Litigation-help.com gives hope to unrepresented litigants
By Julius Melnitzer | December 17, 2021 While still a law student, Heather Hui-Litwin, founder of Litigation-Help.com, found herself and her husband, a banker, involved in a lawsuit with a contractor. The proceedings dragged on for more than ten years – – – during which legal costs became unaffordable. The couple decided to represent themselves, […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: BLG to manage Ivanhoé Cambridge leasing legal services | Study: junior counsel beat senior counsel as often as seniors beat them | Litigation funding fees capped | Judges need safety too | Top law firm bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | November 11, 2021 IVANHOé CAMBRIDGE IN-HOUSE LAWYERS MOVE TO BLG “In-house” gets new meaning as part of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s (IC) law department moves to Borden Ladner Gervais LLP offices in Montreal and Toronto. All this pursuant to an agreement for BLG to manage legal services for shopping centres owned by IC, […]
Why Canadian companies are preparing for a wave of ESG cases coming their way
By Julius Melnitzer | October 25, 2021 By all accounts, environmental, social and governance (ESG) litigation will soon be flooding Canada’s courts. The international trend, after all, is undeniable: according to the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, more than 1,385 lawsuits seeking relief from climate change, which is but one […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: FC dismisses murdered Indigenous women’s class action, certifies class for feds’ negligence to Indigenous in custody | Divisional Court dismisses ‘intrusion upon seclusion’ class action against Equifax | Lawyers fined $33,500 for missing fraud at firm | ICC touts arbitration as part of international minimum tax framework | Best of: law firm bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | June 25, 2021 MIXED RESULTS IN INDIGENOUS CLASS ACTIONS Indigenous class actions seeking to impose liability for mistreatment on governments and police have achieved mixed results. On June 23, the Federal Court certified a class consisting of Aboriginal persons assaulted by the RCMP while in custody in the Northwest Territories. The […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS | Advocates’ Society releases final report on future of advocacy | Scrotum sanctions: OCA upholds $150,000 punitives award against employer | SCC to decide whether receivers can disclaim arbitration agreements | OCA: Municipality owes no duty of care to developer | FC: “Budway” weed infringes “Subway” sandwich | Best law firm webinars and bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | June 14, 2021 Modern Advocacy Task Force releases final report The Advocates’ Society Modern Advocacy Task Force has just released its final report, The Right to be Heard: The Future of Advocacy in Canada. The report identifies four overarching principles: the open court principle, the imperative of access to justice, the […]
Ontario court upholds arbitration clause in employment contract
By Julius Melnitzer | June 11, 2021 An arbitration clause that doesn’t explicitly prohibit a terminated employee from making a complaint to the Ministry of Labour doesn’t offend employment standards legislation, the Ontario Superior Court has ruled. “The ruling will give comfort to employers that Ontario courts will enforce arbitration clauses,” says David Vaillancourt of […]
Defending democracy: the status of “fake news” in Canada
By Julius Melnitzer | May 23, 2021 It’s hard to process the fact that the multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuits launched by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic in the U.S. following on media allegations that they helped President Joe Biden “steal” the American election from Donald Trump may be facing uphill battles in American courts. Why […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS | FCA: The West Bank is not Israel | OSC blasts law firms’ lack of cooperation in LTC class actions | BLG buys AUM Law | Condemned? Choose your poison in South Carolina | Can’t-miss: McMillan webinar
By Julius Melnitzer | May 7, 2021 FCA : West Bank wine is not necessarily “Product of Israel” The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling that “Product of Israel” labels on wines produced in the West Bank were “false, misleading and deceptive”. The court remitted the matter back to the Complaints […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: OCA hammers experts again | Federal Court: duty to consult is double-edged sword | DLA Piper teams with Women+Power | Social impact law firm NOVAlex expands | Can’t-miss: law firm webinars & bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | May 4, 2021 Another expert breaches duty of impartiality The Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) has ruled that a doctor called as an expert defence witness in a malpractice case breached his duty to be independent by opining on the credibility and reliability of lay and expert witnesses. “It is clear […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Universal NDA coming? | Dismissal damages breach 24-month barrier | FC approves largest Canadian LFA ever | NextGen Roster: younger, affordable arbitrators
By Julius Melnitzer | April 21, 2021 Standardized NDA imminent? The world may see a “universally standardised” template for non-disclosure agreements (NDA) in just a few weeks. According to the Law Society Gazette. the OneNDA initiative, founded by The Law Boutique in the UK in February, now has the support of three magic circle firms […]