LegalWriter.net
Devoted to law, the business of law, and to enhancing lawyers’ writing skills.
I’m Julius Melnitzer, Legal Journalist, Writing Coach & Media Trainer for Lawyers.
I also help create strategies and story ideas for law firms and legal departments, and I train lawyers to write in plain English that people want to read. I’ve created this site to showcase thoughts and opinions about law and the business of law, as well as providing a resource for law firms, legal departments, and their marketers interested in my services.
What I offer is a unique skill set that will help you take your firm to new levels of clarity, accessibility, and media exposure. With 25 years of experience as a legal affairs journalist, and 17 years of experience as a practicing trial lawyer, my deep understanding of both environments enables me to translate complex legalese into plain yet elegant English. I can produce your content myself; I can also train your lawyers to write in simple English that anyone can understand, and assist in placing and pitching your stories to the media.
Julius Melnitzer was the recipient of The Canadian Online Publishing Awards’ silver medal for Best Investigative Series 2020.
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IP & Video games: Lots to protect
Most video games entrepreneurs think about copyright or trademarks, and many don’t realize that IP protection in this sector can extend much further, such as, patents for technical systems, trade secrets for backend tools and data, design rights for interfaces, and contracts governing AI tools, user-generated content, vendors, and platforms — Gurbir Sidhu In the intellectual […]
What employers need to know when seeking medical documentation for accommodation requests
By: Julius Melnitzer | June 4, 2026 Recent decisions in Ontario and British Columbia demonstrate the balance between employers’ need to know and employees’ right to privacy at the heart of the employee accommodation process. “Arbitrators look to confine requests for medical documentation to what is reasonably necessary to determine the legal elements of accommodation,” says […]
What B.C. employers need to know about modernizations of province’s employment standards branch
By Julius Melnitzer | June 2, 2026 In what amounts to a major procedural overhaul, British Columbia has introduced legislation aimed at modernizing the way its Employment Standards Branch handles workplace complaints from non-unionized employees and temporary foreign workers. “Although the government’s press release does not mention this, my understanding is that these amendments come […]
Court decision in surplus pension case has no precedential value for plan sponsors
By: Julius Melnitzer | May 31, 2026 A recent Ontario Superior Court decision related to surplus pension assets was a rubber stamp of the monitor’s recommendations, rather than a decision with precedential value impacting pension plan sponsors. The judge awarded $4.7 million in surplus pension plan funds to former employees of vehicle parts manufacturer Accuride Canada […]
How Agentic Prior Art Searches Have Changed Patent Practice
“What stands out about agentic technology is the extent to which it has allowed penetration of a system that has so frequently seemed impenetrable.” — David Hughes It’s no surprise, perhaps, that the advent of AI-driven agentic prior art searches marks a turning point in patent law practice. How, after all, were mere humans going to […]
Fair Dealing: The Canadian Context
By Julius Melnitzer | May 11, 2026 “In Canada, fair dealing is a creature of statute with a closed list of eligible purposes. Courts have described it as a ‘users’ right’ that provides a ‘fsafety valve’ on the monopoly of copyright.” — Tamara Céline Winegust Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China and most of Southeast […]