Partner, Senior Litigator

Born in Saskatchewan, Mathew moved to Calgary at a young age. In junior high, he began wrestling, earning several provincial titles, a national championship, and many other accolades. He attended the University of Calgary, where he graduated with distinction, having been awarded the student-athlete award in his final year – which is awarded to the varsity athlete with the highest GPA across the university. After graduating from the University of Calgary, Mathew attended law school at Queen’s University. He articled at a small firm in Airdrie, followed by working at a larger firm in Calgary, where he honed his litigation skills and obtained a great deal of trial experience. Mathew also gained broad experience in real estate and corporate law. Mathew subsequently worked at several other law firms, before founding Farrell Law.

Mathew has a wide variety of experience as lead counsel in the Provincial Court of Alberta, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court. He has represented clients, both large and small, before public and private arbitral tribunals.

In 2017, Mathew made headlines when he stood up to City Hall on behalf of the residents of Midfield Mobile Home Park in a battle that influenced the Mayoral election. In 2018, he was in the news again for taking on Alberta Health Services in the Court of Appeal over an issue involving health inspections without adequate notice, and yet again later that year in respect of a lawsuit against the Calgary Airport Authority over Airport Improvement Fees. He also acted for several clients with claims against the police or RCMP for misconduct or negligence. Early in 2019, Mathew acted for a number of objectors in respect of the Indian Day Schools settlement before the Federal Court and was involved in a precedent-setting personal injury trial involving chronic pain.

In recognition of his accomplishments, Mathew was nominated for Canadian Lawyer Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Lawyers of 2019,” and was a finalist for Lexpert Magazine’s “Rising Star” award.

In 2020, Mr. Farrell was at the forefront of COVID 19 related class action litigation. He was one of the lead counsel in respect of the claim against the Cargill meat packing plant, which was the site of one of North America’s largest outbreaks. He is also part of the national consortium of lawyers bringing claims against insurance companies for failing to pay out on business interruption policies. He filed a first-of-its-kind class action against oil companies for failing to pay surface rights payments to landowners during the pandemic. He also had a prominent role in four claims against care homes in Alberta for failing to take reasonable care to protect the health of their residents. When the Alberta government introduced a bill to block such claims, Mr. Farrell’s work was being discussed by both the government and the official opposition as the merits of this bill were debated.

In addition to the foregoing, Mr. Farrell was retained by the cities of Grande Prairie Alberta, and Brantford Ontario to bring a $10 Billion class action claim against opioid manufacturers for causing the opioid epidemic.

Over the past year, Mr. Farrell has appeared before, and had written decisions issued in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench, The Manitoba Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Appeal. He has also appeared frequently in the media in relation to the various cases referred to above.

Mathew has an expanding class actions practice acting against a variety of large companies like pharmaceutical manufacturers and electrical utilities, among others. His willingness to take on powerful entities and hold them to account is a great asset.

He has a strong grasp of the law, coupled with an awareness of the practical considerations that need to be kept in mind to guide his clients.

Owner - Sunchild Law

Eleanore Sunchild, Q.C. is an Indigenous lawyer from the Thunderchild First Nation and received her call to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1999. Eleanore Sunchild, Q.C. has represented clients across Canada and has appeared in all levels of court across Canada.

She is most proud of her representation of Debbie Baptiste at the Supreme Court of Canada as an intervenor in the case of R. v. Chonan, where the elimination of peremptory challenges was upheld.

Eleanore Sunchild, Q.C. graduated from the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law, obtained a B.A. in Political Science and studied French immersion at the Faculté St. Jean, U of A. She is sought after for her knowledge of the Indian Residential school system, 60s scoop and the resistance and continuous impact on Indigenous Peoples.

Eleanore Sunchild advocates and speaks about the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian criminal legal system and has successfully pursued wrongful death actions and civil actions for those who have been unjustly harmed.

Lawyer — Sunchild Law

Called in 2012, Michael Seed is a lawyer with empathy and experience in aboriginal law and litigation. He is a modest man who values his privacy.