Crossman,
Anthony J. (Tony)
Blake, Cassels
& Graydon LLP
(604) 631-3333
tony.crossman@blakes.com
Mr. Crossman represents
public and private com-
panies, governments &
regulators on environmental
regulation and management,
corporate compliance &
due diligence & litigation
matters. He assists clients
with identifying & managing
environmental risks.
Curpen, Radha D.
Bennett Jones LLP
(416) 777-7497
curpenr@bennettjones.com
Ms. Curpen specializes
in regulatory matters, en-
vironmental, Aboriginal &
including transportation of
dangerous goods. She advises
on regulatory compliance
and crisis prevention and
management, particularly
in the natural resource &
chemical sectors.
Dahme, Harry J.
Gowling Lafleur
Henderson LLP
(416) 862-4300
harry.dahme@gowlings.com
Mr. Dahme has expertise
in the full range of environ-
mental law services, with
particular expertise in
renewable energy approvals,
environmental assessment
and environmental approv-
als, water and wastewater,
brownfield remediation
and waste management.
Crowther, QC, Douglas E.
Dentons Canada LLP
(403) 268-6821
douglas.crowther@dentons.
com
Mr. Crowther co-leads the
Energy Sector Group. His
practice includes pipeline,
electricity and other facility
approvals, tolls/tariffs and
utility rates. He appears
before the NEB, the Alberta
Utilities Commission and
other energy regulators.
Cusano, Luigi A. (Lou)
Torys LLP
(403) 776-3797
lcusano@torys.com
Mr. Cusano's practice focuses
on administrative, regulatory
and environmental law and
commercial litigation in the
energy sector (electricity
and oil and gas).
Danahy, Jennifer
Gowling Lafleur
Henderson LLP
(416) 369-7290
jennifer.danahy@gowlings.com
Ms. Danahy is a Certified
Specialist (Environmental
Law), an experienced litiga-
tor handling civil claims,
defence of environmental
charges and administrative
appeals, and a regulatory
lawyer handling the full
range of environmental
law matters.
12
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PRIVATE EQUITY
LEXPERT
®
RANKED LAWYERS
as partners on specific energy deals.
"at's maybe the biggest driving
force of this whole game. e big-
gest investors in the [Warburg Pincus
LLC] and KKRs of the world are the
pensions," Mercury says, referring to
big private equities from the US now
active in Calgary.
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
invested as a partner with ARC Fi-
nancial to create Aspenleaf Energy, a
portfolio company that is now acquir-
ing oil and gas properties. Another
case in point is Black Swan Energy,
which announced in June it would
acquire Carmel Bay Exploration for
about $200 million, with the backing
of Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension
Plan Investment Board and KERN.
Bennett Jones's Calgary managing
partner, Perry Spitznagel, says a new
attraction for PEs, and particularly
for the pension funds, is the trend by
certain oil companies to raise needed
cash by spinning off royalty freehold
assets into separate subsidiaries.
While the Alberta Government
owns oil and gas rights on 81 per cent
of the land in the province, the re-
maining 19 per cent is freehold land
with mineral rights included. Leading
examples are Cenovus Energy Inc.
and Encana Corp., heirs of Canadian
Pacific Railway, which was given huge
tracts of freehold land in payment for
construction of the transcontinental
railway. Both Cenovus Energy Inc.
and Encana Corp. recently created
subsidiaries with mandates to gener-
ate revenue streams by leasing out
largely untapped freehold lands to
exploration companies in return for
"WHEN [PRIVATE-EQUITY INVESTORS]
hear about assets in distress, that may all be quite
interesting, but without the right management team
it means very little. These investors will put $300
to $400 million behind a management team
with no assets."–
John Mercury, Bennett Jones LLP
