Our Real Estate Law Blog provides brief commentary on current legal trends and developments affecting your business. The topics addressed in Lawson Lundell's Real Estate Law Blog are of interest to commercial real estate developers, real estate and strata agents, investors, landlords and tenants, as well as a variety of industry groups.
Practice Expertise
- Commercial Real Estate and Development
- Real Estate
Areas of Practice
- Commercial Real Estate and Development
- Real Estate
Profile
Maxwell practices real estate law in British Columbia and Alberta with a focus on commercial leasing, acquisition and mixed-use development.
Maxwell has an extensive commercial leasing practice which is focused on representation of institutional and privately owned landlords and representation of tenants leasing large industrial or office premises. He regularly prepares standard form leases for his landlord clients and ensures consistency of final lease documentation across their portfolio. In particular, Maxwell has been lead Western Canadian leasing counsel for a large institutional landlord and has overseen the lease preparation and negotiation of over 250 distinct leasing matters.
Maxwell has been lead counsel on numerous acquisitions and sales of income producing assets and development properties. His client's rely on Maxwell's experience in their negotiations of purchase agreements, due diligence, structuring, financing and closing. Maxwell has also helped numerous owners of environmentally challenged sites sell their land while limiting potential liability resulting from existing contamination.
Working closely with his developer clients, Maxwell supports the full life-cycle of complex real estate development; from feasibility, syndication and acquisition through to development approvals, marketing and sale of development units to end purchasers. His extensive experience includes projects ranging from boutique developments to large master-planned communities with multiple towers. Maxwell's developer clients include local family owned companies and publicly traded real estate investment trusts.
Private investors in the real estate market frequently engage Maxwell to review shareholder agreements, limited partnership documentation, joint venture agreements and confirm the underlying real estate fundamentals of potential investments in the Lower Mainland.
Maxwell has an extensive commercial leasing practice which is focused on representation of institutional and privately owned landlords and representation of tenants leasing large industrial or office premises. He regularly prepares standard form leases for his landlord clients and ensures consistency of final lease documentation across their portfolio. In particular, Maxwell has been lead Western Canadian leasing counsel for a large institutional landlord and has overseen the lease preparation and negotiation of over 250 distinct leasing matters.
Maxwell has been lead counsel on numerous acquisitions and sales of income producing assets and development properties. His client's rely on Maxwell's experience in their negotiations of purchase agreements, due diligence, structuring, financing and closing. Maxwell has also helped numerous owners of environmentally challenged sites sell their land while limiting potential liability resulting from existing contamination.
Working closely with his developer clients, Maxwell supports the full life-cycle of complex real estate development; from feasibility, syndication and acquisition through to development approvals, marketing and sale of development units to end purchasers. His extensive experience includes projects ranging from boutique developments to large master-planned communities with multiple towers. Maxwell's developer clients include local family owned companies and publicly traded real estate investment trusts.
Private investors in the real estate market frequently engage Maxwell to review shareholder agreements, limited partnership documentation, joint venture agreements and confirm the underlying real estate fundamentals of potential investments in the Lower Mainland.
Bar Admissions
Called to the Alberta Bar, 2017
Called to the British Columbia Bar, 2010
Education
University of Alberta (B.Sc. (Electrical Engineering), 2005)
University of Alberta (LL.B., 2009)
Areas of Practice
- Commercial Real Estate and Development
- Real Estate
Professional Career
Significant Accomplishments
* Acting for the purchaser in an acquisition of a rental and office complex in Vancouver, BC for a purchase price of $130,000,000.
* Acting for the seller of an industrial property in East Vancouver in a sale and leaseback transaction at a sale price of $57,500,000.
* Assisting clients with the acquisition and disposition of commercial and industrial investment properties.
* Advising clients in a variety of general corporate and commercial matters, including the acquisition of businesses, preparation and negotiation of shareholder's agreements and limited partnership agreements.
* Acting as lead leasing counsel to a large Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust in respect to its portfolio of properties in Western Canada and in the lease preparation and negotiation of approximately 100 distinct leasing matters.
