BARE BONES BRIEFS: OCA hammers experts again | Federal Court: duty to consult is double-edged sword | DLA Piper teams with Women+Power | Social impact law firm NOVAlex expands | Can’t-miss: law firm webinars & bulletins
By Julius Melnitzer | May 4, 2021 Another expert breaches duty of impartiality The Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) has ruled that a doctor called as an expert defence witness in a malpractice case breached his duty to be independent by opining on the credibility and reliability of lay and expert witnesses. “It is clear […]
Good faith in contracts: who needs it?
By Julius Melnitzer | May 3, 2021 This is the second in a two-part series. Read the first article. Reactions to 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 not been nearly as intense as the debate that accompanied Bhasin v. […]
New stock option regime set to take effect this July
By Julius Melnitzer | April 28, 2021 The federal government’s recent budget confirmed its intention to proceed with the new stock option regime previously announced in its November 30, 2020, economic statement — meaning the proposed changes will likely come into force on July 1, as planned. As currently drafted, the changes impose an annual cap […]
Anticompetitive regulatory risk: is Canadian business equipped to cope?
By Julius Melnitzer | April 26, 2021 This article is the second in a two-part series As the first article in our series demonstrated, regulatory enforcement of corporate laws tends to be at its highest in bad times – and the advent and aftermath of the pandemic are no exceptions. Here, we investigate whether Canadian […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Who invented Bitcoin? Court will decide | OCA upholds Diamond & Diamond partner sanction | Are self-driving cars racist? | LAWPRO’s new title insurance platform | Best law firm articles & webinars
By Julius Melnitzer | April 23, 2021 UK courts tackle Bitcoin inventor’s identity A British high court has facilitated a path forward for a case that could decide who invented bitcoin. It did so by allowing Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist resident in the UK, to serve a copyright infringement claim against the publisher […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Universal NDA coming? | Dismissal damages breach 24-month barrier | FC approves largest Canadian LFA ever | NextGen Roster: younger, affordable arbitrators
By Julius Melnitzer | April 21, 2021 Standardized NDA imminent? The world may see a “universally standardised” template for non-disclosure agreements (NDA) in just a few weeks. According to the Law Society Gazette. the OneNDA initiative, founded by The Law Boutique in the UK in February, now has the support of three magic circle firms […]
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 […]