Leighton Grey, K.C., Ph.D., is the Senior Partner of Grey Wowk Spencer LLP and one of Canada’s most accomplished trial lawyers. With more than 30 years of courtroom experience, he has conducted hundreds of trials before Alberta courts and built a national reputation for excellence in criminal defence, civil litigation, constitutional law, Indigenous matters, and alternative dispute resolution.

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and raised in Edmonton, Leighton is a proud Treaty Indian whose family history has profoundly shaped both his life and career. His great-grandfather served as Hereditary Chief of the Carry the Kettle (Jack) Band, while his grandmother and great-aunt survived the Brandon Indian Residential School. His father devoted more than two decades to helping Indigenous youth transition out of urban gangs and founded The Spiritkeeper Youth Society. These experiences instilled in Leighton a lifelong commitment to justice, advocacy, and reconciliation.

An exceptional student-athlete, Leighton graduated with honours from Queen Elizabeth Composite High School, earning the highest mark in Alberta on the provincial Social Studies diploma examination and receiving the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship. He continued both his academic and athletic pursuits while playing AAA hockey before attending Augustana University and later the University of Alberta, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in English Literature and History before graduating from the Faculty of Law in 1992.

Throughout his academic career, Leighton received numerous prestigious scholarships and awards, including the Louise McKinney Scholarship, awarded to Alberta’s top university students, and the nationally competitive Legal Studies for Aboriginal People Scholarship, presented annually to only ten law students across Canada. He later completed a Master of Business Administration before earning his Ph.D. in Philosophy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leighton began his legal career with the Federal Department of Justice before completing his Articles of Clerkship in 1993. Following a brief opportunity to play professional hockey with the Daytona Beach Sun Devils, he returned to the practice of law full-time in 1995. He established his own practice in 2005, which has since grown into Grey Wowk Spencer LLP.

Over the course of his career, Leighton has become widely recognized for his courtroom advocacy and dedication to mentoring the next generation of lawyers. He has served as principal to numerous articling students, several of whom have gone on to become partners within the firm.

In addition to his litigation practice, Leighton is a qualified Mediator and Arbitrator and is a member of the ADR Institute of Canada. Between 2015 and 2020, he served as an Adjudicator for Law Society disciplinary hearings. In 2010, he was appointed King’s Counsel, becoming Alberta’s youngest lawyer to receive one of the profession’s highest honours.

His contributions to the legal profession and community have earned him numerous distinctions, including the Stars of Alberta Volunteer Award, the Legal Aid Society Access to Justice Award, and the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association’s Gary J. Bigg Justice & Humanitarian Award.

From 2004 through 2016, Leighton played a significant role in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement process, representing hundreds of survivors through the Alternative Dispute Resolution process that ultimately contributed to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In 2024, Leighton was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 50 Lawyers—an honour reserved for an exceptionally small group of legal professionals nationwide. With more than 140,000 lawyers practising across Canada, fewer than one-half of one percent receive this distinction, reflecting decades of professional excellence, leadership, and client advocacy.

Beyond the courtroom, Leighton is the creator and host of the Grey Matter Podcast—a curation of intelligent conversations with thought leaders from around the world. The podcast explores law, public policy, philosophy, current events, and ideas that challenge conventional thinking, encouraging listeners to examine complex issues from fresh perspectives.

Leighton and his wife, Jennifer, are proud parents of two sons.

Drawing on more than 30 years of legal experience, Leighton Grey shares thoughtful commentary on the cases, legislation, and legal principles that influence Canadians every day. His articles challenge conventional thinking while making complex legal issues accessible and relevant.