It transpired, on the cusp of partnership, that one of the lawyer’s junior associates arranged a meeting with a CEO of a tech startup and presented an irresistible synergy.* The startup was a match for a client, a deep-pocketed conglomerate on the lookout for an investment. A buy-out of the startup would rocket the client’s value on the market and establish the lawyer as the go-to man for equity financing, credit facilities, a corporate governance overhaul, an IPO, and produce corresponding billings. Such a catch would net him first partnership, then power dwarfing the law firm itself and finally propel . . . [more] The post Clean Hands appeared first on Slaw.

If mediation is meant to provide a genuine opportunity to resolve disputes, why do so many mediation briefs read like pleadings and offer little value to the process? This article examines the pitfalls of current practice and offers practical guidance on how to make briefs work as genuine tools of persuasion for counsel. Mediation briefs are meant to advance settlement. Yet too often, they do the opposite. Instead of opening space for dialogue, they entrench positions. Instead of persuading the other party, they restate pleadings which can inflame an already tense situation. Why do so many briefs fall short? In . . . [more] The post Why Mediation Briefs Fail and How to Make Them Work appeared first on Slaw.

Recently, I was tasked with a particularly complicated legal research question which involved one of my favorite topics: capital cities. The information and analysis we needed was only available to us once we managed to see the pieces through the thread of this place’s capital city. The crucial need to know the capital city of this place was not apparent to us at the beginning of the legal research journey. We had clearly ignored an important step in every foreign or national legal research. But what’s in a capital city? And how can it help you in your legal research . . . [more] The post Capital Cities and Foreign Legal Research appeared first on Slaw.

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible. This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. À bon droit 2. Avoid a Claim 3. Michael Geist 4. Barry Sookman 5. Eloise Gratton À bon droit La solution à la difficulté pour le promettant-vendeur d’intenter une action en passation de titre serait-elle l’injonction interlocutoire? Nous avons traité ce matin des grandes difficultés qui attendent . . . [more] The post Monday’s Mix appeared first on Slaw.

It is rare that a term of imprisonment is given for breach of a Court Order, such as an injunction. The Federal Court issued an Anton Pillar order in a case of copyright infringement involving a pirate IPTV streaming service. After the persistent refusal of the defendant to comply, the Court was forced to consider a term of imprisonment as an inducement to seek compliance with its orders. Since such enforcement action is fairly rare in copyright infringement cases, the Court reviewed the options for enforcing contempt of Court in Bell Media Inc. v. Marshall Macciacchera (Smoothstreams.tv), 2025 FC . . . [more] The post Imprisonment for Breach of a Court Order appeared first on Slaw.

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec. PÉNAL (DROIT) : Lorsqu’une preuve concernant le comportement sexuel d’une victime est présentée pour la première fois en appel, la Cour doit d’abord se demander s’il est plausible que la preuve aurait été admise au terme de la procédure en 2 étapes prévue aux articles 278.93 et 278.94 C.Cr.; cela . . . [more] The post Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ appeared first on Slaw.

As a supplement to our Sunday Summary each month, Supreme Advocacy LLP in Ottawa presents Supreme One-Liners, a super-short descriptive guide to the most recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers its more comprehensive weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, summarizing all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted. Appeals Debtor-Creditor in Québec: Extinctive Prescription Mohawk Council of Kanesatake v. Sylvestre, 2025 SCC 30 (41131) Clarification of extinctive prescription in debtor-creditor context. Leaves to Appeal Aboriginal Law: Third Party Claims Skii km Lax Ha, et al. v. Malii, et al., 2024 . . . [more] The post Summaries Sunday: Supreme One-Liners appeared first on Slaw.

You’re running a fever and have been coughing for the past few days, so you head down to your local clinic. You wait and wait, and finally the receptionist calls your name. Walking into the examination room, you’re surprised to see not one but three doctors. “We’re a Cough Board,” one of them says, “and we’re here to diagnose and propose treatment for you.” You stare at them blankly for a second. But then you remember something you saw in a medical drama on TV. A “tumour board,” you recall, is a meeting of specialists convened to try to figure . . . [more] The post Cough Boards and the Perils of Procedural Perfectionism appeared first on Slaw.

