Our Take On Things
If you Lose, You Pay
The news today contains two stories about parties seeking or being ordered to pay legal fees over $ 100 000.00 to a party on the other side of a law suit. Helena Guergis has been ordered to pay $ 118 560.00 to the defendants she unsuccessfully sued for defamation...
Lawsuits
In the last month we’ve seen one, then two, and now three interesting, and completely expected lawsuits. I’m talking about the class actions against the federal government for the loss of a data drive containing the personal information about student borrowers. As a...
Should lawyers play nice
As litigation lawyers, Inga and I walk a fine line between being an advocate on behalf of a client and straying into the use of words or actions that would have a label of “incivility” tossed in our direction. Our law society is always trumpeting the need for lawyers...
Get it in writing – it's cheaper
A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal drives home once again the title of this blog: put intentions in writing. The case of Mountain v. Mountain Estate 2012 ONCA 806 is the sad story of what happens when people rely on an oral contract to handle complex...
Does it matter that our Premier designate is a Woman?
This weekend the Liberal Party of Ontario elected the first woman who will Premier of Ontario. This woman also happens to be openly Gay. As I read the news headlines I couldn't help but think, do either matter? It is 2013: when do we stop labelling people by their...
The Cost of Complying with the Law
I heard an interesting report on the news yesterday and followed it up by reading an article in the Globe & Mail today about the cost to Ontario Small Business due to red tape. As you're reading this Blog Entry, scroll down to the one Scott wrote last week - notice...
Playing by the Rules
The news is buzzing this morning with reports that Lance Armstrong has admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. I find it unsurprising, if a little disappointing. Lance is a great athlete, but it’s important to play by the rules of whatever game you find...
Enforcing Court Orders – Mr. Justice David Brown got it right
I read with interest yesterday as The decision of The Honourable Mr. Justice David Brown in the CN Rail blockade was discussed in the media. I applaud his Honour speaking plainly with respect to the failure of the police to enforce his Order, we need more of that in...
Blogging into the New Year
The Mayans were wrong, so we can all continue the tradition of reflecting on the year that was and resolving ways to improve 2013. There were some interesting Supreme Court decisions that were released this year and make are interesting to reflect on, though probably...
Scrooged
Well, this has been a fantastic week hasn't it? (sarcasm alert, in case it was missed) Shootings, strikes, threats of more strikes, Human Rights Complaints about Merry Christmas Signs & Albino Rhino Beer. Kind of sucks the fun out of the holidays, doesn't it? Of...
Social Media and Death
Continuing on my unintended multi-part series on social media and the law…this week we talk about what happens with your social media when you die. There are very few directives that you can make in Ontario which will have any legal effect after you die. Organ...
The Legal Side of the Headlines
Two issues have been dominating the Greater Toronto Area headlines the past few weeks: The Teacher’s Unions work to rule action and Rob Ford’s Conflict of Interest Case. As I write this blog, the Rob Ford conflict matter is headed for an argument on a Stay, pending...
Social Media in the Workplace – a Balancing Act
As practicing lawyers and business people, we’re not supposed to weigh in on contentious issues; so this week I’m not going to talk about the Middle East, Mayor Ford, plastic shopping bag bans, the Argos or the Nicki Minaj and Steven Tyler twitter feud. Except that I...
Information Security
While there are undoubtedly any number of juicy moral indiscretions to be observed in the Petraeus scandal that has been unfolding over the past few weeks, for me, the informational security issues are the most salacious. It hasn’t been explicitly detailed, but it...
Law Libraries
I received an email this week advising that there is talk of reducing funding to Ontario’s Law Libraries which could lead to their closure. When I found myself in a Law Library this morning, preparing for Court, I wondered what impact that would have on me personally....
How Not to Treat Your Employees
Security in the workplace is important, as we expect those reading this blog will have sensitive information in their businesses that need protection. As you would protect your computers and servers with passwords, so you want to control entry to your place of...
Articling – Should it stay or should it go?
The Law Society of Upper Canada, the governing body of lawyers in Ontario, is currently grappling with the issue of Articling. Articling is a “practicum” that lawyers, who have finished law school and the bar admission course, complete with a law firm before being...
Signing Apps
With the increasing digitization of documentation and the proliferation of smartphones, we’re seeing an interesting trend in the apps marketplace – apps that allow users to digitally “sign” PDFs or other document types with their fingers. As a techie, I am impressed...
Limitation Periods – How quickly do you have to sue?
It's funny how the same topic can raise its head in different ways on the same day. Today was that day for me with respect to Limitation Periods. I know, really? Limitation Periods are not that interesting at the best of times, let alone twice in one day. The first...
City Licensing Issues
There’s an interesting news item making its way around today about a lawsuit against the City of Toronto and councilor Adam Vaughan. The suit alleges, among other things (or “inter alia”, as they taught us in law school) that the City and the councilor went overboard...
Should you become a lawyer?
In the past few months I have had the privilege of being consulted by many students considering a career as a lawyer. These students come from different places in their education, high school, undergraduate degree and even a couple studying outside of Canada. Many...