Mediator & Arbitrator
John N. Craig, K.C.
Resolving complex commercial, construction, and energy disputes — fairly, rigorously, and with the judgment of a career spent on every side of the table.
About
The judgment of a career spent resolving disputes
John N. Craig, K.C. is a mediator and arbitrator who brings to the resolution of complex disputes the judgment of a career spent resolving them, through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation, over more than three decades at the bar. Having advised commercial parties, owners, contractors, engineers, and energy companies from every position in a dispute, he understands how these matters are built, where they break down, and what it takes to bring them to a fair and durable resolution.
John practiced at the Canadian law firm of Bennett Jones LLP from 1987 to 2022, where he focused primarily on resolving national and international disputes, with an emphasis on commercial and construction related matters. He appeared as counsel before trial and appellate courts in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and in numerous mediations and both ad hoc and institutional arbitrations. He has acted as both mediator and arbitrator across a wide range of commercial matters.
From 2023 to 2025, John served as Area Legal Counsel for the Europe North Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in London, England. In that role he oversaw the organization’s legal work across Northern Europe, retaining and directing counsel in fifteen countries and varied legal systems on matters spanning corporate and regulatory compliance, tax, employment, immigration, real estate, construction, and charitable law. The role added a rare, cross-border, general-counsel perspective to an already deep disputes practice.
John now conducts mediations and arbitrations through John N. Craig Professional Corporation.
Education
- University of Alberta, LL.B., 1985 (Horace Harvey Gold Medal in Law)
- Magdalen College, University of Oxford (UK), 1988
Bar Admissions
- Alberta, 1988
- British Columbia, 2022
Appointments & Fellowships
- Panelist, Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC): Domestic Arbitration, International Arbitration, and Mediation panels
- Member, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee
- Former Fellow, Canadian College of Construction Lawyers
- Former Fellow, Construction Lawyers Society of America
Community
- Former director, Alberta Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association
- Former director, The Arthritis Society
Practice
Mediation & Arbitration
John accepts appointments as a sole arbitrator, party-appointed arbitrator, member of a panel, and as mediator, in commercial disputes of all sizes, national and international in scope. He is a panelist at the Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC) and a member of the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee.
As Mediator
Helping parties reach a resolution they can live with, efficiently and with a clear-eyed read of the real risks on both sides.
As Arbitrator
Deciding disputes on the merits with rigor, procedural fairness, and reasons the parties can understand.
Areas of focus
- Construction & Infrastructure Disputes over delay, cost overruns, extras, defects, liens and bonds, and the contracts beneath them: EPC, EPCM, design-build, and bespoke agreements.
- Commercial, Corporate & Technology Contract, corporate, shareholder, and business and technology disputes, including matters spanning multiple jurisdictions.
- Energy, Oil & Gas Project disputes, facility construction and rework, and related commercial matters.
- Insurance & Surety Course-of-construction and liability coverage; performance, bid, and labour-and-materials bonds; builders’ liens.
Approach
Meticulous, even-handed, reliable every time
For John, a dispute is rarely just a legal problem. It is a business problem, a relationship problem, and often a problem of how two reasonable parties came to see the same facts so differently. His work as a neutral begins with understanding all of it, quickly and thoroughly, and then doing the unglamorous work that resolution actually requires: preparing thoroughly, listening closely, treating both sides fairly, and keeping the matter moving.
He came to this work after more than three decades of building and testing these cases as counsel. That experience taught him where disputes really turn, and it taught him respect for the people on both sides of them. As an arbitrator, he decides on the merits and explains his reasons plainly. As a mediator, he helps parties find the resolution that serves them better than the alternative. In either role, the standard is the same.
Recognition
Recognized nationally and internationally
Over the course of his career John has been recognized by leading client and peer-review publications as a leading practitioner in alternative dispute resolution, construction, energy, and commercial litigation.
- Chambers Canada: Consistently ranked, Construction, Band 1
- Best Lawyers in Canada: 2020 Calgary “Lawyer of the Year,” Construction; recognized 2010–2022 for Alternative Dispute Resolution and Construction Law
- The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Consistently recommended, Construction Law; Litigation – Corporate Commercial
- Benchmark Canada: Litigation Star (Arbitration; Energy & Natural Resources)
- Lexpert / Report on Business: leading Infrastructure, Energy, and Litigation lawyer
- Who’s Who Legal: leading Construction lawyer
- Expert Guides: World’s Leading Construction and Real Estate Lawyers
- LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell: BV Distinguished Peer Review Rating
Contact
Discuss an appointment
To discuss an appointment or check availability, please get in touch directly.
Office
John N. Craig Professional Corporation
Foothills, Alberta, Canada
Admitted
Alberta & British Columbia