Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Five: The Chief Financial Officer
Photo by RDNE Stock project at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | November 22, 2023 This is the fifth in a series about questions articling students and new associates should consider when sizing up their new firm. This time, I will address the senior person in charge of the money, who could have any of the following […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO alleges misconduct against “most positively reviewed” lawyer | Judge cites lawyers’ conduct in concluding international arbitration susceptible to fraud | Associates seek to refuse work for ethical reasons | $817 million settlement in veterans’ disability class action | Litigation funder’s losses up fivefold
By Julius Melnitzer | November 20, 2023 LSO alleges misconduct against high-profile employment lawyer Lior Samfiru, the Toronto-based national co-managing partner of employment law boutique Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, a firm that claims to be the “most positively reviewed employment law firm in Canada”, is facing professional misconduct allegations stemming from litigation that he threatened or […]
Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Four: The Chief Technology Officer
Photo by Murray Gottheil By Murray Gottheil | November 14, 2023 This is the fourth in a series about questions that articling students and new associates should ponder in determining whether they have landed in the right place. This time I will address the chief technology officer (the “CTO”). Of course, being lawyers we need a […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: McMillan LLP “supplier” to defunct Traynor Ridge Capital, where $100 million missing | “Judicial bully” sanctioned | OHSA penalties tops in Canada | Profit malaise, hiring cuts at Big Law |”A terrific book”: Harrison & Swan’s “Skillful Witness Examination”
By Julius Melnitzer | November 12, 2023 MCMILLAN LLP “SUPPLIER” TO DEFUNCT HEDGE FUND According to David Olive of the Toronto Star, McMillan LLP, along with CIBC World Markets and KPMG, were among the “suppliers” of services to defunct hedge fund Traynor Ridge Capitol. On October 28, 30-year-old Christopher Callahan, the firm’s sole owner, trader […]
Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Three: The Chief Operating Officer
Photo by August de Richelieu at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | November 7, 2023 In Parts One and Two, I set out some questions that articling students and young lawyers should ask about their firm’s managing partners and practice group leaders. Today I will tackle the much trickier issue of the chief operating officer (COO). The […]
Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Two: The Practice Group Leader
Photo by Edmond Dantès at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | October 26, 2023 In Part One, I set out some questions that articling students and young lawyers should ask about the managing partner. This time let’s talk about your practice group leader (PGL). Here is a list of questions to help you determine the truth: If […]
Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part One: The Managing Partner
Photo by RDNE Stock project at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | October 24, 2023 When articling students or young lawyers join a law firm of any size, what they see at first is the carefully cultivated image that the law firm promotes and are often thrilled to be part of a fantasy world where every lawyer […]
The Ethics of Dictating Work Ethic
By Billy Hathorn, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons By Murray Gottheil | October 16, 2023 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Later he kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and decreed that going forward, people would have to work very, very hard, just to survive. From […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Lawyer earning $126,000 gets $1.8 million in wrongful dismissal damages | Litigation funder scores $4.5 billion in proceeds from judgment | LST sanctions counsel for uncivil conduct | NBKB imposes 3-year prison term for workplace fatality | IBA outlines challenges for profession
By Julius Melnitzer | October 15, 2023 FIRED IN-HOUSE COUNSEL AT BANK AWARDED $1.8 MILLION A UK employment tribunal has ordered digital bank Starling to pay $1.8 million in damages to Guinaz Raja, whom the bank had employed as a solicitor in its legal department at a salary of $126,000. The employer terminated Raja, an […]
Stupid, Stupid, Stupid
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | September 27, 2023 I once proposed raising our hourly rates and was met with furious resistance by the head of our litigation department who assured me that no assessment officer would ever permit lawyers to charge the amounts that I had proposed. He was a brilliant […]