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Joanne Luu

FCIArb

Partner

403.806.7826
jluu@bdplaw.com
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Education:

Law Clerk, Court of Appeal of Alberta, 2011-2012 University of Calgary, Juris Doctor, 2011 University of Lethbridge, Bachelor of Arts & Science (Honours, with Distinction), majoring in Biology and Political Science, 2008 Bar admission: Alberta 2012 and British Columbia 2023

Industries:

Franchises, dealerships and distributorships, Construction, Government and Not For Profit, Oil and gas, Renewables and energy transition, Technology

Practice areas:

Class actions, Commercial arbitration, Construction litigation, Energy litigation, International commercial arbitration, Investor-state arbitration, Litigation and dispute resolution, Securities litigation

Experience

Joanne Luu has a decade of experience in commercial and corporate dispute resolution. Her practice focuses on complex and high stakes disputes, including corporate and commercial, energy and natural resources, and joint venture matters.

Joanne has appeared in numerous arbitration hearings and court proceedings. She sees real value, and has demonstrated experience, in running efficient and fair proceedings. Joanne is one of 12 Canadian lawyers named to the Arbitration Place NextGen Arbitrators Roster.

Thought leader in arbitration

Joanne is a thought leader in the arbitration space. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has published book chapters in The Leading Practitioners’ Guide to International Oil & Gas Arbitration and Arbitration World.

Her experience includes:

Counsel in an arbitration involving a tax and telecommunications dispute in the Middle East.
Counsel in a multi-million dollar arbitration relating to a cross-border pipeline.
Counsel in several joint venture disputes, including accounting matters.
Counsel to a consortium of energy companies in relation to a royalty dispute against the government.
Tribunal secretary in a large-scale construction dispute regarding a project in Eastern Europe.

Litigation and other experience

Joanne brings a broad range of experience, with other representative work including:

Counsel in a successful leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of Peace River Hydro Partners, in Peace River Hydro Partners, et al. v. Petrowest Corporation, et al., a case which involves the question of whether a receiver can disclaim an arbitration clause while still enforcing the underlying contract
Counsel to a leading global insulation manufacturer and its Canadian subsidiary relating to a distribution agreement (see 2019 ABQB 684). The team was successful in obtaining full solicitor-and-own client costs and punitive damages in the amount of $750,000.
Counsel in a complex, multi-contract, shareholder oppression and director/officer liability dispute.
Counsel to class plaintiffs in a $10 million real-estate based securities class action (successfully settled).
Represents and advises on cases before the Alberta Securities Commission for alleged misconduct, including insider trading, tipping, market misrepresentation.
Advises on blockchain, license agreements and other technology matters.

Languages

Joanne is conversational in Cantonese.

What clients say

“Joanne’s quick and comprehensive grasp of complex issues and technical details is a huge asset in litigated matters. She truly understands the client perspective and her insightful, practical and timely advice is always very well received.”

Professional involvement

Professional associations

Member, Law Society of Alberta
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Director, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Canada Branch)
Director, Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC)
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Member, Arbitration Place's NextGen Roster
Member of the Advisory Board and Co-Chair of the Policy and Advocacy Committee, Former Member of Executive Committee and Treasurer (2016-2020), Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners (YCAP)
Member of Arbitration Committee, International Chamber of Commerce (Canada)
Member, Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society (WCCAS)
Director, Vertigo Theatre
Member, Advocates Society
Co-Chair for the International Chamber of Commerce (Canada) conferences for 2019 and 2020

Presentations

Joanne has also presented at various conferences, panels, seminars, and other events, including:

Blockchain & Smart Contracts 101, 29th International Energy Credit Association Canadian Conference in Banff, AB, June 2019
Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: What's All the Buzz About? March, 2018
Liar, Liar: The Duty of Honest Performance in Contracts, Petroleum Joint Venture Association, February, 2015
The Use of Circumstantial Evidence in Enforcement Cases before Securities Commissions: Two Perspectives, The Advocates' Society's Third Annual Securities Symposium (with Andrew Sunter and Andrew Wilson), September 2013

Published articles

Co-authored Tips and Traps on Working with your Damages Expert, New York Dispute Resolution Lawyer , Vol 15 No 1, 2022
Co-authored "Canada” in Arbitration World, 5th and 6th ed. Karyl Nairn Q.C. & Patrick Heneghan (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2015 and 2019).
Co-authored Provisional Remedies and Interim Relief in Oil & Gas Arbitrations in The Leading Practitioners’ Guide to Oil & Gas Arbitrations, ed. James M. Gaitis (Huntington, NY: Juris Publishing, Inc., 2015).

Representative work

Successful leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of Peace River Hydro Partners

Lead counsel in a successful leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of Peace River Hydro Partners, in Peace River Hydro Partners, et al. v. Petrowest Corporation, et al., a case which involves the question of whether a receiver can disclaim an arbitration clause while still enforcing the underlying contract.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P's $6.8 billion acquisition of Inter Pipeline Ltd.

Counsel to Inter Pipeline Ltd. in its acquisition by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P pursuant to a statutory plan of arrangement for $6.8 billion.

Whitecap Resources Inc.'s $560 million combination with TORC Oil & Gas Ltd.

Counsel to Whitecap Resources Inc. in its strategic business combination with TORC Oil & Gas Ltd. from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and others for approximately $560 million.

Precedent-setting securities law decision

Successfully represented Inter Pipeline Ltd. (IPL) in a precedent-setting case before the Alberta Securities Commission. The case addressed Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P.'s use of total return swaps in its takeover bid of IPL. The decision is the first time that a Canadian securities regulator has directly addressed the use of total return swaps within the context of takeover bids following the changes to the Canadian takeover bid regime in 2016. (Re Bison Acquisition Corp., 2021 ABASC 100).

MEG Energy Corp.'s hostile tender offer from Husky Energy

Counsel to MEG, a Canadian oil sands producer, and its board of directors in response to the unsolicited tender offer by Husky Energy. Husky sought to acquire the entire share capital of MEG for approximately $6 billion.

$2.8 billion acquisition of Raging River Exploration Inc.

Counsel to Raging River Exploration Inc., a Canadian oil producer, in the $2.8 billion strategic acquisition.

Dispute regarding a distribution agreement

Counsel to a leading global insulation manufacturer and its Canadian subsidiary relating to a distribution agreement. The team was successful in obtaining full solicitor-and-own client costs and punitive damages in the amount of $750,000. (2019 ABQB 684).

Successful settlement in a $10 million securities class action

Counsel to class plaintiffs in a $10 million real-estate based securities class action (successfully settled).

Shareholder oppression dispute

Counsel in a complex, multi-contract, shareholder oppression and director/officer liability dispute.

Awards

Recent honours and recognition

Named as a Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation Canada (2025)

Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada in Corporate and Commercial Litigation (2021-2025)

Named by Who's Who Legal (Global Guide) as an Arbitration Future Leader: Partner (2021-2025)

Named by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a Leading Lawyer in Arbitration (2023-2025)

Recognized by Benchmark Litigation in their Canadian 40 and Under List (2023, 2024, 2025)

Named as a Future Star in Benchmark Litigation Canada (2023, 2024)

Named by Who's Who Legal (Canadian Guide) as a recommended lawyer in arbitration (2023-2024)

Recognized as a Next Generation Partner in Dispute Resolution: Alberta, by the Legal 500 Canada (2022-2024)

Dispute Resolution Rising Star in the Legal 500 Canada (2020-2021)

News

August 12, 2025