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law. How to Use Digital Learning with Confidence and Creativity: A Practical Introduction. Edited by Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin, Donna Lanclos & Tom Farrelly. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar, 2024. 362 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 9781035311286 (hardcover) US$180.00; ISBN 9781035360543 (softcover) US$53.95; ISBN 9781035311293 (eBook) US$43.16. Reviewed by Brianna Calomino . . . [more] The post Book Review: How to Use Digital Learning With Confidence and Creativity: A Practical Introduction appeared first on Slaw.

CALL/ACBD is accepting nominations for the 2026 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing. The Canadian Association of Law Libraries has long had an annual award for excellent legal publishing. Some years ago, we renamed the award we present after Queens University Professor, Hugh Lawford (1933-2009) to recognize his contributions to legal publishing in Canada. As a group of legal information specialists, our work depends on being able to access and share high-quality legal knowledge. We value innovation and this award is open to legal content in all information formats. The award honours a publisher (whether for-profit or not-for . . . [more] The post Hugh Lawford Award 2026 Nominations Open appeared first on Slaw.

Quantitative methods are at once well-established and novel when speaking about access to justice. We’ve been reporting on our activities to funders, boards, and communities for decades, but we’ve also occasionally been complacent about what message we are conveying. When I think about data on the law and how we can approach using it better, I often think about Jon Snow and his search for the source of a cholera outbreak in London in 1854. Here you can see the original map that allowed him to identify the source as the water pump on Broad Street, which he created through . . . [more] The post Quantitative Assessment of Access to Justice Initiatives appeared first on Slaw.

Earlier this year, I was invited by the Canadian Bar Review to write a review of a book by Professor Adam Dodek of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law titled: Heenan Blaikie: The Making and Unmaking of a Great Canadian Law Firm. I found the book an excellent read and I highly recommend it. My review is included in the current issue of the CBR, now available online. I’m grateful to the Canadian Bar Review for both the opportunity to write this article and for their permission to reproduce the excerpt below. This is a gripping account of a . . . [more] The post Book Review: Heenan Blaikie: The Making and Unmaking of a Great Canadian Law Firm appeared first on Slaw.

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible. This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Administrative Law Matters 2.Litige municipal au Québec 3. Legal Sourcery 4. Canadian Appeals Monitor 5. Excess Copyright Administrative Law Matters Staying the Ostrich Cull I spoke to a journalist from the Canadian Press today about Universal Ostrich Farms and the ostriches that are destined to be . . . [more] The post Monday’s Mix appeared first on Slaw.

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec. PÉNAL (DROIT) : Dans une affaire de voies de fait graves où l’accusé, à l’aide de sa canne de métal, avait asséné un coup sur la tête de la victime afin de défendre son cousin, la conclusion de la juge de première instance, à savoir que la force utilisée était . . . [more] The post Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ appeared first on Slaw.

Court data is an important source of information that can increase our understanding of justice system issues. Research is currently under way at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice using Ontario court data examining two issues: the impact of unrepresented accused on the efficiency of the courts and the disadvantages that may be experienced by unrepresented accused in terms of outcomes. The research is being carried out using an appearance-based data set from the Ontario Cout of Justice. The data set includes 17,622,670 appearances nested within 2,002,306 disposed cases from 2011 to 2022. Court data . . . [more] The post Using Representation Pathways to Explore Court Data appeared first on Slaw.

Each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were: 1. Lin v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 1043 [3] In brief, the Applicant first argues that the Minister’s Delegate failed to observe principles of natural justice and procedural fairness by (1) proceeding with the admissibility interview process with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC] on March 19, 2024, and (2)°concluding this . . . [more] The post Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII? – September 2025 appeared first on Slaw.

“A lawyer must encourage public respect for and try to improve the administration of justice.”[1] This is a rule from the Model Code of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The commentaries to the rule identify a more specific component duty to defend judges and other tribunal members from “unjust criticism”, because there is no way for them to appropriately defend themselves.[2] But the rule would also apply to unjust criticism of lawyers, especially those who, like judges, cannot defend themselves, particularly Crown attorneys. This rule may appear to be aspirational. Indeed, Harry Arthurs has characterized this . . . [more] The post The Lawyer’s Duty to Encourage Respect for the Administration of Justice: A Real Duty appeared first on Slaw.

