BARE BONES BRIEFS: No charging order for fees though client refuses to direct settlement to firm; Judge orders duelling counsel to lunch together; Lenczner Slaght obtains $259 million judgment in Manitoba’s first electronic trial; BLG hires Hélène Deschamps Marquis to co-head privacy and cybersecurity group
By Julius Melnitzer | January 5, 2005 BAD WAY FOR LAW FIRM TO START NEW YEAR On New Year’s Eve, Ontario Superior Court Justice Todd Robinson denied Woodrbridge, ON law firm Capo Sgro LLP‘s application for a charging order over settlement fees, brought after the client sought an assessment (still pending) of the firm’s total […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Albert the Dog joins Gowling | Lawyer earning $400,000+ claims he’s “underpaid” | Blakes study: Cyberattacks target M&A | BLG beefs up Calgary real estate group | Blakes adds IP litigator to Toronto roster
By Julius Melnitzer | November 27, 2024 Gowling pioneers service dog assistance for employees When Jemima Banks, who suffers from illnesses that cause chronic pain, diziness, migraines, stomach problems, fatigue and joint dislocations, applied to Gowling WLG’s office in Birmingham, UK’s for a paralegal position, her health declaration stated that she would need to bring […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: ECJ: Accountants’ communications not privileged | Alexi AI cuts routine litigation task time by 80% | Legal Risk Assessments: tackling risk proactively | OCA: No appeals of court-ordered arbitrator appointments | Singapore to establish international appeals body for commercial cases
By Julius Melnitzer | October 30, 2024 ECJ RULES THAT PRIVILEGE DOES NOT EXTEND TO TAX ADVISORS WHO ARE NOT LAWYERS The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that privilege in tax matters extends only to lawyers and not to other professionals, even if they perform similar advisory tasks. The court concluded […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO licenses parolee serving 27-year sentence| Caseway AI legal research tool eliminates “hallucinations” | Cecilia Hoover joins BLG | Marcel Strigberger’s hilarious new book | Should Canada adopt UK public inquiry recommendations?
By Julius Melnitzer | October 27, 2024 LST: PAROLED APPLICANT STILL SERVING 27-YEAR SENTENCE CAN PRACTISE LAW The Law Society Tribunal Hearing Division has granted a license to practise law in Ontario to Dr. Serdar Kalaycioglu, a parolee convicted of a multi-million wire fraud in the US who still has about 3 years left in […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyer disbarred for extramarital affairs | Five-year ban for harassing associate with 900 texts | How not to respond to disciplinary proceedings
By Julius Melnitzer | September 11, 2024 PHILLIPPINES SUPREME COURT HAS A PLACE IN LAWYERS’ BEDROOMS The Phillipines Supreme Court, concluding that sex with a third party while married amounts to grossly immoral conduct, has disbarred a lawyer who had extramarital affairs with at least three different women, “completely disregarding his marital vows”. It’s not […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Talent-starved law firms offer staff $50,000 for hiring referrals | IPH pays $82.5 million for Bereskin & Parr | More lawyers coughing up as cyberattacks rise 77% | Report: regulating working hours will promote EDI in profession | IP firm sets new standards for parental leave
By Julius Melnitzer | September 3, 2024 EARN $50,000: BRING US A LAWYER A&O Shearman, Kirkland & Ellis, Goodwin, and Paul Weiss are among the law firms offering their junior lawyers US$50,000 to refer acquaintances as possible hires. According to Financial Times, referral bonuses as part of recruitment strategy have been around for awhile, but […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyer prosecuted for “overstating” client’s case | Failed lawyers cost creditors $1.42 billion | Lawyers abandon Musk | Must-read: Rotfleisch on crypto tax | Japan liberalizes foreign lawyer rules
By Julius Melnitzer | August 20, 2024 IT’S GETTING RISKY TO THREATEN LITIGATION The Law Society Gazette reports that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided to prosecute one of the UK’s top media lawyers, Christopher Hutchings of London firm Hamlins LLP, for making false or misleading claims and improperly threatening litigation during a phone call […]
Bare Bones Briefs: Federal Court grants injunction protecting kosher meat supply | CLIO breaks Canadian software financing record with $900 million funding
By Julius Melnitzer | July 28, 2024 CFIA’S SLAUGHTERHOUSE GUIDELINES MAY INFRINGE JEWS’ FREEDOM OF RELIGION RIGHTS Federal Court Justice Guy Régimbald has granted an interlocutory injunction against the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s enforcement of guidelines that have reduced kosher beef production in Canada by 55% and kosher veal production by 90%. Canadian law has […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Abusive firm leader disbarred for insulting juniors | Vancouver bar icon dies before facing laundering charges | Trending: return to office | UK Court of Appeal: ANNs not patentable | Arbitrator: Taking a diving course counts as “union business”
By Julius Melnitzer | July 24, 2024 TREAT JUNIOR COLLEAGUES WITH RESPECT – OR ELSE! Domenic Pisano, a lawyer with 23 years’ experience and a director of Domenic Levent Solicitors in London, has been disbarred by the UK’s Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for “offensive, intimidating and insulting” behaviour towards junior colleagues. His sins included shouting at […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Litigation funder out $2.1 million when client discontinues litigation | Dentons gets menopause accreditation | UK regulator: lawyers who swear betray the public trust | Musk compensation foes seek $7 billion in legal fees
By Julius Melnitzer | July 17, 2024 DIVORCING PARTIES STIFF LITIGATION FUNDER FOR $2.1 MILLION The Law Society Gazette reports that Level, a litigation loan provider, found itself without remedies to recover the $2.1 million it had advanced in an eight-year long divorce proceedings when the parties reached a settlement that did not include repayment […]