‘We’re starting to see activity again’: Legal dealmakers show measured optimism after slow 2022
Energy sector is high on the perceived opportunity list By Julius Melnitzer | February 6, 2023 Canada’s top M&A lawyers are taking a measured approach to 2023 after a sharp decline in deal count in 2022, when activity pulled back from unsustainable levels reached during the pandemic. “We’re starting to see activity again as people […]
The difficult art of handling clients
By Julius Melnitzer | February 6, 2023 The art of managing one’s clients has befuddled many a lawyer. But Sean Dillman, an enterprising, tech-savvy, ex-general practitioner and co-manager of a law firm has come up with a novel approach: a client prepared for the lawyer experience, he says, will be much easier to manage. To […]
Great Lakes fleets thrown overboard by new global maritime emissions standards
New rules ignore realities of inland shipping, leaving industry to develop alternate strategies By Julius Melnitzer | January 31, 2023 Despite efforts to reduce their carbon emissions, Canada’s lakers — the ships that carry cargo in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and Arctic and East coasts — are finding themselves in an environmental and […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Family lawyers make these professional misconduct mistakes | Clio offers escape from restrictive legaltech contracts | Wikipedia influences judges’ decisions: MIT study | Former CJO Strathy joins Arbitration Place | Medical device mass torts proliferating
By Julius Melnitzer | January 30, 2023 PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT MISTAKES FAMILY LAWYERS SHOULD AVOID In a Six Minute Family Lawyer Program, Bill Trudell, who defends lawyers before the Law Society of Ontario, outlined five Rules of Professional Conduct “that frequently are not followed and ones that may be of particular relevance to the family law […]
Withdrawal of real return bonds could financially impact DB pension plans: CIA
By: Julius Melnitzer | January 21, 2023 The Canadian Institute of Actuaries is urging the federal government to reconsider its cessation of real return bond issuances, citing the potential financial impacts to defined benefit pension plans. “We request not only that the decision to cease issuing real return bonds be reconsidered, but also that the […]
Top 10 business law decisions of 2022, Part II – – – and the law firm players
By Julius Melnitzer | January 19, 2023 This is the second of our annual two-part series ranking the top 10 business law decisions of the just-ended year. The first part featured cases ranked 6-10, while this article highlights the top five cases in ascending order. 5. Peace River Hydro Partners v. Petrowest Corp. (SCC) In […]
Top 10 business decisions of 2022, Part I – – – and the law firm players
By Julius Melnitzer | January 18, 2023 What follows is the first part of our third annual list of the Top 10 business decisions in Canada for the just-ended year. This is a two-part series, which begins below with numbers 6-10, in ascending order. Read Part I here. 10. Nova Chemicals Corp. v. Dow Chemical […]
Ontario tribunal determines employer entitled to $320K pension surplus
By Julius Melnitzer | January 7, 2023 The Financial Services Tribunal of Ontario has allowed an employer to keep a $320,000 pension surplus, despite the plan’s trust agreements’ silence as to surplus entitlement. “The requirements for an employer to receive 100 per cent of surplus are strict, but the tribunal took a practical [approach] as […]
Child support disputes burgeoning
Laura Paris says courts can overrule termination language for adult child support. By Julius Melnitzer | January 5, 2023 As inflation persists and a recession hovers, disputes over child support, including its continuation past age 18, are burgeoning. “Child support, which is reviewable annually, has become a bigger issue with inflation as there’s no automatic cut-off […]
Cryptocurrency fraud remedies available but enforcement difficult in Ontario
Enforcing civil remedies for crypto fraud is at least 50 percent of the problem, says Lou Brzezinski By Julius Melnitzer | January 4, 2023 As the investment hub of one of the most crypto-obsessed countries in the world, Ontario will need appropriate legal remedies to deal with the currency’s problems, evidenced most recently by the […]