- Jessica Donovan
- Phone:(902) 491-6816
- Fax:(902) 421-3130
- Email:

David is a partner in Cox & Palmer’s Halifax office and practices in the area of corporate and commercial law. He attended Acadia University and then earned his law degree at Dalhousie Law School. He was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1998.
Experience
David has extensive experience in commercial transactions and regularly advises clients on purchases and divestitures of businesses by way of share and asset purchases, partnerships and joint ventures. As a member of the Firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Group, David’s experience includes development of construction and design, build & operate agreements for international clients with interests in Nova Scotia’s developing tidal energy industry, acquisitions of energy service companies in Atlantic Canada and Alberta, negotiation of service agreements for the Atlantic offshore industry and the development of the Play Fairway Analysis for offshore Nova Scotia.
He regularly advises clients on corporate law matters, including matters related to corporate structuring, governance and unlimited liability companies (ULCs).
David has acted for both borrowers and lenders in domestic and international, secured and unsecured financings. David also has extensive experience in commercial real estate acquisitions and divestitures, and commercial leasing.
Bar Admission
- Nova Scotia (1998)
Law School
- Dalhousie University
Education
- Acadia University (BA Honours, 1992)
- Dalhousie University (LLB, 1997)
Professional Activities & Affiliations
- Board Member, BioNova – Nova Scotia’s Life Sciences Association
- Board Member & Committee Member (Audit & Governance), Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia (LIANS)
- Committee Member (SME Committee), Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI)
- Member, Toronto Opinions Group (TOROG)
- Past Chair, Canadian Bar Association (Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section)
- Past Chair (Programming & Advisor Committees) and Board member, Canadian Association of Family-Owned Enterprises (CAFE)
- Past Board member, Atlantic Salmon Federation
Lectures & Presentations
David has spoken at a number of conferences in Nova Scotia and in other parts of Canada, including:
- Insight’s Major Business Agreements (Halifax, NS – 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014)
- Canadian Institute Commercial Real Property Transactions (Halifax – 2010)
- Insight’s Current Trends and Developments in Canadian Corporate Law – Changes to the Nova Scotia Companies Act (Toronto, ON – 2009)
- The Canadian Petroleum Law Foundation’s East Coast Research Seminar (St. John’s – 2007)
Law Society Memberships
- Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
- Canadian Bar Association
Languages
- English
- Nova Scotia – Legal Implications of the COVID-19 Emergency
- Transfers and Non-Canadian Ownership of Atlantic Canadian Fishing Licences
- Nova Scotia Direction Provides Flexibility for Shareholder, Member and Director Meetings during COVID-19
- Nova Scotia: Duty to Consult in Large Infrastructure Projects and COVID-19 Impacts - A review of Nova Scotia Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Sipekne’katik v. Alton Natural Gas Storage LP, 2020 NSSC 111
- Force Majeure Clauses and the Doctrine of Frustration: Flattening the Liability Curve
- Nova Scotia OKs Electronic Record Keeping, Corporate Practices
- Don’t Be a Materiality Scrape Goat
- Oil & Gas: Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board Calls for Bids for Six Offshore Parcels
- Nova Scotia: Marine Renewable Energy Act - A Synopsis
- BP Canada Information Session
- Shell Committed to Nova Scotia
- BP Canada Adds Offshore Partner
- Free Trade with Europe
- Oil & Gas Update: Shell Canada Ltd. Becomes Joint Venture Partners with ConocoPhillips and Suncor Energy
- Registration Under the Controlled Goods Program
- Certification: A Step Above the Competition
- Shipbuilding: IRB Policy and the Benefits of Public-Private Consortia
- Shipbuilding: How American Secrecy Requirements Affect Your Business
- The NSPS and Canadian Small and Medium Business --- 5 Answers You Need to Know
- Shipbuilding Contracts and Industrial and Regional Benefits Requirements
- Canada's New Not-for-Profit Corporations Act