Our Take On Things
You Better Show Up to Court (Or Else) [once They are open again]
I previously wrote a blog about successfully getting an Order to serve a Notice of Contempt Hearing by regular mail as the debtor was (with the assistance of his parents) evading service. Our client spent a lot of money trying to get them served without success. Well,...
Is Your Business Protected From Viruses?
There are so many things out there that can affect your company. Even time change can affect your company (tired employees the next day). Do you have what you need to protect your company? Given the hype over the last month or so, we are talking about...
Keeping Employees Safe and Keeping the Lights on in the Business
Covid19. This is a powerful virus and I’m not just referring to the medical aspects of it. Covid19 is crashing the stock market, highlighting poor government responses in some countries and excellent responses in others. Businesses have been responding in different...
You Can Complain, But You Cannot (Usually) Hide at the HRTO
If you aren’t savvy with acronyms, the “HRTO” is the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. This Tribunal deals with claims of discrimination and harassment brought under the Ontario Human Rights Code. As business lawyers we have seen a dramatic increase in the...
Employment Agreements Matter
It’s coldish, there is a lot of snow, (sometimes) the days are short and the nights are long. That’s right, it’s February. What better way to celebrate a mild month than to have a Teacher’s strike? For those, like me, with young children being...
Family Business
As we all look back fondly on the Family Day we just celebrated, or perhaps with a “see ya later suckers” attitude, it seemed like the right day to Blog about family businesses. The mere mention of Family Business sets off the gentle ding ding of alarm bells in most...
Just Consent Already
It is very frustrating to deal with parties who act unreasonably in a matter. That frustration gets taken up a notch (or forty) when the other party is self-represented, because they usually don’t know how the Court process works. I am having a tonsillectomy...
Death, Taxes & Secondary Wills
Even in death we often can’t escape the tax man. When we die, estate administration tax, or “probate fees,” become payable. These fees, which are approximately 1.5% of the value of a deceased’s estate, can add up. However, some smart estate planning by your lawyer can...
It’s Your Right To Not Receive Spam
It amazes me how many times I check my email, professional and personal, and see the amount of “junk” mail that is there, especially with all the big hype when CASL came into force July 1, 2014. Sure, I ordered off your website ONCE, does that mean I need to get...
It’s Not Bullying, It’s Litigation
Ontario’s Civil Court system is an adversarial system. This means lawyers on opposite side of the case are paid to put forward opposite points of view. This means the lawyers will disagree. They can do so civilly, but at the end of the day,...
What Makes Andriessen & Associates So Great ?
I was recently in Court and a very large Toronto law firm brought a Motion to reinstate an action that had been dismissed for delay. The Defendant argued that not only should the action remain dismissed for delay, it should remain dismissed for the Plaintiff’s failure...
Ignorance Isn’t Bliss if Your Being Sued
Have you or your company been served with a Statement of Claim? If so, this means exactly what you think it means - you my friend, are being sued. Whether you are being sued by a client, vendor, or another business, this will not go away on its own. It may be that you...
Can a Law Clerk do Everything?
We always do what we can to keep fees down for the client and we have mentioned it time and time again about our flat fees. As much as we try to keep fees less surprising for our clients, there are just some areas where there can be no compromise. For...
Holiday Ho Ho Ho
The holiday season is here and from the paranoid, Scrooge McDuck Laywer point of view, this brings a lot of potential liability into your Business. Let’s start off with this Blog title. Ho Ho Ho is only o.k. in the workplace if it is in reference to Santa’s...
Big News in Small Claims Court!
In 2010, the Ontario Government increased the monetary limit of the Small Claims Court from $10,000.00 to $25,000.00. On January 1, 2020 the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court will increase to $35,000.00 as the Government believes this will help resolve...
Why Corporate By-Laws Matter
Are you incorporating your business or already incorporated? Do you know what corporate by-laws are? Corporate by-laws – if you don’t know – are rules for your corporation, which are established by your business’ Board of Directors when the corporation is being set...
Let’s Talk Legal Fees
I often hear complaints about how expensive lawyers are, and we understand. The rule of thumb usually is you get what you pay for. Sometimes that’s not always the case when it comes to lawyers. You can find a good lawyer and not have to take a second mortgage out...
Making New Law in Small Claims Court
In 2018 our firm obtained judgment against a debtor on behalf of a client in Small Claims Court. We enforced the judgment by garnishing a bank account, only garnishing a small amount of the judgment. After the garnishment was issued, the debtor provided a low-ball...
The Relevance of Remembering
November 11 is coming up soon, our day to remember those who died in order to obtain and protect our freedom. I find the remembrance day following our federal elections always to be interesting. People who chose not to vote are still claiming to appreciate the...
Did you vote ?
The election has come and gone, and there were a few shake ups. The Liberals lost seats, the Conservatives and NDP’s gained seats, and we now have a minority government. Records broken for the advance voting, however, the overall voting percentage was just...
Is Your Interest Rate Enforceable?
Do you charge interest on your invoices that are paid late, and if so, what is that rate? Is that interest rate on your invoice a monthly rate or an annual rate? Did your client acknowledge and accept that interest rate as a term of your engagement? These are some...