If 2021 is any indication, 2022 promises to be another busy year in estate litigation. With the incredible transfer of inter-generational wealth occurring right now, skyrocketing real estate values, the increase in blended families, and the heightened level of emotion when a loved one dies, estate litigation is going to continue to be a reality for many people in Canada.

Here are 12 of the top trends and recurring themes in estate litigation that I see as we start the New Year.

1. Challenging whether a person was actually the “spouse” of the deceased

Spouses have certain rights and available . . . [more]

As the many COVID-19 employment law cases continue to work their way through the courts, there is an increasing number of decisions emerging in the unionized context.

A recent arbitral award by Arbitrator Jesin in Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment looked at the issue of vaccination disclosure, and the reasonableness of it in context of a mandatory vaccination mandate by the employer.

The unionized employee worked in a sporting and events environment that required close contact with other parties, including other employees. The employer implemented a mandatory vaccination policy after the provincial government in Ontario . . . [more]

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) : L’appelant échoue à établir que les actes et omissions de l’avocat, évalués sur la base du caractère raisonnable, constituent une incompétence et qu’une erreur judiciaire en a résulté.

Intitulé : Vdovin c. R., 2021 QCCA 1969
Juridiction : Cour d’appel (C.A.), Montréal
Décision de : Juges Jean . . . [more]

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:

• Real Estate Legal Assistant (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group LLP)
• Litigation Associate (Full-time) | Vancouver, BC
  (Bernard LLP)
• Policy Counsel – Temporary Position – Conseillère ou conseiller en matière de politiques – poste temporaire (Contract role) | Ottawa,

2021 was a better year than 2020, but has ended badly with soaring virus outbreaks. Our U.S. Congress still has a lot of leftover legislative work carrying over into 2022. But the federal information worker bees have continued to add more content and finding aids to their many online resources.

On December 20^th the Law Library of Congress posted A Trove of Information: The Congress.gov Coverage Page and then on December 21^st their 2021 Congress.gov Top 10 and Year in Review. Next on December 27^th they posted their list of The Most Viewed In Custodia Legis . . . [more]

While access to legal journals in printed form is still desired, many have transitioned to a purely digital format. But what exactly does moving from print to digital entail? To better understand this process, I asked Susan Barker, retired law librarian from the University of Toronto and current acting editor of the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR), about her experience when the publication took the leap to online-only in 2015.

1. What were the motivations for CLLR to go purely digital?

When I came on board as editor in 2013, the decision to go digital had been tentatively made . . . [more]

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. Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, 2022 CanLII 544 (ON LA)

20. It seems to me that that by opposing the disclosure of vaccine status the Union is indeed challenging the vaccine mandate. I do not see how the Employer can enforce a vaccine mandate without requiring disclosure of an employee’s vaccine status. Without that information it . . . [more]

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

Strictly Ballroom?
Neil Guthrie

Strictly Ballroom is the title of a 1992 movie by Baz Luhrmann. What has this to do with legal writing? The word strictly. Like all adverbs, strictly is weak, even when it is meant to sound tough. … . . . [more]

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2022. Whether you are starting the New Year in a positive situation or find yourself facing many challenges, it can be helpful to remember there is always much within your ability to control and influence.

To help kickstart some reflection and to not overburden and overwhelm, what 2 questions would you ask yourself about what you want to give focus and attention to this year? To help you along, I have enlisted the help of my colleagues and fellow coaches at AMP (Associate Mentoring Plus).

Kathryn McNaughton, AMP Director of Education and Coach

1. How

There is often far too much in dispute in litigation. Counsel are often encouraged for this reason to formulate agreed upon facts, narrow the issues, and focus the dispute as much as they can.

Courts also assist with this process. One of the mechanisms for doing so is judicial notice, which was defined by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Find as follows,

48 In this case, the appellant relies heavily on proof by judicial notice. Judicial notice dispenses with the need for proof of facts that are clearly uncontroversial or beyond reasonable dispute. Facts judicially noticed are