About

Assistant general counsel Stefan Gruszka leads the in-house legal team at Kiewit Canada that is comprised of five lawyers and two paralegals: Leo Caffaro, Stefan Gruszka, Laurie Hildebrand, Nick Peters, Vivian Wood, Kathryn Pearson and Elizabeth MacDougall respectively. The Canadian legal team structure is consistent with Kiewit’s legal department organisation and is based on functional groups and mandates, divided into five main categories called ‘get work, build work, claims and litigation, alternative procurement and corporate’, according to Gruszka. He explains that, ‘the Canadian team has dedicated personnel for both of the “get work” and “build work” functions, while providing local oversight and management of claims and litigation’. The Canadian team further supports the alternative procurement (P3) and corporate groups. The “build work” attorneys are responsible for all legal matters within their operating business units, with “get work” attorney’s providing specialised pursuit-based services to all business units throughout the company. The current structure has allowed the team to be nimble, responsive and consistent in delivering best in class legal services to management, with a focus on increased collaboration and communication amongst team members. Gruszka identifies that, ‘implementing a functionality based allocation of legal resources, to ensure we are meeting the demands of all business units, has streamlined and brought consistency to the legal services and support we provide. We are constantly looking at ways to continuously improve our support function in a manner that best supports our operating districts and business units. This has driven a consistent, predictable and yet highly customisable approach to the delivery of legal services’. The Canadian team also participates in, and provides ongoing support to, some of the largest and most complex construction projects in Canada. Recent notable examples include: The Southwest Calgary ring road, the Hebron GBS platform, Port Mann bridge, Sea to Sky highway, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, Lower Mattagami hydroelectric projects, Waterloo LRT system, G3 grain terminal and significant work in the oil and gas sector in Alberta, including developments within the Alberta oil sands market. While the Canadian legal team is primarily responsible for all legal affairs in Canada, it is part of Kiewit Corporation, a Fortune 500 engineering and construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Kiewit Corporation was founded in the US, however, it has a long and proud history in Canada and has been operating in all Canadian provinces and territories since 1949. The Canadian legal team supports the vast majority of its Canadian operations; however, it is part of a team of approximately 40 lawyers that support Kiewit’s global operations. Gruszka highlights that, ‘this provides all team members with the benefit of global experience, collaboration and a large construction focused knowledge base, allowing us to provide best in class legal services to our operations teams’.