Telephone: 403 346 6603 | Fax: 403 340 1280 | Email: gwanless@chapmanriebeek.com
Assistant: Tanis Woodfin | Assistant’s Email: twoodfin@chapmanriebeek.com 

For over 35 years Gary has been a civil litigator, a dedicated lawyer who either sues people, companies or governments to enforce the rights of his clients, or who defends his clients’ rights when they are sued.

As a litigator, Gary has assumed many roles, the most obvious being the role of advocate; from drafting pleadings to conducting questioning, to handling trials; together with the less obvious roles of negotiator, mediator, conciliator and advisor. Through it all, Gary has acquired knowledge of, and about, a variety of diverse subjects: from brain injury to amateur built helicopters; from road construction to business evaluations; from oil well drilling contracts to environmental claims involving contamination; from the application of siding on a leaking condominium building to poorly manufactured recreational vehicles; in addition to learning the workings of government and businesses.

Gary, as a litigator, is a life-long learner. He knows the law; his job is to learn your case and apply the law to it. Gary is a trial lawyer. While he is an excellent and experienced negotiator, he understands that taking a matter to trial is the ultimate remedy. Simply put: resolve a case if you can, take it to trial if you must.

Gary is now applying his legal experience to a new role – that of being a mediator. For almost 5 years he sat as an adjudicator, listening to both sides and then crafting a decision according to law. As a mediator, he does not make an agreement but he does facilitate one. He actively listens, communicates honestly and effectively with the parties, applies a legal framework and works towards getting the parties to agree to an appropriate resolution

Gary is a graduate of the University of Calgary, Faculty of Law.

Areas of Practice

• Litigation – Advancing, Protecting and Defending your rights
• Commercial Litigation
• Condominium Litigation
• Environmental Litigation
• Personal Injury
• Contract and Real Estate Litigation
• Employment Law
• Creditor/Debtor Litigation
• Landlord/Tenant Litigation
• Property Disputes
• Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution

Memberships and Associations

• Law Society of Alberta – Called to the Alberta Bar July 19, 1981
• Central Alberta Bar Society

Community Involvement

• Council member – Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch
• Communications Committee – Law Society of Alberta
• Chair, Media & Law Conference, Red Deer , AB – Law Society of Alberta
• Past President of the Central Alberta Bar Association
• Alberta Law Reform Institute; Rules of Court Project Costs
• Past Volunteer Instructor – Legal Education Society of Alberta