Our Team

Mitch Shier is counsel in our Energy group.

Over the course of his career he has acted for public and private oil and gas exploration and production companies of all sizes, a number of oil and gas income trusts, energy marketing and midstream companies and various groups involved in the electric power industry including power generators, consumers and government regulatory bodies. His experience includes mergers and acquisitions, financings and the negotiation of all manner of industry agreements including frontier oil and gas concessions, complex gas marketing and transportation arrangements and partnership, joint venture and other forms of industry participation agreements.

Mr. Shier has acted as lead counsel on a number of significant corporate acquisitions and divestitures and is often called upon to provide advice on, and draft agreements for, complex energy ventures including LNG, oil sands, natural gas liquids, coalbed methane, cogeneration and gas storage projects. He has represented both resource companies and First Nations in Canada's North and has had energy mandates involving a number of overseas jurisdictions. His finance experience includes convertible and non-convertible debt financings for energy companies operating in Canada and several other countries.

He also has an active environmental law practice with a particular expertise in emissions trading transactions and other climate change related matters including carbon capture and storage.

Mr. Shier serves on the board of directors of a publicly traded oil and gas income trust and a private oil and gas company. He also is a director of the Society for Energy and Environmental Development Studies (SEEDS). A former director and chair of the environment committee of the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (SEPAC) he continues to be involved in climate change policy matters for the Association.

He has presented papers on energy and environmental issues at a number of industry and educational conferences and has taught advanced oil and gas law at the University of Calgary. His most recent publications focus on legal issues relating to carbon capture and storage.

He is recognized as a leading practitioner in the area of Natural Resources Law in the 2012 and 2013 editions of The Best Lawyers in Canada (Woodward / White).

Mr. Shier joined Heenan Blaikie in 2002.