MEET THE TEAM
SMART | EFFICIENT | FUN | AMAZING
Married for a crazy long time - Father of four - loves coaching hockey and playing golf. Find out more.
Meet our crazy awesome team - they get the hard stuff done and do it with a smile! Find out more.
DARREN RICHARDS
Owner - Lawyer
Darren Richards, originally from Saskatchewan (yes - of course he's still a Rider's fan!), has called Alberta and Edmonton home since before we had the NHL (yes - of course he's an Oiler's fan). He started the firm Richards Wood Toogood (which over the years became Richards Hunter, Richards Hunter Toogood, and now: Richards + Company).
A graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University in Virginia and an L.L.B. (JD) degree from the University of Alberta, he was admitted to the Law Society of Alberta Bar in 1993.
He has primarily limited his practice to Real Estate (both residential and commercial) and is now viewed as the premier Real Estate Lawyer in Edmonton. Corporate/Commercial Law is another specialty serving both small, medium and large owner-managed business in the Edmonton and surrounding region.
Darren has taught the Law Society of Alberta Bar Admission Course in the Real Estate Law Section and currently carries on a busy corporate, commercial and real estate practice. He is an advisor to REIN (the Real Estate Investment Network).
He is a past-president and board member of the South Edmonton Business Association and currently represents hundreds of businesses (corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited partnerships, and joint ventures) with respect to their wide range of legal needs. Mr. Richards also acts for major banking institutions and other lenders in relation to their commercial loan facilities and for large and small Franchisees.
Darren played some college hockey way way back in the day - and has enjoyed coaching his kids in hockey (atom through midget) and coaching some basketball as well. He is a former Elder at previous Baptist churches he attended. Two of his daughters are nurses - one is married to a guy that played college hockey at Liberty University just like he did. How cool is that!? He has three more kids in college . . . so his legal fees are going up this year. Oh -and did we mention he's a Roughrider fan? Contact Darren HERE.
CHAD GRAHAM
Associate - Lawyer
Chad has a long list of credentials - he has a huge long list of degrees to his credit - he's a theology junkie and former senior pastor of an evangelical church in Calgary. He has a wonderful wife and 3 amazing kids. He works out and can bench way more than you. He worked for us for a couple of summers, loved us so much that he articled with us (that's the year after graduating with a JD where we get to really really boss him around). And since then - for many years now - he's been growing his practice in the areas of Wills, Probate, and Real Estate. He's an amazing guy and you can CONTACT HIM HERE - here's some more spectacular and interesting stuff about Chad:
Chad graduated from the University of Alberta School of Law with his JD in 2019. As a student he:
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played for the faculty’s western Canadian champions Golden Bearisters rugby team; Litigators hockey team; and the Learned Foot soccer team, managing to (largely) keep up with the 20-somethings;
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was elected VP and then president of the Christian Legal Fellowship University of Alberta Student Chapter;
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cohosted annual panels with Law Dean Paul Paton on “Faith and Practice” (2L), and” Faith and Legal Ethics” (3L) for the Faculty of Law;
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volunteered for Student Legal Services criminal (1L) and civil (2L) programs; and
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completed a year-long clinical placement at Legal Aid Alberta’s Family Law Office, assigned to make weekly family chambers applications and/or Emergency Protection Orders though EPOP.
Chad came to law school after a previous career in Christian ministry, spending ten years as a Minister in a Calgary. During law school he began to assist at Christ the King Anglican Church, where he serves as a non-stipendiary associate on the pastoral team.
Chad’s previous education includes:
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BA (Taylor/U of Alberta);
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Master of Divinity (Briercrest Seminary);
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MA and Master of Sacred Theology (Liberty University, summa cum laude);
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Graduate Certificates in Hebrew and Greek (Asbury Seminary); and
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Doctor of Ministry, where he wrote on ethics-based leadership training (Southern Seminary, with distinction).
