Education

University of Calgary, B.Comm (Finance), 2007 (Silver Medalist) Osgoode Hall Law School, JD, 2010 

Bar Admissions

Alberta, 2011

John Lawless

Partner

T: 403.298.3035 / E: lawlessj@bennettjones.com

Calgary

John Lawless practices corporate and securities law, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and corporate finance. 

John has significant expertise in both public and private M&A, having acted on share and asset acquisitions, plans of arrangement, take-over bids and complex corporate reorganizations. John also acts for issuers and underwriters on equity and debt financings, including shelf and short form prospectus offerings and private placements. 

In addition to transactional work, John regularly advises clients on corporate governance matters, ESG issues and continuous disclosure obligations. John's clients include U.S. private equity funds with investments in Canada, private Canadian companies and TSX-listed companies.

John takes a practical, client-focused approach to legal advice. This approach is informed by secondments with two different TSX-listed companies. During the first secondment, John reported directly to the CEO and assisted on a transaction that ultimately resulted in a sale to a strategic buyer. During his second stint, John assisted the Associate General Counsel with corporate governance and continuous disclosure matters. 

Outside of work, John teaches a course on mergers and acquisitions at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law as a sessional instructor.