Sydney Black
Associate
Experience
Sydney's focus is on:
- Commercial and general litigation
- Construction litigation
- Energy litigation
- Estate litigation
- Occupational health and safety
- Infrastructure and project development
Community involvement
Sydney is a former volunteer with the No Means No Program of the Women's Legal Education & Action Fund and a current member of the board of Alcove.
Professional involvement
Professional associations
- Member, Law Society of Alberta
- Member, Canadian Bar Association
- Member, Calgary Bar Association
Academic interests
Studied Anti-Discrimination Intensive Program: placement at the Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre.
Researched the impact of the Charter on women's rights in the employment context for a paper to be presented at a legal conference of female justices in 2015.
Representative work
Historic settlement in workplace sexual misconduct class action against City of Leduc
Counsel for plaintiff class in successful settlement agreement with the City of Leduc for systemic sexual abuse, harassment, and assault against female city employees, including firefighters. Terms of settlement include the highest per-person monetary compensation in a Canada class action settlement for workplace misconduct. The per-person settlement amounts combined with the non-adversarial claims process, non-monetary remedies, and the lengthy claimant eligibility time period, arguably makes this settlement the most progressive workplace class action settlement in Canadian history. This is the first settlement of a class action involving sexual misconduct and sexual assault in a fire department or municipality in Canada. The individual compensation in this settlement exceeds that provided by Canada’s most notable workplace harassment class action settlements to date. This settlement was approved by the Court on July 4, 2023.
Successfully advised Murphy Oil Company Ltd. in a $22 million dispute
Counsel to the successful defendant in responding to the plaintiff's appeal of a decision dismissing its $22 million claim. Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was refused. (Geophysical Service Incorporated v Murphy Oil Company Ltd, 2018 ABCA 380).
Publications
March 7, 2022
A primer on Alberta's prompt payment legislation and regulations
December 16, 2015