Chad is currently a member of:
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the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association;
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the Christian Legal Fellowship;
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the Evangelical Theological Society;
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the national board for Christianity Explored Ministries Canada, and
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the national board for Malachi Dads Ministries Canada (“MDMC”) A nationwide recognized program within Corrections Canada, focused on generational recidivism, MDMC provides spiritual guidance, education, support, career training, and mentorship to incarcerated fathers.
Chad is now developing a solicitors practice at Richards + Company, working with entrepreneurs, small businesses, and non-profit and charitable organizations. He continues to publish and to speak on law and faith and to conducts seminars on ethics-based leadership for various organizations: (eg recently keynote speaker for the RCMP Provincial Traffic Program AGM and upcoming Christian Medical & Dental Association). He coaches multiple youth sports and plays recreational hockey and soccer.
Here's a few words from the man himself:
While law can be abstracted, it has a fundamental impact on the lives of every person. My faith, my family, and my firm have helped me to appreciate how true this is. The law--particularly, the rule of law that we enjoy--is a beautiful inheritance.
My faith inspires me to love justice, and to seek the good of all people. As a Christian minister, I saw the impact that the law has on individuals of every background, and on churches, charities, and non-profits as they seek to make life better for those they are called to serve.
As a child I learned the nature of justice and people’s need for a legal system from my parents, especially my father, an RCMP officer. As a University student, I saw the passion my uncle always had for helping people fulfill their dreams, what he calls, “happy law.” My wife, Karmyn, and our children Abi, Titus, and Jonathan have walked with me on this journey. Karmyn was recently appointed Administrator of her aunt’s Estate, showing how valuable a good lawyer can be in a difficult time! My passion for the law is motivated by these experiences and by envisioning the future of my children made better by the preservation of the core legacy we all enjoy and by the changes in the world I want to see in the future.
Helping establish and navigating challenges with entrepreneurs, small businesses, non-profit societies, and young families [alongside the lawyers and staff] at Richards + Company who contribute so much to me) has been and I trust will continue to be immensely rewarding.
CALEB SELDERS
Associate - Lawyer
Caleb Selders is the newest addition to our lawyer ranks - after articling with us he decided to stay on after being admitted to the bar. So we do have some concerns about his discernment and judgement. But we'll see how things go . . .
He recently graduated with a Law Degree (JD) from Dalhousie University in Halifax. That’s kind of cool (who wouldn’t want to live in Nova Scotia?) - but honestly, that’s not why we hired him.
We originally hired him because he claimed he could get us discounts on golf stuff at Sportchek (he worked there). But that hasn't quite worked out. We also found out he hails from Okotoks (meaning he grew up a Flames fan). So let's summarize: no golf equipment discounts and a Flames fan. Not looking good. Plus he is now a Flyers fan. Again, not quite sure about his discernment and judgement.
We are (for now) overlooking all that. First, Caleb is brilliant, winsome and handsome. Second, Caleb has an absolutely wonderful and lovely wife (Lauren) who helps us write these bios. Just kidding. We all think Caleb is handsome. Back to Lauren - she not only golfs far better than Caleb, she’s also an accomplished volleyball player - and (this is the great part) she’s from Edmonton! In fact, Caleb and Lauren met at U of A and they chose to move back to Edmonton from Halifax so Caleb could start a law career here – and Lauren has promised us that Caleb is very close to being an Oilers fan now.
Another reason we overlook Caleb's 'issues' is his work ethic. In addition to the Sport Chek gig, he’s worked an amazing assortment of other jobs; he’s Managed a DQ, framed houses, landscaped, and washed dishes. Yes: that last one caught our eye in particular.
It should be noted too that Caleb is an accomplished U of A athlete – he competed as long jumper and sprinter for the University of Alberta Golden Bears. In fact, he loves all things sports, but football holds a special place in his heart. He played of course, but apparently he’s also an NFL fantasy football superstar. In his spare time he loves to read theology books and biographies.
