Mathew Farrel: Litigation Lawyer

Mathew Farrell

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 finding a home with Kahane Law.

Mathew has a wide variety of experience as lead counsel in the Provincial Court of Alberta, the Court of King’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, Mathew 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 was 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, Mathew’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, Mathew 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.

He has also appeared frequently in the media in relation to the various cases referred to above.

Mathew continues to be involved in class action and public interest litigation, and also acts for individual and corporate clients, large and small.   He has a firm grasp of the law, and a keen awareness of the practical realities of both business and litigation.

In his free time, Mathew enjoys skiing, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.