Dunphy Best Blocksom

What Dunphy Best Blocksom does

Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP (DBB Law) is a privately held, full-service law firm operating as a Limited Liability Partnership from a single office in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Founded in the early 1980s, the firm employs 11-50 staff with 27 lawyers organized across eight practice areas: Business and Commercial Law, Civil Litigation, Construction Law, Family Law, Labour and Employment Law, Real Estate and Property Law, Tax Law, and Wills, Estates and Trusts. Its client base spans individuals, families, and businesses of all sizes across Alberta, with particular depth in family law — the firm describes itself as one of the largest and most reputable family law practices in Western Canada and counts two Fellows of the International Academy of Family Lawyers among its counsel.

The firm generates revenue exclusively through professional services fees — hourly billing, fixed fees for defined matters, and contingency or alternative fee arrangements — with no disclosed pricing, subscription, or productized offerings. There is no proprietary technology platform; the firm's operational stack is limited to standard web tooling (Google Analytics, reCAPTCHA, Stripe, PayPal) and conventional social media channels used for content marketing and brand presence. Go-to-market is sales-led and reputation-driven, with no formal sales organization, channel partners, or intermediaries.

The firm is co-managed by Chris Dormer and Gordon Sterchi, KC, and ownership is distributed across the partner group. There is no parent company, no institutional investor, and no disclosed M&A activity. DBB Law has been repeatedly recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada (including Best Law Firm 2026 and Law Firm of the Year 2022) and the Globe and Mail Best Law Firms 2025, and its lawyers hold multiple King's Counsel appointments, Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent ratings, and Lexpert Directory listings.

Name

Dunphy Best Blocksom

Legal name

Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP

Website

https://dbblaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP is a Calgary-based full-service law firm with 27 lawyers across eight practice areas, serving individuals, families, and businesses in Alberta with particular strength in family law. The firm operates as a partner-owned LLP, co-managed by Chris Dormer and Gordon Sterchi, KC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE)

Keywords

• Full-service law firm
• Family law services
• Commercial litigation
• Real estate law
• Estate planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Fees: DBB Law generates revenue through billable legal services including hourly fees, fixed fees for specific matters, and contingency or alternative fee arrangements where appropriate. Services span eight practice areas: Business & Commercial Law, Civil Litigation, Construction Law, Family Law, Labour & Employment Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Tax Law, and Wills, Estates & Trusts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP is a Calgary-based full-service law firm providing legal counsel across eight practice areas: Business & Commercial Law, Civil Litigation, Construction Law, Family Law, Labour & Employment Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Tax Law, and Wills, Estates & Trusts. Services are delivered by a team of 27 lawyers (partners, counsel, and associates) to individuals, families, and businesses across Alberta. The firm handles matters ranging from complex litigation and high-net-worth family law disputes to day-to-day transactional legal work, with revenue generated through billable legal fees.

Product overview

DBB Law is a full-service law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal services organized into eight practice areas: Business & Commercial Law, Civil Litigation, Construction Law, Family Law, Labour & Employment Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Tax Law, and Wills, Estates & Trusts. The firm is structured as a traditional law firm practice rather than a software product, providing personalized legal counsel through a team of lawyers across these interconnected practice areas. The practice areas work collaboratively, with family law clients benefiting from the firm's real estate, corporate, tax, and wills and estates groups, and tax practitioners collaborating across corporate, real estate, trusts, and estate matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business & Commercial Law Services Comprehensive legal services for businesses of all sizes including shareholder agreements, management agreements, equipment purchasing and leasing, professional service agreements, partnership agreements, corporate reorganization, commercial litigation, and incorporations.
• Civil Litigation Services Full-service civil litigation representation including alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation, construction litigation, construction liens, employment and labour litigation, real estate disputes, and appearances at all provincial and federal court levels including the Supreme Court of Canada.
• Construction Law Services Legal services for construction matters including drafting and reviewing construction agreements, construction litigation and construction liens, representing owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, designers, architects, engineers, and consultants.
• Family Law Services Family and divorce legal services including adoption, alternative dispute resolution, child custody, child support, divorce and separation, division of property, emergency protection orders, parenting matters, prenuptial agreements, and spousal support disputes, with cross-disciplinary support from corporate, tax, real estate, and wills and estates teams.
• Labour & Employment Law Services Legal services for employers and employees covering workplace advising, employment agreements, policies, labour relations, workplace investigations, union certification, collective bargaining, human rights complaints, and wrongful dismissal claims.
• Real Estate & Property Law Services Full-service real estate and property services including commercial real estate, mortgage transactions, residential real estate, and handling all aspects of property transactions for residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed-use projects.
• Tax Law Services Corporate and personal tax legal services including corporate tax planning, tax-deferred corporate transfers, tax-planned amalgamations and dissolutions, estate freeze transactions, family trust transfers, and tax-efficient division of matrimonial assets.
• Wills, Estates & Trusts Services Estate planning and administration services including adult guardianship, trusteeship, disability and incapacity planning, estate planning, estate administration and probate, trusts, family trusts, charitable giving, wills and codicils, enduring powers of attorney, and personal directives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada rankings as Best Law Firm 2026 and recognized since 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• MLT Aikins LLP: Western Canadian full-service firm with offices across the prairies including Calgary. Competes on similar commercial, real estate, and litigation mandates for Alberta-based clients.
• McCarthy Tétrault LLP: National full-service Canadian firm with a substantial Calgary office. Overlaps DBB on commercial, real estate, construction, and litigation matters; competes for the same Alberta corporate and HNW clients at larger scale.
• Bennett Jones LLP: Larger Calgary-based full-service firm with deep corporate, energy, and litigation practices. Operates in the same geographic and practice space but at meaningfully greater scale and breadth than DBB.
• Dentons Canada LLP: Global law firm with a substantial Calgary office, providing full-service coverage including corporate, real estate, and litigation. Competes for the same Alberta-based commercial mandates as DBB.
• Miller Thomson LLP: National Canadian full-service firm with Calgary presence, covering commercial, real estate, and family law mandates that overlap with DBB's practice areas at a larger scale.
• Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP: Global full-service firm with a large Calgary office covering corporate, energy, real estate, and litigation. Represents the global-firm competitive threat for DBB's commercial and HNW clients.

Direct peers

• Field Law: Alberta-headquartered full-service firm with comparable size and similar regional focus on energy, real estate, family, and commercial matters. Closest like-for-like regional competitor in Calgary and Edmonton.
• Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP: Calgary-headquartered full-service law firm of comparable size with strong commercial, real estate, and litigation practices serving the Alberta market. Most directly comparable mid-market Calgary competitor with overlapping practice mix.
• JSS Barristers: Calgary-based litigation and family law firm with comparable size and a reputation-heavy brand. Directly competes with DBB on family law and civil litigation matters in the Calgary market.

Regional players

• Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP: Edmonton-based full-service firm with comparable practice areas and a similar partner-driven model. Competes for Alberta-based mandates but is headquartered in a different city than DBB.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DBB_Law
• Facebookfacebook.com/dbblaw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dunphy Best Blocksom