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, […]
Chasing Unicorns: Changing Law Firm Culture
Photo by Cottonbro Studio at Pexels Culture eats strategy for breakfast – Peter Drucker Back when I was a managing partner in a law firm, I did not think nearly enough about law firm culture. I really should have, but not only because it is the secret to business success. Looking back, I realize I […]
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 […]
Reap What You Sow
Photo by Rattasat at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | April 11, 2024 Hey law firms! Have you given much thought to partners approaching retirement, and calculated what their retirement may cost you? I reckon that there are at least five different attitudes that a retiring partner (“RP”) may have. Here they are: Each of these types of […]
Recent costs award confirms court’s acknowledgement of risks, costs of prosecuting med mal cases
Ryan Marinacci of Bogoroch & Associates LLP By Julius Melnitzer | April 9, 2024 This article was created in partnership with Bogoroch & Associates The recent $3 million costs award following an $8.5 million judgment in Denman v. Radovanovic confirms Ontario Superior Court judges’ continuing acknowledgment of the risks and costs associated with prosecuting a medical malpractice case. […]
Show Me the Money
By Murray Gottheil | April 6, 2024 Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko at Pexels Youth is always impatient, even though, ironically, youth alone has time for patience – Lucilla Andrews In my new pastime as a cynical commentator on aspects of the legal profession that I whole-heartedly embraced and profited from for many years, I speak to […]
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 […]
How Strong Are Your Roots?
By Murray Gottheil | March 26, 2024 The image that accompanies this post is of a massive tree in the forest behind my house which came down in a storm, bringing down another tree, which brought down a third. As you can see, the root system was wide, but shallow. These trees might have looked majestic, […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Maple Leafs’ captain fighting CRA demand for $6.8 million | LST: Child abuser can practise law | Alberta CA justice joins BLG | Remote work, wellbeing slow law firm productivity | Bullying of law students ‘relatively high’
By Julius Melnitzer | March 25, 2024 TAVARES TAKES ON CRA Maple Leafs’ captain John Tavares is fighting the CRA’s claim that he owes $6.8 million in taxes for 2018, when he signed a seven-year US$77 million contract with the team and moved from New York to Toronto. The agreement included a $70.8 million bonus, […]
It’s all about the people, people
By Murray Gottheil | March 22, 2024 I lived on a small street in the Big City for 11 years, and during that time barely knew my neighbours. I neither asked them for help, nor did they ask me. When I bought my house in the country, I used it as a cottage before moving there […]