Japan: a black hole for legal advice?
November 17, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer “Bizarre” is how Steven Maddex, a Canadian lawyer, describes his five years in the legal department at a jewellery company in Kyoto. “Most Japanese business people view lawyers’ roles as perfunctory at best,” says Maddex. “Many of the lawyers are unlicensed, have only a basic understanding of the […]
Divisional Court: “wait-and-see” before striking jury notice during COVID
November 17, 2020 | Julius Melnitzer The Ontario Divisional Court has ruled that a “wait-and-see” approach to striking jury notices due to delays caused by COVID-19 is appropriate in certain cases. The decision in Louis v Poitras was unanimous. “The use of “wait and see” in this way demonstrates the willingness of the court to […]
What to expect from Canada’s new privacy legislation
November 15, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The feds are tabling new privacy legislation on Monday. The proposed statutes are the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act (PIDPTA). Although there’s no concrete information available about the proposed laws’ contents, privacy expert David Young of David Young Law […]
Jones Day & Trump: Thank God for the lawyers
November 13, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Full disclosure: I hate Donald Trump. Further full disclosure: Democracy is lucky to have lawyers who will represent the jerk. I was among many who couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing in the last four years: disruption, disregard, disrespect, dishonesty, denigration, deflection and denial, all in […]
EU environmentalists score big access to justice win
November 7, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The European Commission (EC) has finally moved towards meaningful rights for environmentalists to challenge administrative decisions. In theory, non-governmental organizations(NGOs) have had that right since the European Union (EU) signed the United Nations-backed Aarhus Convention, which came into force in 2001. The Convention now has 47 states as […]
Is SCC looking like SCOTUS?: The language in Fraser v. Canada
November 5, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer There’s something afoot in the Supreme Court of Canada. And it adds heavy fuel to the debate about the extent to which the court is becoming politicized. In their recent judgment in Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General) 2020 SCC 28, both the majority and the minority accuse each other of departing […]
Ontario Superior Court: New twist on class action funding approvals
November 4, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer Sooner or later, some enterprising lawyer was going to try it on: why not intervene in a funding application brought by counsel competing for carriage of a class action? The scene of the crime was litigation over Ukraine International Airlines (UIL) flight 752. Iran shot the flight down […]
Supreme Court decision aggravates termination clause problems for employers
Julius Melnitzer | November 2, 2020 A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Canada suggests the test for employers seeking to limit recovery for unlawful termination damages related to long-term incentive plans may be insurmountable in practice. Read more.
Nunavut considering full mobility for Quebec lawyers
November 2, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The Law Society of Nunavut (LSN) may grant full mobility to Barreau du Québec members. The LSN will consider the matter at a virtual special meeting to be held on Thursday, November 26 @ 6 PM ET. Nunavut is not currently a signatory to the National Mobility Agreement. […]
CRA asks SCC if Loblaws can avoid tax on Barbados earnings
October 30, 2020 | By Julius Melnitzer The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to consider whether Loblaw must pay Canadian tax on the profits of a Barbados-based subsidiary. The appeal could have landmark consequences for both the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) and the foreign accrual property income (FAPI) regime. “This could be a major […]