After practicing for six years at a large national firm, Jason decided to seek the challenge of starting a new firm alongside his friends in the HGA Group. The culture of this office appeals to his entrepreneurial spirit, and he enjoys being able to relate to the experiences of his clients who have started (or are planning to start) their own businesses. What he enjoys most about practicing law at HGA is collaborating with clients on how to achieve their strategic business objectives. There are few, if any, issues that arise in business that are strictly questions of law, and his philosophy in practice is to provide legal advice only after having an in-depth discussion of what issue the client is trying to address, and why he or she believes legal advice is required. This approach ensures that the service provided always matches the need, and that there is an opportunity to collaborate on an appropriate solution.
After practicing for three years with a downtown law firm, and taking some time away from the workforce to raise a family, Melissa joined HGA Law as an associate lawyer, bringing with her a wealth of experience and passion. Melissa is also the Operations Manager for the firm, overseeing and developing file workflows and knowledge resources, overseeing general administrative functions and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Working at HGA Law gives Melissa a unique opportunity to work alongside her husband, Jason (HGA Law’s principal). Melissa spends part of her time in the office and the rest of her time at home with her three young boys, who always keep her on her toes.
In her spare time, Melissa enjoys running and recently completed her first half-marathon (with more to come!)
Nancy brings over 32 years of civil litigation experience, resulting in the ability to provide common-sense, practical and responsive solutions to her clients’ mediation and litigation needs. Her litigation background includes:
- acting as a mediator in the areas of civil litigation, catastrophic personal injury,fatalities and wills and estates
- representing litigation clients in the areas of personal injury, property and cargo losses, products liability, fire and flood losses, wills and estates, contractual, commercial and shareholder disputes.
Nancy has considerable trial experience in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta and the Court of Appeal of Alberta. She has also participated extensively in alternate dispute resolution including mediations and judicial dispute resolutions. She also believes strongly in giving back to the community. She has sat on and chaired many Boards including Muscular Dystrophy Canada, Chrysalis Society, ABC Headstart, Brain Care Centre, Glenrose Hospital Foundation and the City of Edmonton Advisory Board for Services for Persons with Disabilities.
Nancy received her Queen’s Counsel appointment in 2012 and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her contributions to Canada.
Amy joins the HGA Law team with over ten years of experience as a paralegal. Originally from Nova Scotia, she spends her time doing yoga & enjoying the few months of summer in our city! There aren’t any pets in the office, but you can bet that when Amy leaves, the office, she’s heading home to cuddle her fur baby, Chloe.