Employers can’t rely on original termination clauses when employee responsibilities increase: court
By: Julius Melnitzer | March 27, 2023 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can’t rely on termination clauses when employees’ duties have escalated significantly after they signed their original employment contracts, including situations where the employee didn’t receive a promotion. In its ruling, the court relied on the changed substratum doctrine, which states […]
Marine commerce group calls for green shipping corridor to help cut emissions
Would enable marine industry to achieve its 2050 net zero goals By Julius Melnitzer | March 26, 2023 Canada’s Chamber of Marine Commerce is calling for the establishment of a green shipping corridor in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region as the centrepiece of its 2023 wish list for legislators and policy makers. The green corridor […]
Devil is in the details for resource project developers in wake of landmark cumulative treaty rights decision
By Julius Melnitzer | March 23, 2023 An historic agreement between B.C. and the Blueberry River First Nation could spell greater certainty for proponents of development projects on treaty lands throughout the country. “The court recognized that it’s hard to protect historical rights when they are being assessed on a project-by-project, piecemeal basis,” said Martin […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO panel splits on whether Black Lives Matter criticism is professional misconduct | Firm sues ‘underbilling’ associates | Remote lawyering: longer hours: CLIO survey | LSO suspends paralegal who cost clients $500,000 | CTA: compensation for passenger applies to all others on same flight
By Julius Melnitzer | March 8, 2023 IS AGGRESSIVE CRITICISM OF BLACK LIVES MATTER PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT? A Law Society Tribunal has split on whether social media posts criticizing Black Lives Matter, Pride Day and public health mask mandates amounted to professional misconduct. Lisa Simone, who was applying for a paralegal license, admitted the posts were […]
Virtual investigations in the workplace
By Julius Melnitzer | March 7, 2023 As it turns out, it’s not just employees who are working at home these days; so are the people investigating their workplace activities. “Since the pandemic, the vast majority of workplace investigations have been conducted virtually,” said Vanessa Lapointe, who conducts them regularly in the course of her […]
Termination of LTD benefits for Air Canada workers eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination: court
By Julius Melnitzer | March 6, 2023 The Federal Court has ruled that the termination of long-term disability benefits for employees who become eligible to receive unreduced pension benefits doesn’t amount to age discrimination. The case arose from the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between Air Canada and the Air Canada Pilots Association. The […]
‘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 […]