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:

• Director of Programs and Partnerships (Full-time) | Virtual with a preference for Ottawa or Montreal)
  (CanLII)
• Tax Lawyer – Canadian Sales Tax (Full-time)| Vancouver, BC
  (Thorsteinssons)
• Real Estate Legal Assistant (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group LLP)

Written by Lewis Waring, Paralegal, Student-at-Law (third year), Editor, First Reference Inc.

In Oostlander v Cervus Equipment Corporation (“Oostlander”), the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench subtracted an employee’s payments under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program from their entitlement to reasonable notice following their wrongful dismissal. While the 36-year employee’s entitlement to damages after receiving one month of notice was not in question, the Albertan court’s decision to subtract the amount they had received under the CERB program represents a regional answer to an evolving question throughout the country. Whether this Western approach to CERB will emerge into a . . . [more]

Family law has always had a reputation for being soft law, the area that lady lawyers practice, and a pink ghetto. Family law is not easy. There are upwards of 70 pieces of family law related legislation across Canada, to say nothing of the rules of court and process related legislation and skills, financial complexities, and family violence concerns. When no-fault divorce was introduced in 1968[1], lawyers did not specialize in family law. According to Constance Backhouse “most male lawyers eschewed divorce as odious, describing it as more ‘social work’ than ‘real law,’ and expressing reluctance to . . . [more]

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.

Growing a Law Practice During COVID-19. By Gary Mitchell. Toronto: LexisNexis, 2021. xxi, 150 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 9780433515661 (softcover) $100.00.

Reviewed by Jenny Thornhill
Law Librarian
Law Society of Newfoundland & Labrador Law Library
In CLLR 47:1

At first glance, one might assume that Growing a . . . [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. Cornwall (City) v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 5734, 2022 CanLII 29360 (ON LA)

[41] ACRs are records of the call from the perspective of the paramedic, wherein she or he documents her or his actions and observations. The ACR becomes part of the patient record, and is shared with any receiving facility to whom care of the patient is . . . [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

‘Why Can’t We Just Use “Sponsee”?’
Neil Guthrie

This question came up in a recent discussion forum for professional development people at law firms. The subject was terminology to describe law students and recently minted lawyers in need of guidance from more senior members of the profession. … . . . [more]

According to the meta description on its website, “[t]he Law Society’s Rules of Professional Conduct (“Rules”) express the high ethical ideals of lawyers, and specify the bases on which they may be disciplined.” To date, and unlike in other jurisdictions[1], this has not included any requirements for basic technological competence. Thus, the current Rules are entirely devoid of the terms ‘computer,’ ‘technology’ or ‘data.’ While the internet is mentioned, it appears only twice, and then, only in relation to advertising. Could this omission, or the failure of the Law Society to test new licensees on technological . . . [more]

In the summer of 2019, the BC Family Justice Innovation Lab received an invitation to work with a group from Ulster University in Northern Ireland to improve access to justice for litigants in person (we call them “SRLs”). Led by Professor Gráinne McKeever, the group was eager to use a human-centred design process as part of their research project. Jane Morley Q.C. and I arrived in Belfast in early November 2019 and supported the team to design and implement the first of a series of HCD workshops with diverse participants including, of course, users. It was a wonderful experience, . . . [more]

We’ve all heard about the civil justice system being crisis, and we’ve heard it for decades.

The so-called culture of complacency in criminal proceedings, and corresponding Charter protections in those cases, invariably means a prioritization of judicial resources in those cases.

Even prior to that time, the Court has attempted to foster a cultural shift in civil proceedings through the use of summary judgment motions.

The result has been that instead of threatening to take the other side to trial, parties threaten to take a matter to summary judgment.

But you should always be careful what you threaten. One unanticipated . . . [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’ex-juge Delisle obtient un arrêt des procédures et ne subira pas un deuxième procès sous l’accusation de meurtre liée au décès de son épouse.

Intitulé : R c. Delisle, 2022 QCCS 1160
Juridiction : Cour supérieure (C.S.), Québec
Décision de : Juge Jean-François Émond
Date : 8 . . . [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:

• Director of Programs and Partnerships (Full-time) | Virtual with a preference for Ottawa or Montreal)
  (CanLII)
• Tax Lawyer – Canadian Sales Tax (Full-time)| Vancouver, BC
  (Thorsteinssons)
• Real Estate Legal Assistant (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group LLP)