Canada’s online legal magazine.

Archive for December, 2021

Tips Tuesday

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Permitting and Permissioning
Neil Guthrie

Related, and problematic. Permit as a noun meaning ‘licence’ is totally fine (In Canada, we require owners of guns to have permits), as is the verb form when it means ‘to allow’ (Smoking is not permitted). … . . . [more]

Posted in: Tips Tuesday

2 Signs Your Scarcity Mindset Is a Problem

Fear of not having enough files, status, or money underpins many recurring woes that arise in legal practice.

Is either of these scarcity mindset challenges showing up for you or a partner at your law firm?

You are constantly buried in too much work. Clients are clamoring for attention. You feel like you are on a hamster wheel of deadlines and stress.

You cycle through associates who burn out dealing with your last-minute emergencies and leave your firm.

Still, you worry: “I can’t turn away work; what if I don’t get another file?”

Having too many clients and work and . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law

Judging Family Violence: Recommendations for Judicial Practices and Guidelines in Family Violence Cases

There have been some recent legal developments that compel us to consider the role and responsibilities of judges in cases involving family violence. First, amendments to the Divorce ActRSC 1985, c 3 (2nd Supp), came into effect in March 2021 and the Act now stipulates that family violence is a factor relevant to the best interests of the child. Family violence is finally recognized federally as germane to judicial decisions on parenting, though it is not explicitly recognized as relevant to whether negotiated settlements are an appropriate expectation, which has important implications for the judge’s role in . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Ethics

Monday’s Mix

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. Moly Law Blog 2. The Defence Toolkit 3. Family Health Law Blog 4. Lash Condo Law 5. À bon droit

Moly Law Blog
Are non-compete clauses legal? Do you have a Right to Disconnect from work?

Can your employer make you agree sign a non-compete agreement? Can

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

A Motion and Proceeding That Should Never Have Happened

At the close of proceedings, especially contentious ones, parties often experience a form of buyer’s remorse, especially when they realize the discounted costs they may be entitled to, and the remainder they are still responsible for. Litigation can also be time-consuming, exhausting, and emotionally draining.

Responsible counsel often provide these warnings up-front, to set realistic client expectations, and sure that a mutual understanding around services are agreed upon, and hopefully reduced in writing. Some proceedings especially stand out as particularly futile, especially when characterized as such by the presiding judge.

Justice Dunphy recently released a decision in TSCC 2204 v. . . . [more]

Posted in: Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions

Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ

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) : Les soins requis par l’état de santé nécessitent l’emploi intentionnel d’une certaine force qui, sans le consentement de la personne elle-même ou de son substitut, constituerait des voies de fait en raison de la définition large qui figure à l’article 265 (1) C.Cr.; en pareilles circonstances, la . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

An Afghan Law Librarian on the Demise of His Country’s Legal System

“There is nothing we can do right now. Afghanistan’s justice system [has] collapsed [right] now. If we say that Afghanistan’s justice system has collapsed since the Taliban took over, we might not be exaggerating.” said Adnan, a nickname of the person I interviewed with him, chosen for security reasons. He shared these words during our online interview in mid-November 2021. Adnan left Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2020 where he was working as a Legal Advisor with the government of Afghanistan. Through this position and previous ones, Adnan has managed to make quite an impact on law librarianship both inside and

. . . [more]
Posted in: Justice Issues, Legal Information

Friday Jobs Roundup

Each Friday, we share the latest job listings from Slaw Jobs, which features employment opportunities from across the country. Find out more about these positions by following the links below, or learn how you can use Slaw Jobs to gain valuable exposure for your job ads, while supporting the great Canadian legal commentary at Slaw.ca.

Current postings on Slaw Jobs:

. . . [more]
Posted in: Friday Jobs Roundup

Santa Claus and the Law

In Custodia Legis, the blog of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. published a fun little roundup this week about various laws relating to Santa Claus:

“Local, federal and foreign governments are doing their regulatory best to speed his mail and ease his journey across borders with foreign livestock, regardless of his nationality or the emissions his vehicle produces.”

You may have also caught the article Santa Claus in court: From bingo prizes to custody hearings by Nathan Baker earlier this week in The Lawyer’s Daily. Santa apparently managed to get himself into a spot of . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information: Libraries & Research

Depressed Industry Boosts Notice Period

Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

If you lost your job today, how are your chances for employment elsewhere? Depending on your industry, the answer could range from promising to dismal. In April 2020, when the pandemic was a new reality, the answer could have been different still. At that time, in the automotive industry, people were driving less. New cars gathered dust in dealers’ parking lots. Many thousands of jobs were affected, and sometimes courts were called upon to sort out the aftermath. In Hogan v 1187938 B.C. Ltd., 2021 BCSC 1021 (CanLII), Justice Gerow’s focus on . . . [more]

Posted in: Case Comment, Substantive Law, Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions

Time and Relative Dimensions in Slaw

As part of a holiday party gift-exchange mixup, you have been accidentally given a time machine. Since the Rules of Professional Conduct don’t specifically say you can’t tamper with history, you may now use it to travel throughout all of the past and future. You decide to visit great legal moments along the timeline, because you’re weird.

Respond to the following scenarios with the choice that seems the most appropriate.

1. You are present as the Code of Hammurabi is finalized in 1750 BC. Impressed by your Fitbit, Hammurabi invites you to add a line to the Code. What do . . . [more]

Posted in: Miscellaneous, Practice of Law

Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Basaraba v. Bridal Image Inc., 2021 ONSC 8038

[26] I initially formed the view that there was no need to write and publish detailed reasons in this case. I have changed my view on the matter not from a desire to single out any of the counsel involved. They are in good company. The problem of parties failing to upload usable motion . . . [more]

Posted in: Wednesday: What's Hot on CanLII