Friday, June 02, 2017 It used to be that beyond name recognition — logos and the like — branding served only a limited purpose for law firms who sold services based for the most part on the individual expertise of their lawyers or their practice groups. But as personal contact declined in a globalized, connected […]
Friday, June 09, 2017 The news that global giant Linklaters, the archetypal bastion of lockstep compensation and individual billing targets, is moving away from these cornerstones, is both welcome and depressing news for the profession. It’s welcome because it signifies that even the most intransigent of traditionalists are recognizing the reality of an evolving profession. […]
Doug Bryce, Shahir Guindi, and Dale Ponder have new management roles at Osler and other legal moves and grooves for June 21 June 21, 2017 Osler’s has new leadership: Doug Bryce will be the new national managing partner, while Shahir Guindi and Dale Ponder will be the firm’s co-chairs. “Just as our clients aspire to […]
Thursday, June 22, 2017 In an era where anti-immigration policies are picking up steam, “foreign” is a dangerous word. And therein lies the problems with the Ontario and British Columbia measures that impose additional taxes on non-residents buying residential property in the Toronto and Vancouver regions. Notice that, on a quick reading, it appears that […]
Thursday, July 27, 2017 The current debate about paralegal representation in Ontario’s family courts, and the degree of opposition to it in the bar and judiciary, exemplify just how far the profession is removed from reality. The lawyers and judges opposing the change rest their case on the belief that “quality of service” will erode […]
Friday, July 21, 2017 Some five days after Canada celebrated its 150th birthday, and after almost a decade of litigation, unsecured creditors in the Nortel bankruptcy were scheduled to receive their first distribution of funds from the settlement reached in January. It’s a shame that the distribution of what was left of Nortel, still an […]
Monday, August 14, 2017 A hint of what awaits Joe Groia could very well be gleaned from the Supreme Court of Canada’s treatment of Quebec criminal lawyer Robert Jodoin, against whom the court upheld a personal costs award for bringing “unfounded and frivolous” motions alleging bias against a Quebec Superior Court judge. It’s worth a […]
Friday, September 01, 2017 Kiss the trusted adviser goodbye: that, it appears, is the message for the profession from Daimler AG’s recent US$115 million bond issue, all of which was done digitally using blockchain technology. We’re talking everything: from the organization, distribution, allocation and execution of the loan agreement to the confirmation of repayments and […]
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 Even as Canada’s Competition Bureau heralds a focus on the digital economy as its number one priority for 2017-18, experts in the United States have questioned whether antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Act of 1890 and the Clayton Act of 1914, can really do the job that’s required in the modern economy. The irony […]
Monday, September 25, 2017 “Bold” describes the legal profession to about the same extent that “discreet” describes The Donald. But there are exceptions. And there’s a lot to be learned from them. For those eager to escape lawyers’ unique brand of quicksand, from which they innately view opportunity as risk, Arbitration Place (AP) in Toronto […]