The Advocacy Club: a special place for junior advocates
By Julius Melnitzer | April 13, 2021 Some 15 years ago, a seasoned Ottawa lawyer’s frustration with the failed potential of young advocates led to the creation of The Advocacy Club, a unique program that has quietly trained hundreds of junior lawyers and students at law firms and governmental organizations in the arts of civil […]
Successful leave application doesn’t foolproof against summary judgment
A seminal Ontario Superior Court decision leaves little doubt that success on an application for leave to appeal under the secondary market liability provisions of the Ontario Securities Act (OSA) does not portend success on the merits. “The statute clearly delineates between the ‘reasonable possibility’ standard for leave and the ‘balance of probabilities’ threshold on the merits,” […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Crown seeks juror challenge for transgender bias | Dismissed: first privacy class action heard on merits | Young lawyers suicidal | GC workload crisis: EY | PainWorth expands | Best law firm webinars
By Julius Melnitzer | April 8, 2021 Dismissed: first privacy class action heard on the merits Quebec Superior Court Justice Florence Lucas has dismissed the first class action regarding the loss of personal information that has been heard on the merits in Canada. Anne Merminod in Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s office in Montreal, lead counsel […]
Ten key tips: pivoting to a mediation practice
April 7, 2021 | By Rafeena Bacchus, guest contributor In Part I of this series, I provided 10 tips by way of a general roadmap to pivoting a legal career. Here, I will expand on those tips in the context of embarking on a mediation practice. Know your skill set and determine your area of […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: OCA boosts prisoners, Divisional Court boots disabled | Condo developers don’t have fiduciary duties | OCA forces OSC to disgorge dilatory transcripts | Best law firm bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | April 5, 2021 Divisional Court: government has no duty to be competent In dismissing a class action by developmentally disabled adults seeking only what they were due under Ontario law, the Divisional Court confirmed what we already knew: the government of Ontario has no duty to administer its mandates competently. The […]
Cybersecurity: Nine tips to Mitigate legal and regulatory liability
April 2, 2021 | By Reciprocity Labs staff With technology’s numerous benefits come ever-increasing cybersecurity risks. As hackers devise innovative methods of infiltrating business systems, devastating cyber-attacks have become prevalent. Due diligence and compliance are more important than ever. To be sure, compliance is a challenge for some businesses, but one that fades in the […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyers’ rights & dating sites; No consent, no videoconference, says OCA; Alexander Holburn joins Legalign; Best law firm webinars & bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | March 31, 2021 Lawyers’ dating sites Can’t find love because practising law takes too much out of you? Try Lawyr, the UK-based international dating site “For lawyers and the people who want to date them”. The Times says the site “is perfect for those seeking a brief encounter”. Lawyers, says Jonathan […]
SCC planning “judicial haircut” for BCCA in rectification case?
March 29, 2021 | By Bill Innes, guest contributor The Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision granting leave in Collins Family Trust has set up another battle on the limits of the doctrine of rectification. In 2016, the high court’s rulings in Fairmont and Jean Coutu restricted the doctrine as a tax planning tool. The […]
Good faith in contracts: did the SCC blow it?
By Julius Melnitzer | March 25, 2021. This is the first article in a two-part series. Read Part II here. The Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) recent decisions in C.M. Callow Inc. v. Zollinger and Wastech Services Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Draining have reactivated the polarizing debate about the court’s interpolation of the […]
TFSA, RRSP, and CPP Changes to Expect in 2021
March, 25, 2021 | By Laura Edwards The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) implements significant tax law changes every year. For instance, in 2020, the CRA announced at least eight revisions, including some changes to the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) and taxes on journalists. While there are several revisions this year as well, it’s three of the […]