Our Take On Things

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...

Lots of collection litigation is rolling into the firm again.  The talk of the R word, the increase in interest rates are all coming together to have people take a hard look at their receivables.  Of course, the fact we’re just into the last quarter of 2022...

Some time ago, Inga asked me to look into some resources to present to our firm ahead of the September 30th Truth and Reconciliation Day.   I stumbled upon the Legacy of Hope Foundation, which is an organization that aims to educate and create awareness about the...

If you are an avid blog reader of ours, you may remember that my last blog post was about the importance of getting your employment agreements reviewed periodically. This ensures that your agreements are still compliant with both current legislation and case law,...

Well, there goes the summer.  Did you get to enjoy it?  I sure did, and had a few sunburns to show for it.  But as with every summer that comes and goes, I always think to myself that I can no longer wear my white pants.    Speaking of...

When I entered the legal field as an articling student in 2019, I was well aware of the legal profession’s reputation for being resistant to change. But in 2020, I watched just about every aspect of this profession adapt to become digital as courts adopted new...