So there you have it: former Flames fan, lovely wife, hard worker, U of A Athlete, well read . . . a pretty good catch overall. We’re super glad to have him on our crew! CONTACT HIM HERE
Real Estate | Commercial
JENNY
Where to start . . . . a Packers fan (love them green and gold!), country music junkie, and mother of two. She's also Darren's personal legal assistant and probably the main reason so many clients think they like him. She can do computer stuff at lightning speed; plus she's always so dang nice about everything and willing to do whatever heavy lifting and complex paralegal work that's thrown at her. Her son plays hockey - and she somehow said 'yes' to him playing goalie! So maybe she's not as smart as we think. We should mention too that her husband is super nice . . .and has a truck - so if you need help moving stuff . . . oh - and he also has an RV . . . so if you need a place to stay . . . just sayin'. Contact her HERE
Real Estate
EDITH
She does it all and keeps the gang motivated and happy. Everything important that needs to get done she can do. From closing complex Real Estate transactions to booking that cool ridiculously fun Christmas party - or even more important, calling that buddy of hers who's a golf pro to get a tee time when there's no tee times to get. Even with all that on her plate. . . . She still finds the time to bake bundt cake (or at least tell her daughter to bake bundt cake) for the office. Note, the bundt cake is NOT for client consumption. Only us - just trying to be totally clear and manage expectations. Also note: bundt is not spelled "bunt" - weird. Edith complains about her knees constantly - we're all sure there's a really cool sports injury story to go along with it - but it never comes. Also weird. Her hubby's story is that it has more to do with a phobia about snow shovelling and grass mowing. Edith loves her dog (but not the vet bills). And when her husband golfs (not really) with her boss (really). And sentences that start with 'and'. Contact her HERE
Corporate
RUTH
Ruth is our corporate specialist: Incorporations, amalgamations, complex reorganizations and business acquisitions. She does all that ridiculously difficult stuff that a busy corporate practice needs done and does it with a smile. Quite odd actually. But we've verified it - the smile part, not being odd - it usually means that there is a constant stack of files on her desk, yet she's never flustered. We're not quite sure how she does that. Oh man is she ever awesome!! We stole her from Manitoba. The Blue Bombers and Jets can survive without a fan or two. She has her CORES 3 certification. For those that don't know what that means, it means she's smarter than you. She's also a mom, a former Pastor's wife, a current prison chaplain's wife (yikes), makes amazing brownies, and recently hosted her kid's wedding in her back yard. We're pretty sure the next Marvel movies is about her . Contact her HERE.
Admin | Reception
PEG
Peg and Darren's teenage boys are friends and played high school volleyball together. Now the boys play XBOX together all night when they're home from college. Ahh- they grow up so fast. Her husband Todd has a bike - with a motor - often called a motorbike - those dangerous Harley-like things that look so dang fun to drive but your wife won't let you have one . . . .except Peg is cool. So cool she's our (super duper friendly) doorkeeper. She's the first and last person you'll see when you drop by our office. So you really can't help but think we're awesome! Plus she does all the behind the scenes stuff that keeps a business like ours running. AND, now that we take Visa and MasterCard, there's a good chance you'll also deal with Peg when you pay our ridiculously small legal accounts! You can contact her HERE.
Office Administrator | Corporate
CHERYL
Cheryl orders stuff. And organizes stuff. And generally helps keeps office stuff working in the background. Stuff Coordinator or Office Administrator - still debating which is better. . . and . . . she had nothing better to do during covid-19 so decided to take a deep dive into Wills and stuff . . .and wouldn't you know it - she took right to it! Plus she helped to get our Online Wills App ready to roll – now she’s moving on to all sorts of other stuff – stay tuned for more on that. But Cheryl also tackles some truly consequential stuff too . . . like keeping our kitchen stocked; baking cookies; organizing firm lunches. So if you make your appointment at just the right time of day you might just get to smell fresh baked cookies and cinnamon buns! You won't get any of course. But you'll smell them. You can contact her HERE.
