Our Take On Things

It’s a question that’s been bothering me ever since Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist and host of Infowars, filed for bankruptcy back in December of 2022. For those who may not remember, Jones spent years claiming that the 2012 massacre of 20 young...

If a tenant just abandons their goods in your premises, it’s often tempting for the Landlord to toss out those things left behind, however, if you do that without warning, then you’ve got a bit of a legal issues to deal with. In some situations the Repair and Storage...

More times than not, service providers will submit invoices to their customers that have a term specifying an interest rate for its outstanding accounts.  Several clients have inquired whether the rate of interest on an invoice is enforceable or not. Without a...

We’re already in the second month of 2023, and the high of the holidays has completely worn off. We’re left with the cold winter months, and for us here in Toronto, we went about 22 days without seeing the sun.  Our Work/Life Balance meeting last month touched on...

I recently watched a four-part Netflix docuseries called “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” Aside from the wave of nostalgia that had me reaching for my Tamagotchi, it left me thinking about the necessity of clear and enforceable disclaimers. The documentary follows the attempt...

Many of you who have read some of my older blogs, you know that there is nothing more I love than finally get a client the money back that they are owed.  In particular, when a debtor attempts to hide assets such as property or bank accounts, tracking those down...

Ontario, we need to talk. You have a backlog problem in your courts but especially in your tribunals. I know it seems like legal professionals have been complaining about judicial backlogs since before the Code of Hammurabi was even chiseled into stone, but you have a...

People occasionally get so caught up in their feelings about being wronged or owed money that they forget to think about some of the important factors to consider before suing someone. Feelings aside, below are a few factors to consider before you litigate: Can You...

It’s that time of the year again when everyone LOVES making New Year’s Resolutions, and year after year, almost everyone loses motivation in the second half of January. Whether goals are work related or personal, for some reason people see the annual passage of time...

An interesting case came to my attention just in time for it to be my turn to write the firm’s weekly Blog.   The case is Kiselman v. Klerer, 2022 ONCA 489.    This is a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal overturning two decisions below...

Most employers know that they need a clear and enforceable employment agreement with their employees, but many forget the importance of workplace policies. Let’s start with the policies you must have in the workplace – these are mandated by legislation. Among the list...

I’m going to get a little personal here, but it’s for a very good reason. A close family member of mine over that last year and a half has been on a leave of absence more than they have been actually working.  In June of 2021, they suffered a massive heart attack...

As a former tax-lawyer, one thing that never fails to surprise me is how often intelligent and sophisticated clients fail to consider the tax implications of multimillion-dollar deals and transactions. I remember working on a file with a client who had recently sold...

The other day we received a Notice of Trial from the Court.  The date of the Trial was November 1, 2022 at 8:30am.  However, the Notice of Trial was dated November 7, 2022.  This brought on some confusion, especially since the Settlement Conference in...

There was a time when a Blog with this title was only, ever about Small Claims Court.  That’s not the case today. In Ontario, the Rules of Civil Procedure govern steps in a lawsuit.  The Associate Judges and Judges interpret and apply those Rules and in the past,...

(Alternate Title: Voter Turnout – SHOW THE F UP!) In light of the recent Municipal Election, I’ve swapped my law student hat for my political hat, and I decided to write this week’s blog on the importance of voter turnout and participation. The Association of...

Are you electronically spying… ahem …we mean “monitoring” your employees? Well, you will be pleased to know that nothing under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario) (“ESA”) prevents you from doing so. It is not uncommon in this digital age for employers to...

We are now just about a year after the launch of the Ministry’s Ontario Business Registry and I thought it would be a great chance to revisit my previous blog on the matter. When I first wrote about the new Registry, I mentioned the issues with learning curves and...

In my last blog post, I discussed the role of technology in improving the efficiency of our judicial system and increasing access to justice. For those of you who might not have watched the opening of the courts earlier this month, Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz...

There is a new frustration that is slowly becoming a problem: Small Claims Court offices making their own rules and procedures which do not follow Ministry guidelines, which is causing unnecessary delays.  Here are a few examples: We recently served a corporate...