BARE BONES BRIEFS: Canizares disbarred, again | Abuse survivors sue Ottawa over Jordan inaction | Litigant hides AI prompts in court filing | Treatable pedophile dodges dangerous offender label | Epiq picks Bertrand for Canadian class action administration
By Julius Melnitzer | October 12, 2026 CANIZARES DISBARRED, AGAIN Nicholas Canizares has been disbarred for the second time. The Toronto lawyer lost his licence in 1989 and won it back in 2009, on his undertaking to stay out of real estate and criminal law. On October 5, the Law Society Tribunal revoked his licence […]
Alberta court approves Paxil birth-defect settlement payout
Jonathan Denis The allocation follows a bitter fee dispute where Merchant Law’s contingency fee agreement was found invalid By Julius Melnitzer | September 24, 2026 The Alberta Court of King’s Bench has approved the distribution of a $7.5-million settlement in a national class action alleging that GlaxoSmithKline’s antidepressant Paxil caused birth defects in children whose […]
Unsuccessful political candidate can pursue civil action against Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, SCC rules
By Scott Lemke | July 15, 2026 Election officials, including a Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), are not categorically immune from civil claims merely because they are exercising authority under their governing legislation. In Resler v. Anglin, 2026 SCC 23, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) permitted a civil claim that was brought by an unsuccessful […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Norton Rose bigwig leaves for Torys | LSO liable for costs of “unarguable” prosecution | Complaints against lawyers at record high | Study: Legal Aid is essential poverty relief | Rotfleisch releases new edition of Canadian Tax Facts
By Julius Melnitzer | June 23, 2026 NORTON ROSE ENERGY CHIEF JOINS TORYS Robert Froehlich, who led Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP’s energy practice and was chair of the firm’s business law group from 2019 to 2025, has joined Torys LLP’s Calgary office as a partner. His experience embraces some of Canada’s most significant and […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Women in law, silent suffering | Hallucination catcher? | Court: AI can’t replace workers | AI beats law profs | Arbitration Place launches in Brazil
By Julius Melnitzer | June 21, 2026 EXHAUSTED WOMAN LAWYERS FEAR SPEAKING UP Some 70% of women in law suffer frequently from exhaustion or low energy, and 65% of those affected, fearing the impact on their careers, won’t speak up, says a report from the Law Society of England and Wales that surveyed 533 legal […]
Judge deems boy’s injuries at Grande Prairie daycare “unfortunate fluke”
By Marcel Strigberger | April 16, 2026 911. No, not a distress call. Just the age of the parties in a recent Alberta Court of Justice case, Robinson v. Fellin, 2026 ABCJ 2. Nine-year-old Dominic Robinson sued Xavier Fellin, age 11, who struck him with a small toy dinosaur during an argument at a Grande Prairie, AB, summer […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: A classic case of hubris: lawyers protecting misbehaving lawyers | Regulator says lawyers naughtier than accountants | Environmentalists: at least lawyers don’t make bombs or help sell cigars | Should AI-generated docs attract privilege? | DLA Piper appoints Regional Managing Partners
RECORD FINE FOR AI MISUSE IS NO DETERRENT TO LAWYERS In what is said to be the highest fine imposed so far in Canada on lawyers who misuse AI, the Alberta Court of Appeal has imposed personal costs of $17,500 + GST on an Alberta lawyer who filed a factum drafted by a contractor that […]
Top 10 business decisions of 2025, part two
Bedrin-Alexander: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM By Julius Melnitzer | February 4, 2026 Here is part two of my annual list of the top 10 business decisions in Canada for the year just ended. This two-part series began with the cases ranked sixth through tenth. Part two herein covers the top five cases, in ascending order. 5. Heritage Property Corporation v. […]
Top 10 business decisions of 2025, part one
Bedrin-Alexander: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM By Julius Melnitzer | February 1, 2026 Here is my annual list of the top 10 business decisions in Canada for the year just ended. This two-part series begins with the cases ranked sixth through tenth, in ascending order. Part two will cover the top five cases. Top 10 business decisions of 2025, […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyer disbarred for failing to ID known Client | PE law firm takeovers on the Rise | Farting is a Crime in NB | Trump would have deported Beatles | IACA launches Global Passport for arbitration Community
By Julius Melnitzer | January 30, 2026 CERTIFYING COPIES OF ID DOCUMENTS LEADS TO DISBARMENT Andrew Jackson, a UK solicitor for more than two decades who led the commercial property at Chester firm Cullimore Dutton Solicitors, lost his license to practise when he admitted certifying copies of of a client’s passport and driving license without […]