Bennett Jones


Bennett Jones LLP is an international law firm based in Canada.

Firm

Bennett Jones is a Canadian business law firm with 400 lawyers and business advisors, including a former deputy prime minister of Canada, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and two former Canadian ambassadors to the United States of America.
The firm has five offices in Canada, one in the United States , and a representative office in China.

Notable alumni and advisors

Bennett Jones was founded in Calgary in 1922 with the dissolution of a 25-year partnership between R.B. Bennett and Sir James Alexander Lougheed and the creation of the new partnership Bennett, Hannah & Sanford.
The firm expanded to Edmonton and then eastward to Toronto and Ottawa. In 2010, the firm opened a representative office in Beijing. In 2018, the firm merged with Vancouver firm McCullough O'Connor Irwin and opened an office in New York.

Significant cases

''Dow Chemical Canada ULC v NOVA Chemicals Corporation''

On June 20, 2018, Justice Barbara Romaine of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta awarded US$1.06 billion to Dow Chemical Canada ULC and an affiliate in an action for breach of contract against NOVA Chemicals Corporation. The dispute arose from the operation of an ethylene plant at Joffre, Alberta, jointly owned by Dow and NOVA.

''Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thornton''

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that, after going bankrupt, an oil and gas company must fulfill provincial environmental obligations before repaying creditors.

''Sino-Forest v Muddy Waters, Carson Brock et al.''

In 2012, Bennett Jones represented Sino-Forest Corporation in its lawsuit against Muddy Waters Research in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Sino-Forest claimed $4 billion in damages. The Statement of Claim accused Muddy Waters of publishing a research report that was "defamatory" and included allegations "made with a reckless regard for the truth." However, on January 10, 2012, Sino-Forest announced that its historic financial statements and related audit reports should not be relied upon.