Course Instructor
Douglas H. Peterson — DHP Business Counsel, Edmonton
About the Course Instructor
Douglas Peterson has provided advice to private companies for 25 years. He is 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 helped clients establish themselves in the international marketplace. Douglas has established 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 expertise also encompasses day-to-day legal affairs, including domestic and international contracts, employment agreements, and financial and legal restructuring. He has assisted several start-ups, including Swype and Investopedia, and has represented many companies in transactions with groups such as Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. As a result of his experience, he has gained an extensive network in both Edmonton and internationally. Among other professional achievements, Douglas was awarded Edmonton's Favourite Lawyer and was in the top three for another year.
Douglas is an executive professor at both the School of Business 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 Asia-Pacific Rim law. He has published two textbooks: the first, on International Business Transactions, in 2016, and the second, on International Law, in September 2018. He has written for other textbooks, including specialized chapters on securities law, money laundering, and trusts. He has won several teaching awards at the University of Alberta, including the Pringle/Royal Sessional Teaching Excellence Award and the Donald and Margaret MacKenzie Teaching Award. Douglas also teaches legal writing and contract drafting to lawyers within the legal education arms of the Law Societies of Alberta and BC. He created and taught a new course on corporate governance for the MBA and executive MBA programs, as well as entrepreneurship and law at the business school. Douglas also coaches business case competition teams for the University of Alberta. He has participated in competitions in Singapore, Thailand, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Mexico, as well as in various cities in Canada, including Victoria, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Montreal, as well as in the US, specifically in Florida, California, and Arizona. His teams have won or placed in the top three in several of these competitions.