BARE BONES BRIEFS: Single mother sacked for sandwich “theft” from law firm| Re-admitted drug-dealing lawyer faces new LSO allegations | Study IDs ‘Burning Issues’ for law firm leaders | Is it time for an inquiry into public inquiries? | Creditors allege Sullivan & Cromwell enabled FTX crypto fraud |
By Julius Melnitzer | February 29, 2024 FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WILL LAWYERS EARNING MILLIONS MISS LEFTOVER GRUB? Gabriela Rodriguez, a 39-year-old single mother, lost her cleaning job after eating a leftover sandwich valued at $2.50 and found on a discarded platter in the kitchen of London, UK law firm Devonshires, where lawyers earn up to […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: “Most positively reviewed” lawyer faces new misconduct allegations | Law firm openly adopts slippery slope | Calling colleague “pathetic human” is professional misconduct | FCA boosts climate litigation | FC certifies “older inmates” class action
By Julius Melnitzer | January 31, 2024 SAMFIRU TO FACE MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS IN ALBERTA Lior Samfiru, the Toronto-based national co-managing partner of employment law boutique Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, a firm that claims to be the “most positively reviewed employment law firm in Canada”, must now contend with allegations of professional misconduct in Alberta in addition […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: OCA upholds $2.5 million award to human rights lawyer | Jeremy Diamond appeals from de facto suspension and $100,000 fine for professional misconduct | Are law firms paying ransomware? | Report: Lawyers are high on AI extinction list | Unaware council passes ChatGPT-drafted law |
By Julius Melnitzer | December 17, 2023 LAWYER’S CAREER-ENDING INJURY JUSTIFIES $2.5 MILLION AWARD: OCA The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a $2.5 million award to Geraldine Sanson, a “highly respected human rights lawyer” whose career ended when a car struck her as she was cycling home from work in 2012. The trial judge […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO alleges misconduct against “most positively reviewed” lawyer | Judge cites lawyers’ conduct in concluding international arbitration susceptible to fraud | Associates seek to refuse work for ethical reasons | $817 million settlement in veterans’ disability class action | Litigation funder’s losses up fivefold
By Julius Melnitzer | November 20, 2023 LSO alleges misconduct against high-profile employment lawyer Lior Samfiru, the Toronto-based national co-managing partner of employment law boutique Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, a firm that claims to be the “most positively reviewed employment law firm in Canada”, is facing professional misconduct allegations stemming from litigation that he threatened or […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Anti-Israel stance costs law students their jobs | Pornhub sues for TM infringement | Counsel suspended for naming sexual assault complainants | Not Mother’s Day: son sues mother’s law firm for “cold and callous” conduct | Fake lawyer wins 26 consecutive cases |
By Julius Melnitzer | October 19, 2023 DAVIS POLK RESCINDS JOB OFFERS TO PRO-HAMAS HARVARD STUDENTS Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, a top UK law firm that employs about 1,000 lawyers, has withdrawn job offers to three Harvard and Columbia students who signed statements blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks and expressing support for Palestinians. […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyer earning $126,000 gets $1.8 million in wrongful dismissal damages | Litigation funder scores $4.5 billion in proceeds from judgment | LST sanctions counsel for uncivil conduct | NBKB imposes 3-year prison term for workplace fatality | IBA outlines challenges for profession
By Julius Melnitzer | October 15, 2023 FIRED IN-HOUSE COUNSEL AT BANK AWARDED $1.8 MILLION A UK employment tribunal has ordered digital bank Starling to pay $1.8 million in damages to Guinaz Raja, whom the bank had employed as a solicitor in its legal department at a salary of $126,000. The employer terminated Raja, an […]
Ashley Butts’ career shows that success in-house and private practice are not always intertwined
Ashley Butts’ career focus revolves around skill sets learned in criminology and sociology studies By Julius Melnitzer | August 8, 2023 The career of Ashley Butts, senior legal counsel in BASF Canada Inc.’s Toronto office, provides strong support for the emerging proposition that success in-house and private law firm experience are not necessarily intertwined. “Law was […]
For more than most, COVID was a maelstrom for Kath Hammond, GC at Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Kath Hammond says her team’s tightly-knit, non-hierarchical structure lent itself well to the challenges COVID presented By Julius Melnitzer | July 31, 2023 It’s unlikely that COVID proved more of a maelstrom for a legal department leader than it did for Kath Hammond, Vice-President and General Counsel, Corporate Safety and Security at the Greater Toronto Airports […]
The squeeze on general counsel and legal departments has reached new heights: report
TD’s Kashif Zaman says it will be a while before AI makes a workload impact for legal departments By Julius Melnitzer | July 26, 2023 The squeeze on general counsel and legal departments has reached new heights, according to The General Counsel Report 2023, a joint white paper from global consultancies FTI Consulting, Inc. and Relativity. “For […]
Working for one client attracted TC Energy’s Lesley Lee in-house
Her 13-member litigation and employment department is responsible for both Canada and the US By Julius Melnitzer | July 25, 2023 When Lesley Lee, director of litigation and employment law at TC Energy, decided to move in-house from her private firm practice, focus is what attracted her. “I enjoyed private practice, but liked the idea of […]