BARE BONES BRIEFS: Crown seeks juror challenge for transgender bias | Dismissed: first privacy class action heard on merits | Young lawyers suicidal | GC workload crisis: EY | PainWorth expands | Best law firm webinars
By Julius Melnitzer | April 8, 2021 Dismissed: first privacy class action heard on the merits Quebec Superior Court Justice Florence Lucas has dismissed the first class action regarding the loss of personal information that has been heard on the merits in Canada. Anne Merminod in Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s office in Montreal, lead counsel […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyers’ rights & dating sites; No consent, no videoconference, says OCA; Alexander Holburn joins Legalign; Best law firm webinars & bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | March 31, 2021 Lawyers’ dating sites Can’t find love because practising law takes too much out of you? Try Lawyr, the UK-based international dating site “For lawyers and the people who want to date them”. The Times says the site “is perfect for those seeking a brief encounter”. Lawyers, says Jonathan […]
Too many “made for Twitter” decisions from the Supreme Court?
February 2, 2021| By Julius Melnitzer The Supreme Court of Canada’s growing tendency to dismiss appeals from the bench has been a subject of legitimate concern lately. As the Globe and Mail pointed out recently, the trend is accelerating: of late, the court has been releasing fewer in-depth reasons and a growing proportion of decisions […]
Ontario’s lockdown: a quick guide to your legal rights
January 15, 2021 | By Joseph Neuberger The provincial government has again issued a “stay at home” order under which Ontarians may leave their residences only for defined purposes (approximately 33 essential reasons), including exercise, walking pets, going to and from essential work, health care, shopping for necessities such as food, and household items like detergent, […]
What to do about sharp rise in self-represented litigants
October 12, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Increased funding for legal aid to help with the dilemma of self-represented litigants (SRLs) isn’t in the cards — at least not anytime soon. “I and many others who have advocated more funding for legal aid just have to be realistic,” said professor Nicholas Bala of Queen’s University […]
SNC-Lavalin affair: Jobs over democracy
The “public interest,” it turns out, can be a real threat to democracy. It is, after all, the catchphrase that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used to justify his contravention of the Conflict of Interest Act by pressuring former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to negotiate a deferred prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin. The PM’s spin on the whole thing […]
Scheer’s Call for SNC Lavalin Inquiry During Election Dangerous Precedent
It may just be the brouhaha over Andrew Scheer’s dual citizenship that made me link Donald Trump’s vow to “jail Hillary” and “lock her up” with the Conservative leader’s pledge — in the middle of an election campaign, no less — to launch a judicial inquiry into Justin Trudeau’s conduct in the SNC Lavalin scandal. […]