Pulse
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January 20, 2026
Devry Smith Frank adds associate David Cooper
Devry Smith Frank LLP (DSF) has welcomed David Cooper as an associate in its collections and mortgage recovery and commercial litigation groups.
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January 20, 2026
Dickinson Wright names 2 new Toronto partners
Dickinson Wright has named Ryan Cooper and David Seifer as partners in its Toronto office, as part of a broader class of 16 new members and partners primarily based in the United States, according to the firm.
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January 20, 2026
The new copyright, AI and pictures: Article 70 and the Italian path to the EU AI Act
The rapid ascent of generative AI has turned the act of “looking” into a legal battlefield. For an AI model to generate a picture, it must first “digest” millions of existing ones. In response to this technical reality, the Italian parliament’s fall 2025 reform introduced Article 70-septies into the Italian Copyright Law (ICL). This provision represents the “Italian path” toward harmonizing national intellectual property law with the landmark European Union AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).
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January 20, 2026
Das Kapital and the making of Canadian employment law
Karl Marx’s Das Kapital remains one of the most influential critiques of industrial capitalism. Although Canada has never adopted a Marxist economic model, the themes articulated in Das Kapital have indirectly shaped the trajectory of Canadian employment law.
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January 19, 2026
What estate litigators can expect in 2026
2025 marked significant updates in estate litigation, introducing key reforms for practitioners. Changes to Estate Forms under Rules 74, 74.1 and 75 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which took effect mid-August to simplify probate applications, will remain active into 2026. A notable Ontario Superior Court ruling in Mavalwala Estate v. Fast, 2025 ONSC 4100 confirmed that only physically executed wills are valid, and that electronic drafts are not valid. There have also been discussions regarding the changes to the Rules, which started in 2025 and will be implemented in 2026.
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January 19, 2026
MLT Aikins adds 4 associates across Western Canada
MLT Aikins has welcomed four associate lawyers to its offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon, according to the firm.
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January 19, 2026
Loopstra Nixon announces its 2026 partners
Loopstra Nixon has named eight new partners representing a broad range of practice areas.
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January 19, 2026
B.C. Appeal Court judge’s bail decision conforms to law, not public pressure
A recent CBC News report stated that overcrowding at the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold, Ont., reached its highest level since 2019 in the first half of 2025. Its occupancy rate stands at 136 per cent. The report further states that, in 2024, 89 per cent of the jail’s population were awaiting trial and presumed innocent. It also quotes University of Ottawa criminology professor Justin Piché as saying, “Several of those folks will exit prison, never having been convicted of anything.”
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January 19, 2026
11 tips to get the most for your clients in mediation
In mediation, disputing parties explore whether they can agree on a resolution with the help of a neutral mediator. By contrast, in a trial or arbitration, the conflict ends with a decision imposed by a third party, and remedies are restricted to what is legally available. In mediation, the decision-makers are the parties themselves, and any resolution can be tailored specifically to their interests.
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January 16, 2026
SCC’s packed winter session features momentous appeal on Charter s. 33 override provision
The Supreme Court of Canada began hearings in its very busy winter session this week, which features a potentially watershed constitutional appeal and the surprise announcement that Justice Sheilah Martin, the court’s senior western judge, will retire next spring.