Sabri M. Shawa KC > JSS Barristers > Calgary, Canada > Lawyer Profile

Sabri M. Shawa is a founding partner of JSS Barristers; he is a highly regarded arbitrator, mediator, negotiator and litigator.

Over more than three decades, Sabri has practiced in Calgary, and has been appointed to arbitrate dozens of matters. He has also been hired to mediate hundreds of disputes. As a negotiator, he has assisted parties in reaching a variety of complex long-term agreements. As a litigator, he has represented and advised thousands of parties in matters before the courts, various administrative and regulatory boards and tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations. In addition to conventional litigation, a large part of his practice has been in an advisory capacity – assisting clients to avoid and manage litigation. He has also been retained as an expert witness on Alberta law on numerous occasions.

In addition to practicing, Sabri has extensive experience in teaching. For 8 years, he taught Civil Procedure at the University of Calgary Law School, a required course for all students. Additionally, he taught in a variety of other programs and has spoken about a wide range of topics at many conferences and seminars.

In 2012, Sabri was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel).

In 2014, he was admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, an internationally recognized dispute resolution organization based in London. Sabri also serves on the Executive Board of the Institute’s Canadian branch and is the Chairperson of its Alberta chapter.

He has long been listed in Best Lawyers in Canada and was named Calgary’s Lawyer of the Year in 2020 for Alternative Dispute Resolution. For many years, Sabri has been listed as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Canada, for arbitration and dispute resolution, among other things. The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory also lists him as a leading practitioner and as repeatedly recommended for Commercial Arbitration.

Sabri is a member of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society, ADR Institutes of Alberta and Canada, Litigation Counsel of America and a fellow of the International Academy of Mediators.

Experience

Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP, 1995–Present

Firm Chairman            2008–2014

Managing Partner      1997–2004

Founding Partner       1995

MacKimmie Matthews, 1990-1995

Associate, Litigation Department

Articling Student

Arbitration, Mediation, and Negotiation

The broad scope of Sabri’s litigation practice over the years has allowed him to develop a deep understanding of many businesses, industries and ventures. That familiarity, coupled with his training in dispute resolution, equips him to serve as an independent arbitrator and mediator in a wide variety of disputes. As part of his formal training, he has studied arbitration, international commercial dispute resolution, mediation, and international trade law.

He has been appointed as arbitrator on dozens of occasions, in both administered and ad hoc arbitrations, including through the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, with respect to:

• Construction and engineering projects
• Natural resource ventures
• Shareholders, franchise, partnership and joint venture agreements
• Commercial agreements generally
• Sales of business
• Insurance claims and coverage
• Umpire determinations under s. 519 of the Alberta Insurance Act
• Commercial lease renewal rates
• Employment and labour relations.

As counsel, he has represented parties in many more arbitrations, concerning a wide variety of matters, both domestic and international, administered and ad hoc. He has appeared as counsel at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. He also has experience drafting submission agreements and arbitration clauses, and has provided advice and opinions on enforceability of arbitration provisions and appeals and enforcement of awards.

Sabri has been retained to mediate hundreds of disputes (including several with a very large number of parties) and represented parties in many others, including with respect to:

• Breach of contract
• Shareholder, partner, and joint venture relationships
• Plant and facilities disasters
• Construction and project management
• Land use and environmental contamination
• Trucking and transportation
• Employment
• Professional negligence
• Insurance
• Personal injury
• Medical malpractice

In addition, he has been appointed as a mediator by the Alberta Utilities Commission in respect of an electricity rate application.

General Commercial Litigation, as well as Administrative & Regulatory Proceedings with an emphasis on Engineering, Energy, and the Environment

Over the course of his career, Sabri has been regularly retained to provide advice and representation in respect of claims (in both litigation and arbitration) and regulatory proceedings concerning:

• Construction projects
• Engineering and design faults and failures
• Oil and gas operating and royalty agreements, as well as ownership and rights issues
• Misappropriation of proprietary technology and data
• Environmental contamination, nuisance, and remediation and reclamation
• Electrical transmission and generation
• Pipelines
• Contractual disputes
• Negligence
• Insurance, including coverage
• Professional negligence
• Professional misconduct and discipline
• Admission to professional associations and licencing.

Employment and Business Relationships

As counsel in litigation, and as an advisor to employers and employees, he provides representation and advice in employment and professional matters, particularly with respect to executives, involving:

• Wrongful and constructive dismissals
• Employment issues in restructurings and succession planning
• Employee misfeasance and misconduct
• Breaches of confidentiality as well as non-competition and non-solicitation obligations
• Breaches of fiduciary duties
• Injunctions.

He has negotiated, drafted, and provided advice with respect to:

• Employment, executive compensation, and independent contractor agreements
• Services and partnership agreements
• Employment policies.

In addition, he has investigated, reported and advised, on complaints against directors, officers and employees.

Other Experience

Over the years Sabri has acted for and against various municipalities around Alberta in respect of environmental and development disputes in court and at regulatory hearings, including at the Environmental Appeals Board.

Early in his career he represented hospitals and hospital employees in medical malpractice claims. After doing that for several years, he then acted for plaintiffs in medical malpractice actions against various healthcare professionals and institutions. Over the past decade or so, Sabri’s medical malpractice experience has been as mediator in those disputes.

Sabri also has extensive experience, though long ago, with insurance defence and plaintiffs personal injury litigation.