Remembering John Ballem

Today’s Calgary Herald reports the death of the distinguished Canadian legal author, John Ballem QC of Gowlings, at the age of 85.

Those of us who have had to refer to Ballem’s masterpiece, The oil and gas lease in Canada (now in its third edition) and his pioneering work on fiduciary duties in the 1963 Alberta Law Review, will likely not realize that he was also the author of fourteen novels (The Devil’s Lighter, The Dirty Scenario, The Judas Conspiracy (reissued as Alberta Alone), The Moon Pool, Sacrifice Play, The Marigot Run, Oilpatch Empire, Death Spiral, The Barons, Manchineel, Murder as a Fine Art, The Oil Patch Quartet, A Victim of Convenience, and Murder On The Bow (to be published this spring) as well as two volumes of poetry.

This overshadows even the eclectic literary achievements of the other lawyer/novelist Simon Ritchie.

May John Ballem rest in peace.