Chidinma's practice focuses on commercial litigation, domestic and international arbitration, regulatory and administrative law, environmental and climate change law. Chidinma works with a broad range of sectors including oil and gas, petrochemicals, electricity, renewable energy, utilities, municipal, and land development.
Chidinma is the current Chair of the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board, and oversees the administration of the Alberta Public Lands Appeal Board.
Chidinma has experience in regulatory hearings before the Alberta Energy Regulator and its predecessors, Alberta Utilities Commission, Canadian Energy Regulator and its predecessor, and other regulatory boards. She has appeared before all levels of Court in Alberta.
Energy Litigation
Chidinma’s practice covers a wide variety of complex issues arising out of oil and gas operations and energy markets such as:
- purchase and sale of assets
- various types of royalties and interest in land issues
- mineral rights and tenure disputes including termination of leases, offset obligations, farmouts, rights of first refusal, caveats, joint ventures, operating and various forms of participating agreements, seismic and other license agreements
- plant operation and processing agreements
- fracture stimulation, subsurface trespass and split-title conversion claims
- pipelines, LNG and NGL matters
Project Approvals and Regulatory
She represents and advises clients on all aspects of project license and approval proceedings including:
- facilities, tariffs and tolls, market access and other matters
- import/export applications and issues
- complaints, statement of concerns, standing, consultation, aboriginal and Métis duty and adequacy of consultation
- confidentiality of information, information requests and responses, environmental impact assessment
- reconsideration of decision and regulatory appeals
Environmental and Climate Change Litigation and Regulatory
Her practice also includes:
- environmental and climate change matters in all sectors including real estate, lending, manufacturing, agriculture and automobile.
- assisting clients with issues arising under provincial or federal environmental legislation and common law, including spill and release of substances, contaminated sites liability and management, sale/purchase and redevelopment of brownfields, remediation and reclamation
- directors’ and officers’ environmental liability
- environmental liability in insolvency
- environmental expropriation
- water license and transfer proceedings
- greenhouse gas and methane emissions reduction
- renewable fuels and energy alternatives
Litigation and Arbitration
Her practice also covers a broad range of complex litigation matters such as:
- commercial contract disputes
- bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring
- franchises
- gift card regulation
- consumer protection disputes
- defamation and media disputes
- product liability
- shareholder litigation including derivative, oppression and options back-dating claims
- governance and litigation matters for directors and officers of private and public corporations, boards and their committees
- estate, trust and beneficiary disputes
Chidinma has taught various law courses at the University of Calgary Law School, and Environmental Law in the Energy Sector at the Haskayne Business School’s MSc. Program on Sustainable Energy Development.
She frequently publishes in law journals and blogs, and is a contributor to book chapters in Canadian Environmental Law (loose-leaf) and Environmental Law and Policy, 4th edition.
Prior to joining BLG in 2009, Chidinma practiced with an international oil and gas law firm in Lagos, Nigeria. As well, she has been a legal research associate with various Canadian institutions and law firms.
Chidinma provides legal services through a Law Corporation.