Pensioners of insolvent companies left out of contingency fee debate
Friday, January 05, 2018 Something’s been lost so far in the debate about contingency fees that the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) calls “[protecting] access to justice for the public, while ensuring protection from unscrupulous practices and unreasonable fees.” Unfortunately, what’s been lost are a lot of people. They’re called “pensioners,” a group that […]
Lawyers’ class action over unpaid employment benefits masks regulatory inaction over unauthorized legal services
Deloitte argues its use of such lawyers does not constitute unauthorized provision of legal services March 7, 2018 The strategy driving an employment class action between Deloitte and more than 400 lawyers is masking an issue fundamental to the future of the legal profession. On its face, the case is about whether Deloitte misclassified the […]
Rush to adapt misses the profession’s biggest problem: Unrepresented litigants
Monday, March 12, 2018 Even genuine self-examination runs the risk of succumbing to navel gazing. So it is with the legal profession these days. Never before have lawyers been so caught up in rapid change. And never before have they taken such a long, hard look at themselves. Should non-lawyers be allowed to own law […]
The current mess of class action carriage motions
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 So, Justice Paul Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice believes that law firms seeking carriage of a class action should hire independent counsel to argue carriage motions. Why? For no less noble a reason than to “introduce an element or at least the appearance of some objectivity,” Perell wrote […]
Top 10 business decisions of 2019: From orphan wells to Vavilov trilogy
Friday, February 14, 2020 As the second in our two-part series listing the Top 10 business decisions of 2019, here are the five cases that lead the class, in ascending order. 5. Canada (Commissioner of Competition) v. Vancouver Airport Authority 2019 Comp Trib 6 A focus of intense interest among competition law and scholars, this decision from […]
Internet research by jurors and judges during cases challenged
‘Judges shouldn’t be doing their own research about the dispute or the parties except to the extent that the information is in open court’ June 5, 2018 Toronto lawyer Paul Slansky has alleged that judges or court staff at the Federal Court of Canada (FCC) appear to have conducted independent internet searches of his client’s […]
Legal cases highlight issues around LTD coverage
October 12, 2018 Whether considering age eligibility or policy wording, recent rulings for employees in a pair of Ontario cases are reminders to employers to review their long-term disability offerings. When I’m 65 Ontario employers may no longer have the option to reduce or eliminate health and life insurance benefits for employees aged 65 or […]
Top 10 business decisions of 2019: From bankruptcy to beer
Wednesday, February 05, 2020 To kick off the new year right, here is a listing of the Top 10 business decisions in Canada for 2019. The listing will be in the form of a two-part series, which begins below with numbers 6-10, in ascending order. 10. Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. v. Association québécoise de lutte contre […]
Supreme Court set to hear Nevsun Resources case on Eritrea human rights abuses
One result may be that customary international law may be made to apply to companies as well as countries December 27, 2018 The future of the Canadian resource industry hangs in the balance as the Supreme Court of Canada prepares to hear a high-profile case accusing Canadian miner Nevsun Resources Ltd. of human rights abuses […]
UK clarifies scope of privilege
Decision of Court of Appeal allays concerns about narrowing scope of professional privilege Nov 27, 2018 A RECENT DECISION of England and Wales’s Court of Appeal has allayed concerns about the narrowing scope of professional privilege afforded to legal advice in the United Kingdom. The decision in Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) v. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), released […]