BARE BONES BRIEFS: Family lawyers make these professional misconduct mistakes | Clio offers escape from restrictive legaltech contracts | Wikipedia influences judges’ decisions: MIT study | Former CJO Strathy joins Arbitration Place | Medical device mass torts proliferating
By Julius Melnitzer | January 30, 2023 PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT MISTAKES FAMILY LAWYERS SHOULD AVOID In a Six Minute Family Lawyer Program, Bill Trudell, who defends lawyers before the Law Society of Ontario, outlined five Rules of Professional Conduct “that frequently are not followed and ones that may be of particular relevance to the family law […]
Top 10 business law decisions of 2022, Part II – – – and the law firm players
By Julius Melnitzer | January 19, 2023 This is the second of our annual two-part series ranking the top 10 business law decisions of the just-ended year. The first part featured cases ranked 6-10, while this article highlights the top five cases in ascending order. 5. Peace River Hydro Partners v. Petrowest Corp. (SCC) In […]
OCA upholds $25,000 punitive damages award in commercial case
Alf Kwinter says it’s unusual to see damages awarded in commercial cases. By Julius Melnitzer | October 22,2022 In a judgment that augurs well for the award of punitive damages in commercial cases, the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a $25,000 award in a case involving a landlord’s illegal conversion of abandoned chattels subject […]
More litigation funding regulation not required in Canada, say funders and lawyers
Hugh Meighen says the common law sufficiently regulates litigation funding By Julius Melnitzer | October 7, 2022 As the European Union plans a clampdown on litigation funding, funders operating in Canada and lawyers familiar with their workings say regulatory intervention is not required here. “Regulation exists as a de facto matter by way of well-developed common […]
Ontario court awards $210K in costs against FSRA in Brewers Retail pension case
By Julius Melnitzer | June 28, 2022 An Ontario Superior Court judge is awarding Brewers Retail Inc. $210,000 in costs against the Financial Service Regulatory Authority of Ontario. Justice Ed Morgan’s award followed his criticism of the regulator for defying a decision of its predecessor, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. One veteran pensions litigator — speaking […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Remote defendants show up bathing and half-naked; OCA provides guidance on limitation defence in allowing negligence claims against Robins Appleby to proceed; Langlois chair inducted into ACTL; Dellelce family donates $5 million to University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law; Top 5 law firm bulletins & webinars
By Julius Melnitzer | June 24, 2022 UK COURTS FED UP WITH REMOTE SHENANIGANS A UK Magistrates Association report concludes that 76 percent of magistrates oppose continued remote hearings. Defendants appearing remotely, respondents said, appeared to take the process less seriously, as evidenced by their “appearing while in the bath, being half naked, smoking and […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO accredits mindfulness meditation training for lawyers; New CEO at Arbitration Place; Calling a man “a bald c***” is sexual harassment; Bennett Jones provides scholarships for Indigenous, Black and first-generation law students; Top 5 law firm bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | June 6, 2022 LSO ACCREDITS MINDFULNESS MEDITATION COURSE In a nod to the growing recognition of well-being’s importance to the profession, The Law Society of Ontario has accredited a mindfulness training course, Toronto Method Mindfulness, developed and led by Ari Kaplan of Kaplan Law. Kaplan, one of Canada’s leading pension law […]
Virtual proceedings: Here to stay but the devil in the details
By Julius Melnitzer | April 2, 2022 With the announcement that Ontario’s family lawyers will return in person to the Superior Court of Justice in April for parts of the divorce process, there’s a growing sense that things are returning to normal — or at least the “new normal.” The problem is, as recent statistics […]
Arbitration Place takes Manhattan, turns pandemic on its head
Kim Stewart, Arbitration Place’s Founder & CEO By Julius Melnitzer | February 24, 2022 A recent press release from the New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC) downplays its new remote hearing collaboration with Toronto’s Arbitration Place (AP). Maybe it’s American pride, unable to bear the shock that one of the most powerful international dispute resolution […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Judges: counsel still wasting courts’ time | Post-Pandora crackdowns target lawyers | Survey: Lawyers profit most from class actions | Top 5 law firm bulletins & webinars
By Julius Melnitzer | January 10, 2022 JUDGES: LAWYERS STILL SCREWING UP COURTROOM PROCEEDINGS “The file is in a state of near total disarray”: these are nothing less than the opening words in a recent Federal Court judgment. That’s perhaps not surprising in a case where the applicant was unrepresented. But what is surprising is […]