Qualified as an expert witness in the Court of King's Bench of Alberta regarding solicitors' standard of conduct in real estate transactions

Some recent representative transactions include advising:

• The Purchaser on the acquisition of The Bow office tower in Calgary, Alberta and Bell Creekbank Campus in Mississauga, Ontario

• A German open-ended real estate fund on its C$500-million+ acquisition of the commercial portion of Stantec Tower in Edmonton, Alberta

• IG Mackenzie Real Property Fund (formerly Investors Real Property Fund) on its C$140-million acquisition of an office building in downtown Calgary, Alberta, and related assumption of the existing mortgage facility

• GWL Realty Advisors Inc. and its investor clients on:

  • The C$105-milllion purchase of First & Jasper, a redeveloped class "A" office and retail complex in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, and related mortgage financing

  • The C$178-million sale of an undivided 50% interest in Gulf Canada Square, a 1.15 million square foot premier class "A" office and retail complex in downtown Calgary, and a related assumption of the existing mortgage facility

  • The C$65-million refinancing of Watermark Tower and the C$150-million refinancing of Gulf Canada Square

• A major pension fund on the acquisition of a number of development properties in Leduc, Edmonton, and St. Albert, Alberta

• A consortium on its bid for and successful closing of a design, build, finance and operate agreement for Southeast Stoney Trail (the Calgary Ring Road) in Calgary, Alberta

• Various consortia on bids for design, build, finance and operate/maintain agreements for multi-school projects in Alberta and a road project in Winnipeg, Manitoba

• A major Canadian energy company in connection with the construction of a C$230-million expansion of a gas processing facility in Alberta

• Various foreign and domestic institutional lenders on construction and term financings of commercial and industrial properties

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2018–2024: Consistently Recommended – Property Development; 2024: Consistently Recommended – Property Leasing; 2018–2023: Repeatedly Recommended – Property Leasing; 2015–2018: Repeatedly Recommended – Infrastructure Law)

• The Best Lawyers in Canada – 2012–2024 (Real Estate Law)

• Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business (2016–2024: Real Estate – Alberta; 2018–2020: Real Estate – Nationwide)

• The Legal 500 Canada (2023: Real Estate; 2022: Real Estate and Construction; 2017 and 2019–2021: Recommended – Real Estate)
  

• Who's Who Legal: Canada – 2012 and 2015–2023 (Real Estate)

• Who's Who Legal: Global Leader – 2020 and 2022 (Real Estate)

• Best Lawyers: "Lawyer of the Year" 2020 (Real Estate Law, Calgary)

Garth is a member of The Law Society of Alberta and a member of the Commercial Real Estate and Construction Subsections of the Canadian Bar Association. He is also past chair of the Government Affairs Committee of the Calgary chapter of NAIOP - The Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

Admitted to the Alberta Bar – 1987
JD, University of Calgary – 1985