Sam Gabor
- Year of Call, Alberta (2019)
- Year of Call, Saskatchewan (2019)
- Year of Call, Manitoba (2012)
Areas of focus
Areas of focus
Dedicated to his clients and focused on practical solutions, Sam is a highly effective barrister and solicitor in Gowling WLG's Calgary office. Sam has defined himself as a pragmatic, hard working, results-based legal practitioner that is fully committed to his clients' goals.
Sam has a longstanding litigation and solicitor practice focused on debtor-creditor, restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy law. Sam is called to the bar in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and practises across the Canadian prairie provinces. Sam has built a strong reputation for working collaboratively with others, while also ardently advocating on behalf of his clients.
Sam has acted on behalf of numerous stakeholders in lending scenarios, including secured lenders, court-appointed officers (such as receivers, trustees, proposal trustees and monitors), borrowers, and other interested parties. He provides advice in court-appointed receivership and interim receivership proceedings, CCAA restructurings, out of court restructurings, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act proposals, personal property security matters, debt enforcement proceedings, liquidations, distressed purchases, debtor-in-possession financings, and other lending scenarios.
Sam has acted on matters across various industries, including real estate, construction, transportation, technology, agriculture, retail, oil & gas, and medical & dental. Sam has acted as counsel in several prominent cross-border insolvency matters, including as counsel to the Receiver of the Strategic Group of Companies wherein Sam led a group of more than 25 lawyers, paralegals and others parties advising the Receiver, including with respect to a CDN$540,000,000 sales transaction during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sam acted as Canadian debtor counsel in the CCAA recognition proceedings of Cyxtera Technologies' wherein Cyxtera received approval to sell its global assets for USD$775,000,000.
Sam also applies his skills and expertise to blockchain technologies and platforms, which includes cryptocurrency and other digital assets, the metaverse, and decentralized autonomous organizations. Sam has consulted with and presented before provincial personal property security regulators recommending amending provincial Personal Property Security Act legislation across Canada to incorporate new regulations for digital assets. Sam has provided several presentations on blockchain technology to his clients, and has attended and spoken at numerous conferences on blockchain technology, including the Canadian Blockchain Summit, the Blockchain Futurist Conference, Bitcoin Miami, and the Alberta Technology Symposium. Sam is a volunteer member of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium's Legal Committee, which is a not-for-profit organization focused on blockchain-based businesses.
Prior to joining Gowling WLG, Sam practised at a large global law firm and a regional Manitoba law firm. Sam previously played football in Winnipeg for 10 years and coached high level football for 17 years. Sam is an incredibly approachable person, with an optimistic view on life, and a persevering spirit.