Pulse
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August 11, 2025
‘The fight of our lifetime’: ABA president receives award for defending rule of law
“This is the fight of our lifetime,” said American Bar Association (ABA) president William Bay while receiving the Ontario Bar Association’s (OBA) President’s Award on behalf of American lawyers on Aug. 7. The award comes as the ABA has launched a lawsuit against the United States federal government for allegedly using its powers to coerce lawyers and law firms to abandon clients, causes and policy positions President Donald Trump opposes.
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August 11, 2025
What has Ontario’s law society’s CEO salary scandal really cost us?
As I wrote here in March, Ontario’s Law Society has recently been rocked by the biggest scandal in its existence. The genesis of the controversy was the approval of a massive compensation increase (ultimately worth substantially more than $1 million) to their former CEO by a single signature — that of former treasurer Jacqueline Horvat. I personally find it fascinating that anyone could possibly imagine that was how that worked, when the law society’s bylaws require 10 signatures on any motion a licensee may wish to bring at their AGM.
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August 08, 2025
Federal judges seek $60K pay hike but Ottawa says no raise needed to attract senior bar to bench
Chief justices are pointing to newly disclosed data about private bar lawyers’ rising incomes and declining appointments to the bench to bolster the judiciary’s contention that inadequate judicial compensation and onerous job demands are deterring “outstanding” lawyers from seeking federal judicial appointments.
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August 08, 2025
Ontario announces expanded London Justice Centre to aid at-risk youth
The Government of Ontario has announced the opening of the London Justice Centre expansion, a “newly renovated downtown facility located in Youth Opportunities Unlimited’s (YOU) Joan’s Place.”
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August 08, 2025
New N.S. AI guidebook warns of over-reliance in legal practices
Nova Scotia’s law society is using a new guidebook to warn members against becoming over-reliant on artificial intelligence in their practices — and urging them to heed instances where lawyers ended up in hot water over its misuse.
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August 08, 2025
Ontario Court of Justice appoints seven new judges
The Ontario government has announced the appointment of seven new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective Aug. 13, 2025.
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August 08, 2025
Should AI be declared a separate legal personality? Go ask your motherboard
Hey humans! Should AI be declared a separate legal personality? The Law Commission in England is studying the notion, noting the thought is not farfetched. This means the entity can be a "person" in the eyes of the law, such as corporations, sovereign states, etc. all capable of owning property, entering into contracts, suing, and being sued.
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August 08, 2025
Being smart is not what it’s cracked up to be
Parents teach their children about success by reference to how things were during their productive years. To my grandparents, success was a job in the front office at the factory, rather than on the production floor. My parents hoped that their children would become professionals. I wanted my children to achieve some work/life balance.
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August 08, 2025
Thinking out loud: Mulling changes to Canada’s Online News Act
In response to the seismic shift in how news is consumed and distributed in Canada and elsewhere in the world, Canadian policymakers embarked on a journey to try to rebalance the power dynamics between tech giants and domestic news outlets. With ubiquitous use of smartphones, audiences began accessing news online rather than through traditional print and broadcast channels.
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August 07, 2025
MLT Aikins welcomes Kember Handzic as partner
MLT Aikins has announced the addition of Edmonton litigator Kember Handzic to its partnership.