Our Take On Things

Our firm has been working non-stop since the Pandemic arrived advising our clients on the various new pieces of legislation that impact them right now. The cycle of advice has fallen into a familiar rhythm: There are rumours of a Government program coming down the...

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and we are all working from home, I was forced to defend a client who was served with a claim where the allegations made against them were based upon the Plaintiff speculating what happened.  There was no evidence attached to...

How is everyone doing?  Is everyone social distancing and following the guidelines the government wants us to?  Are you working from home, or are you still essential service?  Do you have young ones at home that are now home schooled for the foreseeable...

If you’ve ever seen or attempted to read a business contract, you know how long these documents can be. You might even be annoyed by all the “boilerplate” clauses thrown into the contract. Let’s face it, the parties really only care about the meat of the agreement;...

Have you noticed all of the emails companies are sending out telling you what they are doing due to Covid-19?  I appreciate the ones from grocery stores that are letting me know how things are changing.   I do not appreciate the ones from online software services I...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...