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 […]
IP Disputes: To Arbitrate or Not?
“Arbitration in multi-jurisdictional IP disputes helps avoid inconsistent outcomes and duplication of work, and promotes streamlining of resources, all under the watchful eye of a neutral expert in the field as opposed to a national court that could be seen by one side as partial.” — Fortunat Nadima The expanding commercialisation of intellectual property (IP) rights—through […]
The Road Less Travelled
Yesterday, I took a walk in the woods on a road abandoned long ago. It reminded me of the journey we take in life. Sometimes the road is clear, and other times we must look a little harder for the right road. Its outline may be there, but we might have to climb over a […]
The world of uncivil litigation
By Marcel Strigberger | October 9, 2025 Can hotheads keep lawyers busy? A 50ish gentleman visited a restaurant with his son in Seville, Spain. They ordered two sandwiches. Dad asked for mayo. Waiter said they were out. This did not sit well with Dad. He left, returned with a bottle of gasoline, and set the bar […]
Litigation Funding: A New Era in IP Disputes?
By Julius Melnitzer | September 29, 2025 “Oftentimes, smaller businesses would like to take on bigger companies, and litigation funding has become a very active topic for them.” – Jean-Sebastien Dupont While the litigation funding phenomenon may not yet have had the same impact in the intellectual property (IP) sector as it has in other practice […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Insurers hit hard: OCA upholds $300K costs award for $16K judgment | Law Firm Marketers: Forget SEO – “Authority” is what matters in the AI era
By Julius Melnitzer | August 31, 2025 INSURER PUNISHED FOR “HARDBALL” APPROACH The Ontario Court of Appeal has awarded $300,000 in partial indemnity costs to a claimant who recovered only $16,000 by way of a jury award in a motor vehicle accident proceeding in which she had sought over $1 million. In doing so, the […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Ontario Superior Court approves $900M counsel fee | Equity partners’ income soars 42% | Four-day work week making inroads for lawyers | Airlines can’t hide behind “safety” excuse in denying passengers compensation for delay or cancellation
By Julius Melnitzer | August 26, 2025 $900M COUNSEL FEE APPROVED IN TOBACCO LITIGATION Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz, who is presiding over the CCAA proceedings brought by victims of tobacco-related diseases against the tobacco companies, has approved (2025 ONSC 4497) a request by plaintiffs’ lawyers in the two Quebec class actions for […]
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 […]
AI Hallucinations are Proliferating, and IP is Not Exempt
By Julius Melnitzer | July 28, 2025 It was likely inevitable: artificial intelligence (AI) hallucinations are permeating intellectual property (IP) law. Falsely generated legal research first came to the world’s attention in 2023 when an American lawyer appeared on the front page of the New York Times after he included references to non-existent cases in his court […]