Real Estate
NICOLE
Nicole is part of our awesome Real Estate crew - and a veteran at the Real Estate game; Fun fact: oh my goodness she keeps 'sign-here' stickies SO neatly organized on her computer monitor! It is freakishly amazing - some say a little more 'freakish' than 'amazing' but hey - not gonna judge. Our 'sign-here' sticky budget has been reduced in half since she arrived! She's a real estate conveyancer (aka a legal assistant or paralegal that does real estate law all day) - and her mom is a mortgage broker. So that's almost a true big time real estate dynasty! How amazing is that? She loves doing real estate transactions, loves her four cute kids, and loves her IT hubby (probably in that order). Expererience her amazing awesomeness if you hire us to do your real estate deal!! You can contact her HERE.
Wills + Estates | Probate
TAYLYN
The important stuff: she used to work as a Golf Shop Agent at Riverside Golf Resort at Fairmont Hot Springs. So you can imagine how that impressed (some of) us - until we found out she couldn't get us discounts or even preferred tee times. But that's ok - because now she's impressing us with her work ramping up our Probate and Wills department - including our new Online Wills App. We decided to use green folders for our Wills matters just to remind us of what 'could have been'. Sigh. She also helps out with phone and front desk support when Peg and Cheryl aren't around. So like a good golf caddie - she can do it all. A mom of two and wife of one (hope we have that right) she manages a busy life as she helps you deal with your . . . uhm . . death. You can contact her HERE.
Corporate
JANET
Janet started a while back to help us part-time to clean up corporate stuff - but by unanimous consent and popular demand (and to keep poor Ruth sane) we decided to turn Janet into a locked-in part of our corporate legal team!! And we're loving' it! And you will too: if you're incorporating or dealing with your annual returns or just doing any other corporate work you'll likely be communicating with Janet. She has CORES III certification, AAPRES accreditation, Hotdocs, ProLaw, and Alf developer training, Bookkeeping training - and for heaven's sake - she's even on some sort of international registry for aircraft (whatever the heck that is), does 3-D printing from home and makes lego flowers without losing a single piece. Oh - and she can swim apparently. Something about competing at the national level back in the day. Gosh. And if all that isn't enough her husband can make just about anything out of wood you can dream of. It would not surprise me if he's an astronaut or something (eye-roll). - so if you want corporate work done - or a beautiful wood crafted chess set, reach out; You can contact her HERE.
Floater: Wills | Corporate | Real Estate
ABBY
Abby did her paralegal course practicum with us. So we got 2 weeks of free work out of her! And she was so flippin nice and good at the work that we asked her to stay! But - even though she and her mom also run a power skating school, she inexplicably refused to keep working for free (we think those hockey parents need to pay her more!). Initially, she did agree to work in the corporate minute book dungeon while she helped us transition to fully digital corporate records. We fancy'd it up with some Lego flowers and extension cords and colourful stacks of file folders. So it was quite cozy and bright. But she now has her very own workstation and can pretty much do anything we ask of her; Wills, Real Estate reporting, and Corporate things like annual returns. So if you have a corporation with us, Abby is probably the one keeping it in good standing! You can contact her HERE.
Real Estate
DEMI
Our clients usually want us to go above and beyond. Demi does that – She’s Filipino but she sings Karaoke in Korean. She didn’t like hockey until the boss – uhm - recommended she should; Now she owns a jersey, subscribes to Sportschannel and hosts watch parties! We’re still not sure how that helps clients but its sure above and beyond! We also wanted someone who goes hard and has her priorities right. Again, Demi fit the bill . . . she can watch kpop and kdramas for hours, sing karaoke til the wee hours and then can still find time to hang with her husband, kid and three dogs! Again, we’re not sure how that translates to legal work. But we digress. She sings in Hangul with emotions, even though she doesn’t understand most of the lyrics – that just cracks us up. We HAVE to see that someday. Sorry – we’re digressing again . . . Anyway . . . we'll let you know how good she is at karaoke after our First Annual Richards + Company Barry Manilow Challenge. But we can confirm that Demi is truly amazing and talented at real estate conveyancing. In the meantime start practicing 나는 온 세상이 노래하게 만드는 노래를 씁니다 - and if you need a real estate deal done, you can contact Demi HERE.