Mel is the founder of Lift Legal and is passionate about helping families and businesses in St. Albert and Edmonton achieve their goals. With a goal of changing how people perceive attorneys and law firms, Mel had this to say about his approach to law:
”I love practicing law but the most exciting thing about it for me is that it offers the opportunity to build close relationships with clients and support them through a pivotal period in their lives.
Mel Garbe
My goal is to help individuals and business owners accomplish their legal goals in a way that elevates them to new heights or at the very least enables them to move forward with the next phase of their life in a way that feels right for them. I think big law firms can create barriers to this type of relationship and achievement of goals in that they often foster inefficient practices, expensive overhead and an emotional distance from clients. The legal training I received at two large national law firms, my experience as in-house counsel, ongoing professional development, and my varied life experiences all contribute to my ability to provide clients with the level of service that I think they deserve.
In addition to being a committed and passionate lawyer, I am a devoted father to three amazing boys who I am raising with my wonderful wife Rebecca. I am a committed co-parent to my oldest son and have first-hand experience working through divorce and building a family structure to support a child after divorce. I am a passionate entrepreneur and understand the work and devotion that goes into building a business, and in turn the importance of having outside service providers who are committed to helping your business grow and succeed.
More about Mel
Experience & Expertise
- Mel is a certified mediator registered with the Alberta Family Mediation Society.
- Mel is a certified collaborative family lawyer registered with the Association of Collaborative Family Professionals.
- Mel is a business lawyer with an insider’s view regarding client services gained from his experience as in-house legal counsel.
- Mel is an experienced negotiator having assisted clients with numerous negotiations with government and industry.
- Mel is an advisor to businesses and governmental organizations and assists with all manner of commercial issues including regulatory and corporate governance matters.
- Mel is an experienced drafter and drafts all types of commercial agreements, as well as marriage and separation agreements, in a clear and concise manner.
- Mel is an experienced advisor to employers and employees alike and assists with all types of non-litigation employment matters, including termination.
Professional Background
- In 2000 Mel traded in his pipe wrench (he was formerly a pipe fitter) for a laptop and began studies at the University of Alberta where he earned an honours degree in Philosophy followed by an LLB.
- Since graduating from Law School in 2008, Mel worked at two large national firms (Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now Dentons LLP) and Davis LLP (now DLA Piper (Canada) LLP) and as in house legal counsel, where he gained invaluable legal training and experience as a business lawyer, negotiator and general legal advisor.
- In 2013 Mel transitioned to a solo practice operating Garbe Consulting and Legal Services for three successful years. During this time he continued to build on his experience as a business lawyer and began practicing aspects of family law, obtaining training as a certified collaborative family lawyer and mediator.
Personal Background
Mel was born and raised in Irma, Alberta and has lived in St. Albert since 2009.
Mel’s greatest joy is his family and he is a proud and dedicated father to his three boys. Mel’s children keep him active in the community as he regularly volunteers at their schools and coaches their sports. Mel is happy to call St. Albert home and is excited to be building Lift Legal in the community where he is raising his children. You can often find Mel and Rebecca biking the paths of St. Albert with their three boys in tow or wandering around the St. Albert farmer’s market. If you can’t find Mel at the office you might find him running the trails of St. Albert with his “fourth child” Stanley, a golden retriever – great pyrenees cross.
More than anything, Mel loves traveling with his family and seeing how first experiences uniquely impact each of his three children. Mel seems to think he and Matthew Good are buddies…even though they have never met, and he gets extremely excited about any discussion of space, dreaming that one day he will have the chance to visit space with his boys.
