Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP ’s litigation team demonstrates specialism in areas including energy and renewables, class actions and agribusiness. The Calgary-based group is led by Andrew Sunter who focuses on corporate governance and class actions, and Susan Fader has strong experience in domestic and international arbitrations. Jeffrey Sharpe KC is particularly impressive in construction disputes, whilst James Murphy comfortably handles contract disputes and product liability claims. Other active members of the team include Joanne Luu, Kylan Kidd and Matt Kuhl were promoted to partnership in February 2025, strengthening the firm’s energy and construction litigation offering.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘BD&P provides technically sound and commercially practical legal advice at very reasonable cost, resulting in BD&P being the best value proposition that we have seen after working with many different law firms on a variety of matters.’
‘The team is competent, collaborative and responsive.’
‘Jeff Sharpe is an active listener, calm, confident and experienced.’
‘This team works seamlessly in co-operation to further their clients interests.’
‘James Murphy has incredible presence in a room and strikes fear in the hearts and minds of opponents he faces. Susan Fader's quick intelligence comes through in any situation. She is highly organised and dedicated to her clients.’
‘The BDP Law firm and the lawyers that worked on my case, led by James Murphy, did their due diligence on my behalf and represented my interest as to the rights that I enjoyed under the laws of the province of Alberta. Their integrity was beyond reproach. The BDP law firm's ultimate strength is the inclusion of a team of people that all brought ideas and intellect to the table.
‘James Murphy has an extreme level of intellect and the ability to work with several members of his team. A very gifted negotiator.'
'Trevor McDonald is a trusted adviser who provides practical, relevant legal advice with a business focus.'
'Trevor McDonald has provided us with exceptional service at exceptional rates. I have personally recommended him to multiple other businesses for a variety of disputes, and all have provided very positive reviews.'
Key clients
- Christa Steele and Mindy Smith
- DIRTT Ltd.
- CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC
- Ag Growth International Inc.
- Whitecap Resources Inc.
- Wayne Webster v. The Legal Aid Society of Alberta
- Volker Stevin Contracting Ltd
- Graham Construction and Engineering LP
- Canadian Natural Resources Limited
- Cedar LNG Partners LP and Cedar LNG (GP) Ltd.
- NE2 Canada Inc
- MacuMira Medical Devices Inc.
- Krishnan v Jamieson Laboratories Inc. et al
- Greenfire Resources Ltd
- 3105682 Nova Scotia ULC
- Robert and Laurene Yurkovich
- Northwynd REIT
Work highlights
Acted as counsel to the Greenfire Board and Special Committee in a high-profile hostile takeover battle with the Waterous group, involving a CA$327.8m share acquisition.
Advised on a national class action on behalf of Canadian residents alleging that certain products were falsely marketed as containing "glucosamine sulfate potassium chloride" when they instead contained a mixture of different substances.
Advised on a large pipeline failure case, involving allegations of negligence against Sunstone and Wood Group, the design engineers, and ITP who provided the novel pipe-in-pipe system.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Andrew Sunter
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Susan Fader
Kylan Kidd
Joanne Luu
Robert Martz
Practice head
Andrew Sunter; Susan Fader
Other key lawyers
Jeffrey Sharpe KC; James Murphy; Trevor McDonald; Joanne Luu; Kylan Kidd; Matt Kuhl