To All the Law Students Who I have Loved (or Just Liked a Bit)
Photo by Luana Freitas at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | June 11, 2024 I write a lot about work/life balance, mental health, and the pursuit of things other than money in the legal profession. My wife (and lawyer) Maureen McKay has laughed at me about this (among other things). “Murray, if any of the young people […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Law Society Tribunal: child pornographer can practise | NS Provincial Court judge pursues misconduct allegations against fellow jurist | Excuse me: juror had accused’s pictures on T-shirt | Suspended driver motors into court | IBA: Lawyers contribute $1.6 trillion to GDP
By Julius Melnitzer | June 6, 2024 TRIBUNAL LICENSES APPLICANT WHOSE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTIONS WERE STAYED FOR DELAY The Law Society Tribunal has allowed an applicant whose convictions were overturned on appeal for unreasonable delay to practise law. Jordan Cristoferi-Paolucci, formerly a youth basketball coach, was charged with various child pornography and luring offences in […]
My Journey To the Land of Setting Expectations
Photo by Panos and Marenia Stavrinos from Pexels By Murray Gottheil | June 5, 2024 Back in the good old days, I billed by the hour, just like every other lawyer. I had a simple retainer agreement with my clients by which they agreed to pay my hourly rate for the hours I spent on their […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Appeal panel: Jeremy Diamond denied procedural fairness – Mercer should have recused | Report: international and domestic arbitration growing in Canada | “Most positively reviewed” lawyer misconduct hearing set | BLG appoints Canadian law firms’ first chief AI officer | Jason Kroft joins Gowling as head of structured finance
By Julius Melnitzer | June 4, 2024 DIAMOND WILL GET NEW PENALTY HEARING A new panel will determine the penalty Toronto lawyer Jeremy Diamond will face in his advertising misconduct case. A split (3-2) Appeal Division of the Law Society Tribunal has sent the case back for re-hearing after finding that the original panel’s chair, […]
Reflections on M&A, Musical Chairs, and Mental Health
By Murray Gottheil | May 28, 2024 People of my vintage remember playing musical chairs at birthday parties, back before the days when money was so plentiful that it seemed important to impress neighbours by hiring clowns and musicians or renting bouncy castles to entertain five-year-olds. For those of you who did not have the pleasure […]
Gratitude and The Appreciation Deficit
Photo by Wewe Yang at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 22, 2024 I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy — Will Arnett The other day I received a private message from a lawyer whom I have never met in person. She expressed her appreciation […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Trump judges, citing university’s failure to condemn antisemitic acts, won’t hire Columbia grads | European Human Rights Court opens floodgates for climate change litigation | Kielburgers’ mother can proceed with defamation claim | Federal Court certifies class action for “mental illness stigmatization” by Canadian Armed Forces | Bennett Jones appoints new office managing partners
By Julius Melnitzer | May 21, 2024 TRUMP APPOINTEES BOYCOTT COLUMBIA GRADS NBC reports that 13 federal judges appointed by Donald Trump chose Holocaust Remembrance Day to announce that they would not hire students who graduated from Columbia University, which they called “an incubator of bigotry” in which “professors and administrators are on the front […]
Be Wrong, Confidently!
Photo by Rene Asmussen at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 7, 2024 I came across a lawyer the other day who makes mistakes in his communications with clients and the other side. None of the errors will likely land him in too much trouble. They may even be excusable based on the theory that spending […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Climate disruption and natural asset management: perfect legal storm? | Neurodivergent lawyers stay under the radar for fear of discrimination
By Julius Melnitzer | May 6, 2024 NATURAL ASSETS INITIATIVES’S LEGAL PRIMER EXPOSES RISKS IN NATURAL ASSETS MANAGEMENT The growing frequency of climate disruption with its associated impacts in costs, combined with the steady growth of climate and nature-related litigation will doubtless increase the legal risk associated with natural asset management, the process of inventorying […]
Living in Different Worlds
Photo by Pixabay at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 3, 2024 I believe that lawyers should not compete based on price. I tell this to my mentees, and sometimes they respond, “That is easy for you to say from a cruise ship in the Pacific. I’m struggling to get files in the door and pay […]