Bare Bones Briefs: App predicts judges’ behaviour | Alberta lawyer challenges Law Society’s “wokism” | Solicitor sparks “collective screaming” for stress relief | Are “lawyer apprenticeships” the future of legal education?
By Julius Melnitzer | October 31, 2025 PROFILING THE JUDICIARY DMS developer NetDocuments has joined the wave of judicial analytics app creators, growing the number of profile creator software offerings to eighteen. According to Artificial Lawyer, the Judge Analytics App “transforms curated collections of judicial order into a structured dataset”. The developer claims that users […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Reports that prove lawyers’ well-being is a joke | So is Canadian lawyers’ concern for rule of law | AI hallucinations up 250% in court decisions | Jeffrey Bradshaw co-heads DLA Piper’s Canadian restructuring group | Lawyer is Miss Great Britain
By Julius Melnitzer | October 30, 2025 MORE EVIDENCE THAT LAWYERS’ WELL-BEING IS AN ILLUSION Three news reports have surfaced indicating that lawyers’ well-being may be more talk than walk: Related Article: For all the brouhaha, law firms – and especially Canadian firms – are still “missing the boat” on wellness – and profit DO […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Smaller firms’ hourly rates outstripping Big Law | 87% settlement rate for mediations | Trump punishes immigration lawyers | Pension risk transfers down 60% | Rule of Law pledges growing slowly
HOURLY RATES NEAR RECORD RISE A Thomson Reuters study reveals that lawyers’ hourly rates in the US have soared by 7.4% in the last year. What’s surprising is that the growth for the profession as a whole considerably outstrips the 5.0-5.5% rise at top-100 US firms. While the number for the firms outside the top-100 […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Ottawa lawyer defaces Holocaust memorial | Is a drink at lunch during trial break a no-no for counsel? | AI Knowledge Exchange passes on partners’ insights to associates | Turning Parties’ AI Against Them? | Lawyer swims – but not with the sharks
By Julius Melnitzer | August 5, 2025 OTTAWA LAWYER’S VANDALISM RAISES FEARS IN JEWISH COMMUNITY CBC News reports that Iain Aspenlieder, a 46-year-old lawyer fired by the City of Ottawa after being accused of vandalism, has pleaded guilty to mischief to a war memorial after defacing the Holocaust National Monument in June by painting the […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Law firms’ changing bonus criteria | AI rolls out to thousands of law firms | Vampire lawyer fired | BCSC rebukes LSBC for treating lawyer unfairly | DLA Piper boosts Toronto RE practice
By Julius Melnitzer | July 31, 2025 BONUSES: GOODBYE, HOURS; HELLO, COLLABORATION, INCLUSION & LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE A recent report by Innecto Reward Consulting and HR Network People in Law suggests that law firms may be shifting their bonus criteria from billings, personal performance and profit to structures that are fairer, more transparent, and contribute to […]
7 Reasons Why the Legal Profession often gets No Sympathy
Image from Shutterstock.com. By Marcel Strigberger | July 30, 2025 The legal profession is a noble one. But is that the impression the public has of lawyers? What images generally come to mind? Let’s start with Noah’s Ark. A biblical theme park called Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky, is suing its insurers for insufficient coverage […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: McCarthy partners’ earnings top $1.4M | Canadian lawyers flunk Rule of Law pledge test | Quebec class counsel seek $900M in fees in tobacco litigation | Dentons partners with AXL in AI venture | Alexi launches Alexi Private Cloud
By Julius Melnitzer | July 10, 2025 MCCARTHY TOPS CANADIAN PROFIT-PER-EQUITY-PARTNER RANKINGS McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s equity partners lead Canadian law firms’ profit pool – and by a stretch. The US$1.42M PPEQ haul in 2023 topped the $986K earned at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP by over $400K and more than doubled the Gowling WLG figure […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: The Canadian law firms that generate the most revenue per lawyer | How and why a great Canadian law firm folded | OK to compare Israel with Nazis: court | Lawyers can be jailed for misusing AI | Privacy Commissioner frustrated with pace of reforms
By Julius Melnitzer | June 18, 2025 IF RICHES ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOAL Here, in Canadian dollars and according to Law.com, are Canadian Big Law firms that produce the most revenue per lawyer: Related Article: Advice from Law Schools: Follow the Money to Big Law HEENAN BLAIKIE’S DEMISE: UNVEILED If you want to discover how […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Help protect the Rule of Law in Canada | Toronto lawyer gets 9-month suspension for misconduct in investors’ $105M loss | BLG hops on sports branding bandwagon | Counsel caught with pants down – for real | UK lawyers must reinforce clients’ right to complain
By Julius Melnitzer | June 3, 2025 PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT TO RULE OF LAW CANADA Concerned about recent developments that have exposed the fragility of the Rule of Law (ROL) and “how quickly it can be eroded”, a group of lawyers has come up with the idea of having Canadian lawyers unite by collectively pledging […]
AI through the eyes of a born-again Luddite
By Marcel Strigberger | June 2, 2025 Hey lawyers! Beware the ides of artificial intelligence. A week does not pass without reading about some judge raking lawyers over the coals for presenting AI-generated defective law. The defects include but are not limited to misquotes of cited cases; misrepresentations of legal principles associated with cited cases, including […]