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Catherine Gibson

Catherine Gibson

Partner

 

About

Catherine Gibson is a business lawyer with a practice that focusses on corporate/commercial and real estate matters.

Catherine has over 20 years' experience providing strategic advice to her clients in a broad range of commercial matters, including: mergers, acquisitions and sales, corporate finance and lending, office, retail and industrial leasing, real estate development and joint ventures, partnerships and corporate reorganization. She represents clients involved in a wide variety of industries including developers, municipalities, public health authorities, forest product companies, restauranteurs, secured lenders, asset managers, real estate trusts, manufacturers, as well as lessors, retailers and financiers of equipment, vehicles and aircraft.

Catherine has been recognized for her depth of experience in real estate law by leading lawyer ranking guides, including Best Lawyers in CanadaChambers Canada and the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. In 2018, she was selected by the Women's Executive Network (WXN) Canada’s Most Powerful Women as a Top 100 Award Winner.  

Catherine was the Vancouver Managing Partner from 2016 until 2020 and has twice served on the firm’s National Executive Committee, from 2013 to 2015 and from 2020 to present. She was a member of the Steering Committee for DLA Piper Canada’s Legal Alliance for Women (LAW) from 2015 to 2020 and was the Canadian liaison to the Steering Committee for Global LAW. From 1995 to 1996, Catherine was a judicial law clerk at the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

Bar admissionsBritish Columbia, 1996

EXPERIENCE

  • Advised TRG Group Benefits and Pensions Inc., a leading employee benefits advisory firm, in its acquisition by US based Hub International Limited.
  • Acted for a major US-based lender in the refinancing of and collateral substitution for an $80 million dollar loan secured by hotel properties
  • Acted for the buyer in a $205 million purchase of an office tower with 414,000 square feet of ‘AAA’ Class office space
  • Acted for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. in the $170 million sale of its remaining 25% interest in Island Timberlands Limited Partnership
  • Counsel to Mountain Equipment Co-operative in connection with the development and leasing of stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec
  • Represented Western Forest Products Inc. in the $21.8 million sale of its former Pulp Mill Site to Woodfibre LNG Limited
  • Acted for the borrower in a syndicated financing and subsequent amendments and renewals for a US $55 million credit facility related to restaurants operating across Canada and in the US
  • Represented Pacific Coast Terminals Co. Ltd in the negotiation of a long term contract for the handling and storage of potash products from K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy mine, which included the amendment of their ground lease with Port Metro Vancouver and advising on numerous other legal matters related to the expansion of their existing bulk terminal located in Port Moody estimated to exceed $200 million
  • Acted for several not-for-profit housing providers in connection with complex air space parcel developments involving multiple stake holders
  • Represented the borrower, a publically traded REIT, in establishing a $40 million credit facility secured by commercial properties in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario
Languages
  • English
Education
  • LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1994
  • B.A., Eng. Lit., University of British Columbia, 1991

Awards

  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Real Estate Law), 2015-2024
  • Women's Executive Network (WXN) Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner, 2018
  • Chambers Canada (Real Estate: British Columbia), 2019; 2023-2024
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Property Leasing), 2017-2024
  • The Legal 500 Canada (Real Estate), 2023-2024

Seminars

  • Speaker, “What is the path forward for a vibrant downtown Vancouver?”, Vancouver Real Estate Strategy & Leasing Conference, ‎November 2023
  • Speaker, "Leasing to Tech Companies", Pacific Business & Law Institute, March 2020
  • Speaker, “Rapid Fire Legal Roundtable: From Government Regulations and Policies to Lease Clauses ‎and Case Law that you need to understand”, Vancouver Real Estate Strategy & Leasing Conference, ‎October 2019‎
  • Panelist, "Grit and Growth Mindsets", CBA Leadership Conference for Professional Women, November 2015

Media Mentions

Other Activities

  • Member, Editorial Board of Commercial Leasing Annotated Precedents (The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia), 2005-2022
  • Author of Annual Updates to Law Society of BC Practice Checklist Manual for Commercial Lease Drafting and Commercial Lease Procedure

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Member, Urban Development Institute
  • Member of the Advisory Board, Western Canada General Counsel Awards, 2015 and 2017
  • Former Director, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs BC 
  • Member, Law Society of British Columbia 
  • Member, Canadian Bar Association (Real Property, Banking and Health Subsections)

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