* Acting for a BC-based developer in respect to various residential and mixed-use developments, advising on the organization and formation of various development entities, rezoning and municipal matters, financing, pre-sale purchaser documentation in compliance with the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, and conveyance of completed strata lots to individual purchasers.
* Acting for a seniors housing trust with respect to various acquisitions of retirement homes in BC.
* Acting for a group of investors with structuring a limited partnership and general partner and their acquisition of a student housing complex from receivership in Edmonton, Alberta.
Professional Associations
* Law Society of British Columbia, Member
* Canada Bar Association - Vancouver Real Property Subsection, Executive Committee Member (Co-Chair)
* Urban Development Institute, Member
* National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Member
* British Columbia Due Diligence Deskbook, Contributing Author
Seminars/ Presentation
Rankings & Recognition
* Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2021, 2023-2024, 2026: Commerical Leasing (Leading Practitioner)
* Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2023-2026: Property Development (Leading Practitioner)
* Chambers Canada 2025-2026: Real Estate - British Columbia (Band 3)
* Best Lawyers in Canada 2019-2026: Real Estate Law
* Chambers Canada 2024: Real Estate - British Columbia (Band 4)
* Acritas Stars 2019-2021
* Lexpert Rising Star Award 2020: Canada's Leading Lawyers Under 40
Professional Activities and Experience
* Law Society of British Columbia, Member
* Law Society of Alberta, Member
* Canada Bar Association - Vancouver Real Property Subsection, Executive Committee Member (Co-Chair), 2015 - 2017
* Urban Development Institute, Member
* National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Member
* British Columbia Due Diligence Deskbook, Contributing Author, 2012-Present
* Acting for the purchaser in an acquisition of a rental and office complex in Vancouver, BC for a purchase price of $130,000,000.
* Acting for the seller of an industrial property in East Vancouver in a sale and leaseback transaction at a sale price of $57,500,000.
* Assisting clients with the acquisition and disposition of commercial and industrial investment properties.
* Advising clients in a variety of general corporate and commercial matters, including the acquisition of businesses, preparation and negotiation of shareholder's agreements and limited partnership agreements.
* Acting as lead leasing counsel to a large Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust in respect to its portfolio of properties in Western Canada and in the lease preparation and negotiation of approximately 100 distinct leasing matters.
* Acting for a BC-based developer in respect to various residential and mixed-use developments, advising on the organization and formation of various development entities, rezoning and municipal matters, financing, pre-sale purchaser documentation in compliance with the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, and conveyance of completed strata lots to individual purchasers.
* Acting for a seniors housing trust with respect to various acquisitions of retirement homes in BC.
* Acting for a group of investors with structuring a limited partnership and general partner and their acquisition of a student housing complex from receivership in Edmonton, Alberta.
Professional Associations
* Law Society of British Columbia, Member
* Canada Bar Association - Vancouver Real Property Subsection, Executive Committee Member (Co-Chair)
* Urban Development Institute, Member
* National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Member
* British Columbia Due Diligence Deskbook, Contributing Author
Seminars/ Presentation
Rankings & Recognition
* Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2021, 2023-2024, 2026: Commerical Leasing (Leading Practitioner)
* Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2023-2026: Property Development (Leading Practitioner)
* Chambers Canada 2025-2026: Real Estate - British Columbia (Band 3)
* Best Lawyers in Canada 2019-2026: Real Estate Law
* Chambers Canada 2024: Real Estate - British Columbia (Band 4)
* Acritas Stars 2019-2021
* Lexpert Rising Star Award 2020: Canada's Leading Lawyers Under 40
Professional Activities and Experience
* Law Society of British Columbia, Member
* Law Society of Alberta, Member
* Canada Bar Association - Vancouver Real Property Subsection, Executive Committee Member (Co-Chair), 2015 - 2017
* Urban Development Institute, Member
* National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Member
* British Columbia Due Diligence Deskbook, Contributing Author, 2012-Present
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