LEADERSHIP TEAM
Brent J. Nelson LL.B., PSL
Principal
Prior to incorporating Blackgold Capital Corporation in 2015, Brent spent over a decade as an in-house Senior Surface Landman with a Multi-National E&P Company which did 1.7 m/BOE/D, a national E&P company which did 500,000 BOE/D, and a 50,000 BOE/D E&P company. In 2019 Blackgold made the decision to expand its services into the future of land management, legal representation, crisis management, and campaign management.
Brent holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wales, Cardiff and a Professional Surface Landman designation from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen. Mr. Nelson has published numerous articles on surface land rights, stakeholder relations etiquette, and high stakes campaign management.
As a seasoned political campaign operative, advising on over 70 municipal, provincial and federal campaigns, Brent has unparalleled experience in crisis management. "Predicting how people are going to react to a given situation is paramount so proper planning can take place."
The Blackgold Advantage
Blackgold’s superior knowledge and technology base gives us the ability to effectively manage both processes and people and to report results with greater accuracy and speed. Our project management experience, development planning experience, high stakes political campaign management, and legal experience ranging from appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada all the way down to the Surface Rights Board sets us apart in the industry. Blackgold’s ability to partner with our clients from prospect conceptualization to the administration of Capital programs is unparalleled.
Client Focus
"At Blackgold, we are passionate about what we do and how we do it. We are dedicated to exceeding our client’s expectations. We never lose sight of why we are in business…to provide the benchmark of surface land management, legal representation, crisis management, and campaign management to our clients.”
Byron W. Nelson, B.A., LL.B. (Hons)
Counsel
Byron W. Nelson, trial lawyer and experienced commercial litigator, has spent the last twenty years protecting the rights of individuals and small businesses in insurance and commercial litigation. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court of Canada, Provincial Court of Alberta, Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, Alberta Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and various jurisdictions in the United States. Nelson regularly represents clients in judicial dispute resolutions, mediations, arbitrations and pre-trial conferences.
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Nelson has acted in commercial disputes against a major public utility and for and against large insurers. Nelson has specialized in presenting expert evidence at trial while with his prior firm, including the qualification of experts, direct examination of his clients’ experts and cross-examination of opposing parties’ experts.
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Nelson has been successful, while representing clients, at changing and updating the law in favour of litigants. A number of the trial and application decisions from Nelson’s appearances have advanced and eased the ability of litigants to navigate the court system.
Active in politics, Nelson worked for British Prime Minister John Major during his General Election Tour of 1997 and provided tour support for Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell in 1993. Nelson was the Progressive Conservative candidate for Calgary-Bow in the 2015 Alberta election and in 2017 was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta.
Born in British Columbia, Nelson was raised in Calgary. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 1994 and received his law degree with honours, from the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1997. Nelson was admitted to the bar of the Law Society of Alberta at the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in September, 1998 by Justice Rooke.