured note financing for a Canadian terminals company.
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Private infrastructure company: in the sale of propane and fuel terminal facilities.
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Private regulated professional partnership: advised a Canadian accounting firm on mergers and acquisitions involving the purchase and sale of chartered professional accounting practices and other regulated professional service firms.
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Private oil & gas company: in connection with a secured credit facility financing and comprehensive security package to fund the acquisition of petroleum and natural gas properties.
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Luxury hair products company: Lead counsel to cross-border acquisition of Canadian luxury hair products business.
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Private upstream energy company: acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares, and options and warrants convertible into common shares, based on an asset consideration of US $62 million
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Public downstream energy company: acquisition of hundreds of retail gas station locations across Canada
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Public upstream energy company: acquisition of upstream oil and gas assets in Saskatchewan, representing approximately 4,000 boe/d of Viking light oil production
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US private equity: Canadian counsel as part of an acquisition of an international building products company for an aggregate transaction value of $3.45 billion
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Private limited company: Canadian advisor in cross-border acquisition of a leading provider of aftermarket components and services
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Public upstream energy company: Advising in connection with the acquisition of an upstream energy target by way of a plan of arrangement
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US private equity portfolio company: Canadian counsel to US private equity portfolio company in its acquisition of an international industrial equipment supplier
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Local family business: Acted for the shareholders in the sale of a luxury chauffeur service business
Commercial & Corporate
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Private public affairs and government relations firm: ongoing corporate-commercial legal counsel to a national Canadian government relations and public affairs firm, including advice on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, commercial agreements, and strategic business matters.
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Private telecommunications company: ongoing corporate-commercial legal counsel to a Canadian digital communications technology company, including advice on corporate governance, regulatory compliance, commercial contracts, and general business matters.
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Private cloud technology consulting firm: ongoing corporate-commercial legal counsel to a Canadian boutique technology consulting firm, including advice on corporate governance, commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, and general business matters.
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Private digital asset trust company: Advised a Canadian digital asset custody company on its registration as a special purpose trust company under the Loan and Trust Corporations Act (Alberta), including regulatory compliance, corporate structuring, and obtaining approval from Alberta Treasury Board and Finance.
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Private cloud technology consulting firm: ongoing corporate-commercial legal counsel to a Canadian boutique technology consulting firm, including advice on corporate governance, commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, and general business matters.
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National charity: ongoing corporate and governance counsel to multiple Canadian charitable organizations focused on health innovation and wellness initiatives, including advice on regulatory compliance, charitable registration, board governance, and operational matters.
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Non-profit wind-up and dissolution: advised a Canadian charitable organization on the voluntary wind-up and dissolution process, including distribution of remaining assets, and compliance with applicable federal and provincial regulatory requirements.
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Non-profit amalgamation: Advised on the amalgamation of multiple Canadian charitable organizations and continuity of charitable status and operations.
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General startup and financings: Advised multiple early-stage Canadian companies on corporate formation, equity and debt financing transactions, shareholder agreements, stock option plans, and general corporate governance and shareholder matters.
Sports Law
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Alberta Sport Leadership Association: Counsel on development and implementation of a province-wide Safe Sport program framework, including policy architecture, participation/acknowledgement terms, complaint intake and enforceability design for adoption and implementation by multiple sport organizations.
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Alberta sport organizations: Counsel on governance and participation documentation, including governance documentation and frameworks and operational rules for participants, staff, and volunteers
