Our Take On Things
The Joy of Mentoring
Within the past few weeks I have had the joy of hearing how two of our former Articling Students have come to realize their “dream positions” and I have been asked to reflect on my personal career path that lead to my life as a Business Trial Lawyer. I was interviewed...
Follow Through
In this blog entry, I will tell you one simple rule that is guaranteed to reduce all of your legal fees, increase your protection from liability and ensure that your affairs are in order. Actually, I already have in the title of this entry – follow through. If you...
Everything I need to know, I learned from the movies (except for the actual Law School stuff)
It’s almost autumn, when a young girl’s fancy turns to movies. Maybe it’s the changing leaves, resplendent in the colours of a Woody Allen set. Or the start of another school year, which brings to mind The Breakfast Club, Rushmore and, erm, Animal House. Most likely...
Dead People and What to Do With their Stuff
Lately we’ve had a lot of inquiries from clients about preparing their wills. This seems to happen when the weather turns cold: much like squirrels gathering nuts for winter, people organize their affairs for when they pass away. However, many people, carrying through...
Sensitive Information
Earlier this week the press treated us to the intimate details of the life of a Manitoba judge and her lawyer husband. As reports go, a few years ago, the husband took some private pictures of his wife and then, during a period of depression, posted them on the...
Generally in Defence of our Civil Court System
The Court System in Canada is in the news this week, in particular the allegation that judges are appointed in Quebec in an unethical manner. I don’t practice in Quebec, so I have no opinion on that story, well, not one I’m putting in a Blog in any event. The Civil...
Watch What You Say
A recent Court of Appeal decision has reminded me of the sage teachings of my Father; if you don’t have anything nice to say, shut your big fat mouth…or something to that effect. In Black v. Breeden, the Court held that Conrad Black is free to pursue a libel action...
Why I'm glad I practice Business Law.
What a crazy week in the headlines – three matters jump to mind that make me grateful I’m a business law lawyer: Paris Hilton is being sued for wearing the wrong hair extensions. Really? Perhaps it’s just my advanced age, but I didn’t even realize she was wearing...
Remote Work
As Inga has noted, summertime is vacation time. For many of us, it’s the time of year when we try to take a week or two and get away from it all. Cool lakes, Muskoka chairs, quiet sunsets and melodious loons all beckon. But again for many of us, it’s almost...
Summertime – It's Not Just for Vacations Anymore
I fondly recall summertime when I was a kid – two months of no school & lots of fun, free time and sleeping in. As a teenager and then young adult in University, I loved summer time as the two to four months when I could earn a lot of money … and spend it as...
Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later
I have been working on some trade-mark opposition work lately; the kind of work that involves advocating against the registration of a trade-mark. We do this sort of thing when a client has registered or unregistered trade-mark rights and where someone else is trying...
We're off to Small Claims Court – now what?
If you work for money, sell stuff for money, or rent anything in exchange for money, you probably already know something about the Small Claims Court and, more than likely, have had some experience there yourself. Small Claims Court deals with disputes with a monetary...
The Psychology of Debt Collection
What does the field of psychology have to say on how to collect a debt from your customer? You may not think it has much to offer. But you would be wrong. Consider what psychologists call the “anchoring effect”. It’s a simple concept. If you give a debtor a...
Be Prepared – A Motto Not Just for Girl Guides Anymore
If you work in the Greater Toronto area, then as I type this blog entry (Friday, G8/G20 day) you have likely realized this week that you needed to change how you work due to the summit meetings being held in our area. Many have had to figure out how to work from home...
Ambush Marketing
There is word on the wire from the World Cup watch that several Dutch women have been arrested for engaging in a scantily clad “ambush campaign” to promote a Dutch beer at the games in South Africa. And of course, as this firm officially supports the Oranje and all...
The World Cup, G20 and Bears
In the Greater Toronto Area we're about to enter a few weeks that likely will result in some notable challenges for businesses including absences of employees from the workplace. The World Cup starts tomorrow (Hup Holland! ) and with that, there may be a temptation...
What do you do? We're Business Lawyers.
Lately I've found that I don't like the way I have traditionally answered the question: "What do you do?" My answer for the past 17 years has generally been "I"m a corporate/commercial trial lawyer". This response has generally lead to blank stares and for those...
The Safeguarding Canadians’ Personal Information Act – Bill C-29
I am hoping that two consecutive blogs about pending legislation doesn’t mean this is turning into a political blog. But the introduction of the bill this week caught me by surprise and it looks like it might have a few tidbits that will be of interest to many of my...
A little over a month to go until the HST
It’s not as if this topic is something we’re looking forward to, but it will be a reality for Ontario at the end of next month – the HST is coming and it will make a change to the bottom line on your legal fees. Currently only GST is charged on legal fees. Certain...
Copyright Reform
Experts predict that sweeping changes to our current copyright system will be tabled in Parliament sometime next month. With mounting pressure from the United States, it is likely that the current effort will bring about actual legislation this time – a fate...
Professional Corporations
It’s the last day to file your personal income taxes, so tax status and the treatment of income is on my mind. That and the fact that we’ve had a few questions from professional clients recently about the advantages of incorporating their practices means that today...