Latest
Thursday, September 21, 2023 @ 10:17 AM
Early career marketing strategies: A personal injury lawyer’s perspective | Victoria Edwards
Entering my fourth year as a personal injury lawyer, I have found that navigating the legal field requires more than just an understanding of the law; it requires a strategic approach to marketing and self-promotion. I have been fortunate to receive guidance from many senior lawyers, each of whom has imparted their wisdom and shared their own experiences with me. One of the most important takeaways I’ve garnered is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. ... [read more]
Thursday, September 14, 2023 @ 4:37 PM
Mental health, governance of legal profession top of mind for new B.C. bar president
The newly minted president of the Canadian Bar Association’s B.C. branch (CBABC) is saying he wants to tackle mental health concerns in the legal profession as part of his term in office, noting a recent study which raised alarm bells about how many lawyers were struggling — and an issue which he has his own lived experience with. ... [read more]
Wednesday, September 13, 2023 @ 3:38 PM
Legal regulators challenge new tax law compelling bar to report clients’ confidential information
Canada’s more than 155,000 legal professionals — with a global reputation for successfully challenging multiple unconstitutional state incursions on the bar’s independence and ethical duties to clients — went to court again Sept. 11, this time battling what they contend is yet another bid by Ottawa over the past 25 years to turn them into state agents, in this instance by mandating that legal professionals report to federal tax authorities confidential client information about certain client tax transactions that might constitute tax avoidance. ... [read more]
Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 2:14 PM
All lawyers must know technology used by courts: experts
Regardless of age, practice or jurisdiction, lawyers must stay up-to-speed on technologies now being used by courts post-pandemic, say experts following a strongly worded “cautionary tale” out of Alberta’s highest court. ... [read more]
Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 1:50 PM
Goal of SABS is to reduce economic hardship of accident victims
The Ontario Divisional Court recently issued a decision that reminds insureds, insurers and Licence Appeal Tribunal adjudicators that the goal of the statutory accident benefits schedule (SABS) is to reduce the economic dislocation and hardship of motor vehicle accident victims. When adjudicating disputes between insurers and their insureds, the tribunal should interpret the SABS in a remedial and inclusive way. ... [read more]
Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 2:37 PM
Ottawa names Quebec Court of Appeal judge to lead public inquiry into ‘foreign interference’
The Liberal government has established a “Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions,” following all-party agreement to the new commission of inquiry’s terms of reference and its commissioner. ... [read more]
Thursday, September 07, 2023 @ 1:36 PM - Last Updated: Friday, September 08, 2023 @ 4:45 PM
Tribunal’s ‘good character’ decision ‘black mark’ on profession, lawyer says; LSO appeals
The Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) appeal of a Law Society Tribunal decision casts into the spotlight the need for lawyers to be of “good character.” The tribunal’s decision, which determined that a man who admitted to sexually abusing minors was of “good character,” granting his application for an L1 licence, is a “black mark” on the profession, a lawyer stressed. ... [read more]
Wednesday, September 06, 2023 @ 12:51 PM
Ottawa consults Black Canadians, legal support groups on ending anti-Black racism in justice system
With a view to ending the criminal justice system’s systemic discrimination and overrepresentation of Black people, both as accused and as victims, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun online and in-person consultations asking Black people and their communities — as well as representatives of organizations that provide justice-related services and supports to Black communities — their views on developing Canada’s “Black Justice Strategy.” ... [read more]
Wednesday, September 06, 2023 @ 12:07 PM
Quebec appellate decision underlines need to implement robust workplace safety measures: experts
An appeal by a Quebec City company that was found guilty of criminal negligence causing the death of one of its workers was dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeal in a “very important” decision that may spur law enforcement officials and Crown prosecutors across the country to be more aggressive and hold to account organizations and decision-makers for workplace deaths, according to legal experts. ... [read more]
Tuesday, September 05, 2023 @ 4:45 PM
Ottawa extends tenure, assessments of judicial advisory committees to three years from two
Faced with loud complaints that Ottawa chronically takes too long to fill vacancies on the superior courts, the Liberal government has announced that new members of its 17 judicial advisory committees (JACs) which vet applications for the bench across Canada will serve for three years, rather than two, while the JACs’ evaluations of individual applicants as “highly recommended,” “recommended” and “unable to recommend” for the federal benches are similarly extended to three years from two, as of Aug. 1. ... [read more]
