BARE BONES BRIEFS: ‘From the river to the sea’: a trademark? | More lawyer hubris: 27 cent lawsuit | DWPV study examines 2023 insolvency highs | AI not ‘inventor’ for patent purposes: court | Ecocide now a crime in EU
By Julius Melnitzer | March 12, 2024 JEWISH AMERICANS SEEK TRADEMARK FOR PALESTINIAN CHANT Joel Ackerman and Oron Rosenkrantz, who are Jewish US citizens, have filed separate applications to trademark the phrase ‘From the river to the sea’, used by the Palestinian nationalist movement since the 1960s to express its desire for a Palestinian state […]
Emily Two – A Tale about Sun Visors, Money, and Ego
Photo by Gustavo Fring at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | March 7, 2024 When automobile manufacturers first put vanity mirrors on sun visors, they only put them on the passenger side. Their reasoning was that the passenger was usually a woman who had makeup to apply. The car was being driven by a man and men […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: CIRO to crack down on texting with clients? | Federal Court excoriates Pearson Airport’s disregard for language rights | Blakes Board Report: difficult for women to leverage not-for-profit board experience to paid boards | Global M&A at 10-year low | Cyberbreach counsel hacked
By Julius Melnitzer | March 6, 2024 WILL CIRO STEP UP ENFORCING BAN AGAINST TEXT MESSAGING WITH CLIENTS? Zach Pringle, writing in Babin Bessner Spry LLP’s Financial Services & Securities Blog, notes that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has in the last three years commenced over 35 enforcement actions citing record-keeping violations related to […]
How Quickly My Good Idea Becomes Your Great Idea
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | March 5, 2024 Now and then I will tell a story about something that I did back in the day when my wife Maureen and I practiced at the same law firm. Typically my story involves a brilliant legal strategy that I developed, a big win, […]
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 […]
A Sweeter World?
Photo by Ron Lach at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | February 20, 2024 I was speaking to a university student the other day whom I will call Lara. Lara told me that she occasionally has a super nice dinner at her friend Kim’s expense. It seems that sometimes Kim meets a sugar daddy who treats her […]
Is Someone Out to Get You?
Photo by RDNE Stock project at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | February 19, 2023 Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you – Joseph Heller In some law firms there are politics among the partners. Someone wants to be the managing partner or win the compensation committee contest, and they need to accumulate friends […]
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 […]
Worrying For Godot
By Murray Gottheil | January 30, 2024 Photo by Keira Burton at Pexels When I practiced law, I worried a lot. I worried about making a mistake on my files. I worried that I was too busy. I worried that I was not busy enough. I even worried for the people at my firm who were […]