The ease of finding a federal order in council depends greatly on when it was published. The easiest way to get a federal OIC is through the Orders in Council online database which is a searchable database of orders in council from 1990 on. If the full text of an order listed in the database is not available, you can email the OIC Division to ask for a copy. Orders in Council made between 1867 and 1924 can be found on the Orders in Council Research Tool through Library and Archives Canada. Orders made between 1924 and 1990 are more . . . [more] The post Finding Federal Orders in Council appeared first on Slaw.

Legal citation isn’t what most would consider a good ‘ol time. I’m sympathetic to student complaints! But, alas, it is important and must be taught. Part of teaching is preventing bad habits. While grading assignments I’ve noticed a common practice of copying and pasting a URL in lieu of a citation, or tacking a URL on the end of a semi-complete or complete citation. Hyperlinks seem helpful and modern—just one click to get to the source! In legal writing, however, a citation should allow the reader to quickly identify, locate, and verify the source across platforms and over time. A . . . [more] The post Avoiding a 404: When to Add URLs to Legal Citations appeared first on Slaw.

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible. This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Flex Legal Blog 2. Lash Condo Law 3. Timely Disclosure 4. Legal Post Blog 5. John Willinsky Flex Legal Blog Reputation Management for Lawyers: Tips to Safeguard Your Professional Image In law, reputation is everything. It takes years to build, but it can be compromised in a . . . [more] The post Monday’s Mix appeared first on Slaw.

The landscape of access to justice research and work in Canada continues to grow and evolve. However, in such a large and diverse country it is sometimes easy to become siloed in one’s own work, institutional setting, and geographical location. Understandably, we are all focused on the particularities and situational challenges inherent in the necessarily specific work of addressing a plethora of access to justice symptoms across different governments, court and tribunal systems, regions, and populations. But we must not lose the bigger picture, and there is therefore a great benefit to being able to connect, exchange ideas, share research, . . . [more] The post Breaking Down Silos appeared first on Slaw.

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec. PÉNAL (DROIT) : Dans une affaire de conduite avec les facultés affaiblies causant la mort, la conclusion du juge de première instance selon laquelle la preuve circonstancielle excluait toute autre conclusion raisonnable quant au lien de causalité n’est pas déraisonnable; quant à la mens rea de la conduite dangereuse, le . . . [more] The post Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ appeared first on Slaw.

As a supplement to our Sunday Summary each month, Supreme Advocacy LLP in Ottawa presents Supreme One-Liners, a super-short descriptive guide to the most recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers its more comprehensive weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, summarizing all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted. Appeals Municipal Law/Property: Adverse Possession Kosicki v. Toronto (City), 2025 SCC 28 (40908) Statute here extinguishes title and right of paper title holder to recover land 10 years after dispossession. Reasons on an Appeal Criminal Law: Sexual Offences; Sentencing; Appellate Review Standard R. v. . . . [more] The post Summaries Sunday: Supreme One-Liners appeared first on Slaw.

Tasked with proposing reforms to the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, the Civil Rules Working Group (“Working Group”) misfired rather badly. For example, the Working Group proposed adding a prelitigation protocol that would in effect require plaintiffs to serve their Affidavit of Documents before commencing litigation and accordingly disclose sensitive information (think medical records, bank and credit card statements, tax returns and proprietary business information) directly to opposing parties, often before such parties had retained counsel. Ignoring privacy issues and resultant risks of such information being posted online, because why not, this would add significant up front cost to . . . [more] The post What Reforms Does the Ontario Superior Court Most Need? appeared first on Slaw.

Many legal ethics issues are interesting to lawyers and non-lawyers alike. There’s the “buried bodies case”, where two lawyers’ commitment to maintaining client confidentiality (in horrifying circumstances) destroyed their practices, sparked harassment and death threats, and caused them to be criminally charged. There’s the lawyer who gossiped with his spouse about his clients’ affairs, only for the spouse to report the lawyer to the Law Society for breaching confidentiality when their marriage broke down. My students are always engaged when we have in-class debates about the good character requirement, or the (lack of) regulation of lawyer-client sex . . . [more] The post This Is Your Sign to Get a Good Bookkeeper appeared first on Slaw.