BARE BONES BRIEFS: Trump judges, citing university’s failure to condemn antisemitic acts, won’t hire Columbia grads | European Human Rights Court opens floodgates for climate change litigation | Kielburgers’ mother can proceed with defamation claim | Federal Court certifies class action for “mental illness stigmatization” by Canadian Armed Forces | Bennett Jones appoints new office managing partners
By Julius Melnitzer | May 21, 2024 TRUMP APPOINTEES BOYCOTT COLUMBIA GRADS NBC reports that 13 federal judges appointed by Donald Trump chose Holocaust Remembrance Day to announce that they would not hire students who graduated from Columbia University, which they called “an incubator of bigotry” in which “professors and administrators are on the front […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: 60-year-old lawyer seeks Miss Universe crown | OCA to trial judges: don’t call parties’ testimony ‘self-serving’ | No correlation between ‘attack dog’ counsel and success | AI legal robot sued: lacks license to practice
By Julius Melnitzer | May 2, 2024 SEXAGENARIAN IN-HOUSE COUNSEL CROWNED MISS BUENOS AIRES Alejandra Rodriguez, a 60-year old Argentinian hospital lawyer, pictured above, has won the Miss Buenos Aires contest. If she wins the next round in the Miss Universe competition by becoming Miss Argentina, she will enter the final, international round as the […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Gender pay gap has ‘little to do’ with caring responsibilities: study | Will wearing robes deter violence in the courtroom? | Alberta still only province to recognize tort of harassment | No favours for self-represented: UK court | Lemon lawsuit a lemon
By Julius Melnitzer | April 29, 2024 KIDS DON’T FACTOR MUCH IN GENDER PAY GAP While confirming the ubiquity of the gender pay gap across seniority groups and practice areas, a UK Bar Council study concludes that caring responsibilities “are not the sole, or even a primary, factor in the median earnings difference.” The Law […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyer convicted of racketeering too closely connected to judges for court to sanction him | Corporate veil still eroding? | Bail for RCMP official sentenced to 14 years for leaking state secrets to organized crime | FC: Google not exempt from PIPEDA | IBA Annual Conference coming to Toronto
By Julius Melnitzer | April 22, 2024 MAJORITY OF APPEAL COURT RECUSE THEMSELVES FROM WELL-CONNECTED LAWYER’S CASE The Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois’ Supreme Court was unable to act on an an interim license suspension application brought by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission against Ed Burke, a Chicago lawyer and the city’s longest-serving alderman, […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: “Jobs bloodbath”sparks DLA Piper cuts to paternity leave | Good looking lawyers win more frequently in courtroom: study | Crown: directors, officers face increased OHSA prosecution risks | Federal Court OKs RCMP’s lengthy delays in harrassment cases | Receivables crisis coming for law firms?
By Julius Melnitzer | April 16, 2024 DLA REDUCES PATERNITY LEAVE IN WAKE OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY The Daily Mail reports that global firm DLA Piper has reduced non-partners’ (other than birth mothers) paternity leave by six months, leaving them with 12 months’ eligibility, four less than the 16-week average of most major law firms. “It […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Blakes absent, but Gowling shines on YouTube | Investment fund liable for “greenwashing” | Lawyer forgives client who stabbed him in court | Ukraine wants to trademark “go fuck yourself” war slogan | Adultery now legal
By Julius Melnitzer | April 4, 2024 BIGLAW MISSES THE YOUTUBE BOAT According to Eric Troutman, a prominent class action defence lawyer with California-based Troutman Amin LLP, writing in Practice Source, YouTube is “the world’s second most visited website and an absolutely critical communication channel for businesses (including law firms) seeking to engage with new […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: | Litigation funders in 80% of cases | Humans not necessary: AIs negotiate contract amongst themselves | Fani Willis clone? | Lawyer elevates courtroom tardiness | IBA wellness guidelines |
By Julius Melnitzer | March 18, 2024 LITIGATION FUNDING PROLIFERATING The Law Society Gazette reports on a London Solicitors Litigation Association report which concludes that 80% of London litigators are working on cases where a litigation funder has financed at least one party. Although a recent UK Supreme Court decision makes some such arrangements unenforceable, […]
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 […]
Court of Appeal upholds $1.5 million punitive damages award in LTD claims case
By: Julius Melnitzer | February 3, 2024 The Ontario Court of Appeal’s affirmation of a $1.5 million punitive damages award — reportedly the largest of its kind in a Canadian long-term disability case — may signal greater exposure for employers and insurers that fail in their duty to treat such claims in good faith. “The court had no […]
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 […]