Ten key tips: how to pivot your legal career
February 10, 2021 | By Rafeena Bacchus, guest contributor I’ve been a Toronto-based insurance defence and human rights counsel for more than 15 years. I’m now transitioning to a focus on mediation. The first installment of this two-part series will provide a general roadmap to pivoting a legal career; the second will specifically apply the […]
Federal employers shouldn’t change employment entitlements during notice period: court
Julius Melnitzer | February 5, 2021 A recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court suggests that federally-regulated employers will be held to the same strict rules as their provincial counterparts in ensuring that termination provisions comply with minimum employment standards. “The decision in Sager v. TFI International Inc. extends courts’ pro-employee interpretation of termination clauses in the […]
Bare Bones Briefs: COPA awards; SCC’s Côté on women’s rights; SCC on Duffy’s appeal; Gowling’s new software; Convicts can keep PlayStations; and new SCC rules for contractual damages
February 4, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer The Lawyer’s Daily and Julius Melnitzer win COPA silver for best investigative series LegalWriter.net’s Julius Melnitzer, writing for The Lawyer’s Daily, has won the Canadian Online Publishers Awards’ silver prize for best investigative series in the 2021 business media. The series consisted of five articles on Justice and […]
Too many “made for Twitter” decisions from the Supreme Court?
February 2, 2021| By Julius Melnitzer The Supreme Court of Canada’s growing tendency to dismiss appeals from the bench has been a subject of legitimate concern lately. As the Globe and Mail pointed out recently, the trend is accelerating: of late, the court has been releasing fewer in-depth reasons and a growing proportion of decisions […]
Debt & disease: As opportunism overcame COVID-19 concerns, companies raised record debt financings in 2020
January 29, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer FP Dealmakers: With most of the pre-funding and stockpiling done in 2020, executives see a quieter year ahead Resiliency was the name of the game as opportunism overcame fear in Canada’s corporate debt capital markets in 2020. Even as COVID-19 ravaged the globe, many companies, motivated no doubt […]
Bare Bones Briefs: check out our must-read legal snippets
January 27, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer ONTARIO CIVIL JURY TRIALS ENDANGERED DURING COVID? Court of Appeal reverses Divisional Court’s “wait-and-see” approach, restores trial judge’s decision to strike jury notice: Louis v. Poitras; Divisional Court: “wait-and-see” before striking jury notice during COVID; COVID-19 puts courts, integrity of Ontario’s civil jury system on trial. KOSHER, HALAL […]
After the pandemic, business risk rises: RiskMap 21
January 26, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer Businesses’ full throttle on financial recovery and growth at pandemic’s end could mask heightened compliance and risk issues, according to a leading forecaster of global business risks. “Legal teams and compliance officers must ensure the critical issues they oversee retain prominence, when so much focus at senior levels […]
Writing & practice tips for paralegals
January 23, 2021 | By Julius Melnitzer Recently, I appeared as a guest presenter on an episode of Justice in Pieces, presented by triOS College’s Paralegal Program, and hosted by its coordinator, award-winning lead legal instructor, John-Paul Rodrigues. The discussion included writing , formatting, marketing, practice and practical tips for paralegals who intend to strike […]
Family-status discrimination is ‘minefield’ for employers
By Julius Melnitzer | January 18, 2021 Confusion as to what constitutes family-status discrimination in Canada continues to vex employers. “The Supreme Court of Canada had an opportunity to create a uniform test across the country in 2019 but chose not to hear the case,” says Gary Clarke, the Calgary and Vancouver-based national co-head of Stikeman Elliott LLP’s […]
Ontario’s lockdown: a quick guide to your legal rights
January 15, 2021 | By Joseph Neuberger The provincial government has again issued a “stay at home” order under which Ontarians may leave their residences only for defined purposes (approximately 33 essential reasons), including exercise, walking pets, going to and from essential work, health care, shopping for necessities such as food, and household items like detergent, […]