Byron W. Nelson, trial lawyer and experienced commercial litigator, has spent the last twenty-five 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.
 

Nelson has provided instruction on litigation to the former Alberta Bar Admission course for the Legal Education Society of Alberta and teaches negotiation to the new Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education. He has also presented on employment issues and corporate law at the Immigrant Engineers Society.  

Nelson instructed on litigation practice to fellow lawyers at the Legal Education Society of Alberta’s Fall 2012 “Law and Practice Update”.

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Nelson currently sits on the Board of Directors for Food Banks Alberta, is the Chair of the Alberta Fatality Review Board and is the Chair of the Board of Governors of Athabasca University.

Nelson volunteers for the Shriners Hospitals for Children as a past chairman for Southern Alberta.  He currently sits on the international Jurisprudence and Laws Committee for Shriners International.
 

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.  

In his final year of law school, Nelson was the first non-Brit to ever serve as president of the Cardiff Students’ Law Society. Nelson was also active in the Inns of Court Society and formally dined at the Inner Temple and Gray’s Inn in London, England.

An avid rugby player, Byron is a past president of the Calgary Rams Rugby Club and a member of the Al Azhar Shrine Temple. Byron is the head coach of a U13aa elite hockey team with the Calgary Royals Athletic Club.  Nelson is also an active horseman and rides with the Al Azhar Mounted Patrol in its public musical ride.  Byron enjoys camping and hiking with his daughter and son.