Devin joins Procido LLP on the heels of a 10+ year career as in-house counsel.  Devin left his debtor-creditor, insolvency, and agricultural-focused private practice in 2013 (at the time, practicing with Procido colleagues Chad Eggerman and Craig Zawada) to jump headfirst into the commercial world as Corporate Counsel to a large equipment dealership group. He then joined a colleague to start FieldAlytics Solutions Canada Ltd., a company that provides precision agriculture software and tools to equipment dealers, agricultural input suppliers, and independent agronomists. With a small taste of start-up success, Devin then joined three other partners to start Blue Sky Hemp Ventures Ltd., a Saskatoon-based industrial hemp and licensed cannabis processor.

Blue Sky managed to grow into a successful business, generating millions in annual revenue and employing over 30 people; a true Saskatchewan success story. Although Devin retains an interest in the companies he helped found, he has decided to take a break from the start-up life to put his hard-won experience behind a refreshed legal and consulting practice with Procido LLP.

Devin is equipped to advise business start-ups, agricultural enterprises and processors, cannabis businesses, and food producers on anything from corporate and commercial structures to insurance and regulatory issues. He is uniquely placed to provide advice from a legal perspective as well as provide business and start-up advisory services based on first-hand experience. 

PRACTICE AREAS 

• Cannabis and Hemp – Commercial relationships, product liability, processing arrangements, Health Canada compliance, insurance issues, retail compliance.
• Food and Ag Processing – Commercial relationships, product liability, processing arrangements, CFIA compliance, CGC issues, insurance issues.
• Agricultural Production – Farm legal structures, production and grain contract advice, crop loss liability advice, irrigation and water issues, regulatory issues.
• Agricultural Equipment and Ag – Tech/Precision Ag- Regulatory compliance with Ag Equipment legislation, precision ag issues, equipment failure and crop-loss issues, dealership contracts, secured finance and debtor-creditor issues related to equipment sales and financing

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Cannabis and Hemp:

• Founded Blue Sky Hemp Ventures Ltd. and acted as Counsel, RPIC and HOS to the company
• Secured Industrial Hemp Licenses for multiple parties
• Secured Cannabis Processing License
• Managed Health Canada reviews and non-compliance matters
• Overseen amendments to processing licenses
• Drafted many different supply and processing agreements
• Appeared before the House of Commons Agricultural Committee on Industrial Hemp Regulatory issues
• Delivered Law Society of Saskatchewan CPD on Industrial Hemp Regulatory issues

Food and Ag Processing:

• Drafted and reviewed many grains production and supply contracts
• Drafted and managed toll-processing and co-packing arrangements with multiple parties
• Managed relationships with CFIA, Health Canada, GFSI auditors, and Certified Organic auditors
• Assisted in resolving product liability issues and potential product recalls

Agricultural Production:

• Significant experience with grain supply and production contracts, including speciality crops
• Experience in establishing private irrigation projects in Saskatchewan, including regulatory compliance
• Managing crop-loss claims, including full-scale litigation related to crop loss claims.

Ag Equipment and Ag-Tech/Precision Ag

• Canadian legal counsel to Western Equipment Dealer’s Association (WEDA) before moving to in-house Counsel for a large dealership
• Drafted template industry contracts for data management and used equipment management for WEDA
• Delivered tailored Legal Education seminars to western Canadian dealerships
• Served on John Deere’s Precision Ag Dealership Advisory Committee
• Designed user agreements for various Precision Ag and agronomic services
• Sat on the Global Institute for Food Security (U of S) Industry Advisory Committee

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

• Served for six years as a Member of the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan (the governing body for dentists and dental specialists in Saskatchewan)
• Advisory Committee Member of the Prairie Food Link powered by AgWest Bio and the Food Industry Development Centre
• Government Relations Committee of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• Canadian Association for Food Law and Policy
• Prairie Food Link
• Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance
• AgWest Bio

BAR ADMISSIONS & EDUCATION

• Saskatchewan Bar, 2008
• LL.B., College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, 2004-2007
• Jessup Memorial International Moot, 2005-2006
• M.A., Communication and Culture, Ryerson University, and York University, 2002-2004
• B.A. Political Science with Distinction, Dean’s List, University of Calgary, 1996-2001

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Industrial Hemp Regulations, Law Society of Saskatchewan, 2021

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS

• Academic Scholarship, Dean’s List; University of Calgary, 2000
• A Graduate Entrance Scholarship, Ryerson University, 2002
• Graduate Fellowship and SHRC Research Grant, Ryerson University 2003