The Complete Brief
-
February 06, 2026
B.C. appoints 12 new sheriffs to provincial courthouses
B.C. has announced that 12 new sheriffs will be posted to provincial courthouses in communities across the province.
-
February 06, 2026
B.C. launches free platform for virtual court services help
B.C. has introduced a new centralized virtual counter service for people to receive free help and advice in navigating the court system from anywhere in the province.
-
February 06, 2026
Justice Lauwers urges swearing in self-represented litigants when submissions amount to evidence
Justice Peter Lauwers of the Ontario Court of Appeal has recommended that self-represented litigants who make submissions that amount to evidence be sworn in, placed in the witness box and made subject to immediate cross-examination.
-
February 06, 2026
Wills and estates 101: Understanding legal terms
My colleague, Marly Peikes, wrote an article way back in 2023 that demystified some common legal terms used in Ontario estate and trust planning. While an entire textbook could be filled with estate-related legal jargon, for now, we want to provide our readers with greater clarity on even more commonly used terms in the estate and trust realm, with the goal of making this legal landscape a little less intimidating.
-
February 06, 2026
Ryan Ejim joins Massey LLP to launch practice for retired athletes
Ryan Ejim, a former professional basketball player turned corporate lawyer, has joined Massey LLP as an associate, where he is building a new practice focused on advising retired professional athletes.
-
February 06, 2026
EVIDENCE - Admissibility - Private communications - Inadmissible interceptions - Privileged communications
Appeal by the Crown from a judgment of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal which affirmed the acquittal of Fox. Fox was a criminal defence lawyer whose client was the subject of wiretap authorization.
-
February 05, 2026
Appeal Court addresses sentencing challenges for multi-million-dollar fraudsters
At one time, the only guidance the Criminal Code provided to sentencing judges was the minimum and maximum sentences applicable to crimes. Although criticized by a Sentencing Commission, denunciation and deterrence became key sentencing considerations and were even incorporated into the Code.
-
February 06, 2026
MORTGAGES - Mortgagee’s remedies - Judicial sale - Mortgagee’s rights - Right to redemption - Limits
Appeal by Donald and Sandra Monastyrski (collectively, the Monastyrskis) from a decision dismissing their application to set aside an order nisi for sale and granting Affinity Credit Union’s (Affinity) application to confirm a judicial sale. The central issue in this appeal was the correct interpretation of s. 44(12.3) of the Saskatchewan Farm Security Act (SFSA).
-
February 06, 2026
Why I help pro athletes find their post-retirement careers
A sprawling betting scheme to rig National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Chinese Basketball Association games ensnared 26 people, including more than a dozen college basketball players who tried to fix games in the 2024-25 season, U.S. federal prosecutors said in an Associated Press report from Jan. 15.
-
February 06, 2026
Twice as good for a quarter as much: Are fathers held to a higher standard in family court?
My friend Jason asked me — casually, the way people do when they are pretending they are not carrying a question around like a stone in their pocket — “Hodine, why I don’t write an article about women having more rights in family court.” He didn’t ask it like an accusation. He didn’t frame it as an argument. He asked it the way people ask things they’ve heard too many times to ignore.