January 10, 2017 The Supreme Court of Canada is clamping down on the use of a legal tool that has allowed some taxpayers to lower their tax bills. In two separate decisions, one involving Fairmont Hotels and the other Jean Coutu, the Supreme Court has restricted access to a legal remedy called “rectification” to prevent […]
The battle for the modern law school: academic study in one corner of the ring, practical knowledge in the other April 25, 2017 Traditional bastions of legal learning are moving with the times by incorporating a more practical approach to legal education, yet critics say that they have not moved far enough or quickly enough […]
Friday, May 05, 2017 Whether lawyers have class is open to question. But a select group does have CLLAS. CLLAS is not a typo. It is the acronym used by an elite group of about 15 law firms comprising some 5,000 lawyers who have banded together to incorporate a reciprocal insurance exchange, known as the […]
Friday, May 12, 2017 Rent controls and funeral homes have a commonality. Both represent opportunity in the legal market; rent controls, an opportunity lost, and funeral homes an opportunity seized. They also represent the great divide that exists between the headspace of lawyers on this side of the Atlantic and that of the profession in […]
Thursday, May 18, 2017 Is there an “unstated compact” between the judiciary and the media? Should there be? And if so, what should it be? The notion of an “unstated compact” found its way to me from a bit of a distance, emanating from a speech given by Justice Barry Leon, who sits on the […]
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 […]