Canada Labour Code amendments will exempt some employees from hours-of-work requirements
By: Julius Melnitzer | October 31, 2023 New amendments to the Canada Labour Code will exempt some employees from the legislation’s hours-of-work requirements. “These amendments are a rare example of changes that employers in the federal sector will welcome and, in some respects, [will] align the CLC to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act,” says Landon Young, managing […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Anti-Israel stance costs law students their jobs | Pornhub sues for TM infringement | Counsel suspended for naming sexual assault complainants | Not Mother’s Day: son sues mother’s law firm for “cold and callous” conduct | Fake lawyer wins 26 consecutive cases |
By Julius Melnitzer | October 19, 2023 DAVIS POLK RESCINDS JOB OFFERS TO PRO-HAMAS HARVARD STUDENTS Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, a top UK law firm that employs about 1,000 lawyers, has withdrawn job offers to three Harvard and Columbia students who signed statements blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks and expressing support for Palestinians. […]
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 […]
Artificially Human?
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | September 25, 2023 I have a theory about life which I espouse in my less optimistic moments. My theory is that for many people, things become less and less familiar as they age. What is socially acceptable changes, people dress and act differently, friends and family […]
Will generative AI sink the billable hour pricing model?
David Cohen, senior director, client services delivery at McCarthy Tétrault LLP By Julius Melnitzer | August 2, 2023 Generative artificial intelligence could be the catalyst that portends the long-predicted death of the billable hour. “Clients have been clamouring for new pricing models for some time, and generative AI – which can produce answers in seconds instead […]
For more than most, COVID was a maelstrom for Kath Hammond, GC at Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Kath Hammond says her team’s tightly-knit, non-hierarchical structure lent itself well to the challenges COVID presented By Julius Melnitzer | July 31, 2023 It’s unlikely that COVID proved more of a maelstrom for a legal department leader than it did for Kath Hammond, Vice-President and General Counsel, Corporate Safety and Security at the Greater Toronto Airports […]
The squeeze on general counsel and legal departments has reached new heights: report
TD’s Kashif Zaman says it will be a while before AI makes a workload impact for legal departments By Julius Melnitzer | July 26, 2023 The squeeze on general counsel and legal departments has reached new heights, according to The General Counsel Report 2023, a joint white paper from global consultancies FTI Consulting, Inc. and Relativity. “For […]
Laura Salvatori, Anson Funds’ GC, has found satisfaction in straddling the cross-border world
Salvatori says GC roles attract people who like being jacks of all trades and rolling their sleeves up By Julius Melnitzer | July 8, 2023 Based in Toronto but with her “heart in New York,” Laura Salvatori, Anson Funds’ general counsel, has found satisfaction by straddling both worlds. Anson is a privately held alternative asset management […]
Sheila Ritson-Bennett says a creative mindset at Corus Entertainment bodes well for her ESG program
Sheila Ritson-Bennett says Corus culture has a level of courage about new ideas By Julius Melnitzer | June 26, 2023 The creative and entrepreneurial mindset at Corus Entertainment Inc., says Sheila Ritson-Bennett, the company’s first head of environment and sustainability, governance, bodes well for the goals she is striving to achieve. “People are very open and […]
Stepping out of her comfort zone is the key to success for Isabelle Durand, CLO at iA Financial
Isabelle Durand had much to learn when she moved to the highly regulated financial services sector By Julius Melnitzer | June 16, 2023 When Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. asked Isabelle Durand to step out of her comfort zone and become the company’s vice president and chief legal officer, she jumped at the opportunity: […]