Cassels

Canadian Corporate Law Firm

University of Saskatchewan

Renita Swamy

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Renita Swamy* (she/her/hers) is a partner in the Real Estate & Development Group at Cassels. Renita’s practice involves all aspects of commercial real estate, including acquisitions, dispositions, development and financing of development, and investment properties. Renita’s practice has an emphasis on real-estate based financings and she has acted as counsel for lender and borrower clients on many lending transactions, including complex syndicated loans, construction financings, mezzanine loans, asset-based loans, and refinancings.

Renita frequently advises on ownership structuring for development projects and investment properties, including joint venture agreements, partnership agreements, shareholder agreements and development management agreements. She also has extensive experience in hotel transactions and has represented owners and operators with acquiring, financing, and selling hotel and resort properties and negotiating management and franchise agreements. Renita regularly advises developers on planning and development issues including matters related to subdivisions, rezonings, and issues related to the Real Estate Development Marketing Act. She acts for a wide array of clients including financial institutions, private lenders, public and private companies, and REITs.

Renita’s experience includes:

  • Acting as counsel for banks, private lenders and borrowers in all areas of lending, including acquisition & construction finance, real estate refinance, asset-based lending and mezzanine loans;
  • Acting for clients in the purchase and sale of commercial properties, including shopping centres, residential apartment buildings, industrial buildings, development sites and office buildings;
  • Acting for clients in the acquisition and disposition of major hotels, wineries and resort properties;
  • Structuring joint venture, co-ownership and partnership arrangements for the acquisition of real estate;
  • Advising clients on issues relating to local government approval processes, such as subdivision (including air space and strata plan subdivisions), servicing requirements, rezoning and development cost charges; and
  • Acting for clients in a wide array of corporate commercial matters, including asset and share purchase sales.

Renita also co-authored the chapter on purchase contracts for the BC Real Estate Practice Manual, published by the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC.

Prior to joining Cassels, Renita served as a director at a prominent boutique commercial real estate firm based in Vancouver. Before that, Renita practiced with the Financial Services Group of another leading national firm.

*Services provided through a Law Corporation

Alex Steele

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Alex Steele serves as counsel in the Business Law Group at Cassels. Alex’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate finance, and general corporate and commercial law. He specializes in mid-market and large-scale mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions with particular experience advising clients in the technology, health, energy, retail, sports, and real estate sectors.

Alex brings experience and insights gained in-house as the General Counsel and Business Development Lead at a software development company to his work for clients.

Before going in-house, Alex worked as an associate in the Vancouver, BC, London, UK, and Austin, TX offices of two international firms.

Amanda Robertson

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Amanda Robertson (she/her/hers) is an associate in the Banking & Specialty Finance Group at Cassels. Amanda maintains a general practice in financial services and has experience advising both lenders and borrowers on a variety of cross-border and domestic loan transactions diversified across many industries.

Amanda offers a unique perspective to clients, having worked in-house at a Schedule I bank, as well as in the oil & gas industry.

Prior to joining Cassels, Amanda served as an associate in the Financial Services Group at another international firm, based in Calgary.

Claire Stempien

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Claire Stempien (she/her/hers) is an associate in the Intellectual Property Group at Cassels. Based in the Vancouver office, she assists clients with a variety of intellectual property matters. In her litigation practice, Claire has appeared in the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of British Columbia to assist clients in a number of complex matters in the areas of patents, copyright, trademarks, trade secrets/confidential information, privacy, and breach of contract.

In addition to her litigation practice, Claire is also a Trademark Agent and assists clients with trademark prosecution matters including brand protection and trademark portfolio management.

Prior to joining Cassels as an associate, Claire gained experience in the Vancouver office of an international firm.

Brock Melnyk

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Brock Melnyk (he/him/his) is an associate in the Business Law Group at Cassels. He was a member of the 2024-2025 Articling Student class and was also a summer student with the firm.

Brock received his JD from the University of Saskatchewan in 2024 with distinction. During law school, Brock helped the first-year law class, Legal Research and Writing, as a teacher’s assistant. Brock also took part in the Davis Securities Moot, where his factum placed among the top five, and sat on the Saskatchewan Law Review Board of Editors for 2023/2024.

Throughout law school Brock received the Saskatchewan Law Review Honour, the College of Law Academic Excellence Scholarship, and the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Harry Dahlem Prize in International Law.

Prior to law school, Brock received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta and spent time living in Norway through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program learning the language and culture. Brock continues to practice his Norwegian language skills.

In his free time, Brock enjoys playing tennis, going to the theatre, and exploring the mountains near Calgary year-round.

Doug McCartney

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Doug McCartney is a partner in the Business Law Group at Cassels. A respected business lawyer with over 25 years of business law expertise – including as a managing partner of a law firm and a director and officer of several public companies – Doug offers invaluable insight that allows him to provide legal services in a practical and straightforward manner to his clients.

Doug handles public and private corporate finance, venture capital, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning. An innovative legal thinker, Doug is passionate about working closely with his clients – large and small – to ensure he understands their goals in order to provide them with tailored solutions for their unique needs.

Prior to joining Cassels, Doug served as the Director of Business Law at a full-service tax, law, and accounting service and, prior to that, as managing partner at one of Calgary’s premier business law boutiques.