Matthew N. Craig

Partner

• Suite 1100, Cabot Place
  100 New Gower St.
  St. John’s, N.L.
  A1C 6K3
• +1.709.570.8827
• +1.709.722.4565
• Send Email

Language(s) spoken: English

Bar Admission(s): Newfoundland and Labrador, 2013

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Legal Assistant(s): Susan Greening

Matthew advises clients on the full lifecycle of complex construction and infrastructure projects – from procurement design and contract structuring through to dispute resolution. Drawing on experience as in-house counsel to a Crown energy corporation, he brings a commercially grounded perspective that focuses on effective risk allocation and practical outcomes. His practice spans major energy, mining, transportation, and clean energy infrastructure projects across Atlantic Canada and beyond.

To address increasing complexity and shifting risk allocation on major projects, Matthew has advised owners and contractors on collaborative, integrated and incentive-based contracts, including those involving early contractor engagement (or early contractor involvement), target price incentive structures, and public-private partnerships.

Matthew’s experience in litigation and dispute resolution sharpens the risk allocation advice he provides clients at the front-end of a project, while his experience structing and negotiating contracts on complex projects informs the commercial realism and practical solutions he offers when advising clients involved in a dispute.

Having served for three years as the Legal Governance Director for the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association, Matthew has a strong understanding of the issues that are most pressing for the province’s construction industry.

Representative Work:

Front-End and Contract Administration:

• Advising the owner of a complex major project involving rehabilitation of clean energy infrastructure, including development and negotiation of an agreement for professional design services, advice relating to early contractor engagement, and development and negotiation of a multi-phased target price incentive-based contract for civil works.
• Providing contractual and strategic advice to a contractor engaged in a major offshore oil and gas marine infrastructure project, including advice related to changes and contract amendments.
• Advising an international airport authority on updating its procurement documents and processes with a view to enabling consistent, repeatable and defensible procurement processes, including strategic advice on procurement best practices, and preparation of template procurement and contract documents.
• Advising mining companies in respect of mine development, including preparation of procurement and contract templates, negotiation of agreements with contractors and suppliers, and advising on contract changes and potential disputes, all with a view to mitigating project costs, while prioritizing safety and quality of work.
• Advising owners and developers of natural resources and renewable energy projects on regulatory processes for securing land and development rights, regulatory frameworks for the purchase and sale of energy, regulation of wind and hydroelectric energy, contracts for the purchase, sale, and transmission of energy, and provincial benefits agreements.
• Advising owners, contractors and engineers in respect of professional services, including drafting and negotiation of engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) agreements, and agreements for the supply of design services, contract management services, and project controls services.
• Advising a client throughout all stages of the development of multiple residential apartment complexes, including land acquisition, project financing, preparation and negotiation of contracts, contract management and administration, and dispute resolution.
• Advising public and private owners and contractors on issues of bid evaluation and compliance, bid rejection and contract award.

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

• Successfully defending a public body in litigation involving a claim made by a contractor whose bid to provide construction works and services was disqualified on the basis that the bid failed to comply with the terms of the call for bids.
• Successfully negotiating the resolution of a multi-million-dollar dispute between an owner and contractor in respect of the construction of a steel facility and related infrastructure. The dispute was resolved in advance of formal mediation and arbitration, avoiding the time, expense, and disruption to ongoing operations that would have resulted from a multi-year arbitration process.
• Advising a contractor in respect of a major airport infrastructure project, including in respect of a delay claim that is the subject of international arbitration.

Other Industries

Matthew also provides corporate, commercial, and litigation services to clients operating in other industries, including commercial fisheries and tech.