Advanced Legal Writing

Course Instructor
Douglas H. Peterson — Douglas H. Peterson Professional Corporation, Edmonton

About the Course Instructor
Douglas has provided advice to private companies for 23 years. He currently—and has been in the past—a director and general counsel for several companies in the environmental, manufacturing, real estate investment, cannabis, technology, life sciences, and biotech sectors. Douglas represents private companies in various stages of development specializing in corporate commercial law with an emphasis on international business transactions. He has assisted clients in establishing themselves in the international marketplace. He has set up international structures for corporations throughout the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the US. He has vast experience in international and regulatory matters, including commercial law, intellectual property law, international finance, and international trade. His experience also covers such day-to-day legal affairs as domestic and international contracts, employment agreements, and financial and legal restructuring. He has assisted several start-ups including Swype and Investopedia and represented several companies in transactions with such groups as Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. As a result of his experience, he has gained an extensive network in both Edmonton and internationally.

Douglas is a member of the Alberta and BC bars, speaks Japanese, and is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Law of the University of Niigata in Japan. His doctoral thesis concerns the jurisdictional aspects of the taxation of internet transactions, particularly cloud computing. For over 23 years, Douglas has taught at both the School of Business (undergrad and MBA courses) and the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta, where he lectures on international law, international business transactions, business law, corporate law, contracts, international business, and contract drafting. He has published two textbooks, one on International Business Transactions and the second on International Law. He has won several teaching awards at the University of Alberta, including, the Pringle/Royal Sessional Teaching Excellence Award. Douglas also teaches contract drafting to lawyers with the Legal Education Society of Alberta and corporate governance in the executive MBA program at the University of Alberta. Douglas also coaches business case competition teams for the University of Alberta School of Business. His teams have participated in competitions in Singapore, Thailand, Victoria, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Florida, California, Arizona, and Europe. His teams have won or placed in the top three in several of these competitions.