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. Barry Sookman 2. Condo Adviser 3. ABlawg.ca 4. Labour Pains 5. The Lean Law Firm

Barry Sookman
Contracts, Personal Jurisdiction and Electronic Agreements

Most contracts contain clauses that govern both choice of law and venue for resolving disputes. However, there are occasions where questions arise as to where a contract is formed, especially in cases where the personal jurisdiction over a person is in dispute. Many contracts do not address this. The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Sinclair v. Venezia Turismo, 2025 SCC 27 , which dealt with the framework for determining personal jurisdiction at common law, confirmed that when a contract is formed using electronic means of communications the usual rule that a contract is formed where the acceptance of the offer is received is where the contract is formed. Côté J, writing for the 5 to 4 majority in the case confirmed earlier decisions stating: …

Condo Adviser
Halloween post: When AI meets the CAT

It was late October — the season of masks, mischief, and things that are not quite what they seem — when the Condominium Authority Tribunal released a decision that reads like a ghost story for the digital age. In Janssen v. TSCC 1851, a condo owner, unhappy with a chargeback for water damage, decided to seek justice before the Tribunal. But rather than drafting his own submissions, he turned to a new kind of ghostly spirit — artificial intelligence. …

ABlawg.ca
Back to School Notwithstanding the Charter

On Monday October 27, 2025, the Minister of Finance Nate Horner tabled Bill 2, Back to School Act, in the second session of the current Legislature, and the UCP government subsequently pushed it through all three readings of the legislative process, effectively passing it on the same day it was introduced. The Back to School Act came into force on royal assent on October 28, 2025. The Act legislates the end of the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) strike and imposes labour terms between the Province of Alberta and the ATA for 4 years. …

Labour Pains
Where Are We Now? Contractual Termination Provisions Five Years Post-Waksdale.

What is the state of the law of Ontario on termination clauses as of Labour Day 2025? To say that the Ontario courts’ approach to contractual termination clauses has been a bit of a whirlwind over the last five years might be an understatement. Let’s recall that Waksdale, now nearly as ubiquitous as Bardal or Machtinger, was only released in August of 2020. That is why I am grateful for Justice Ira G. Parghi’s reasons for decision in Chan v. NYX Capital Corp., 2025 ONSC 4561 (CanLII). Justice Parghi’s reasons provide a textbook summary of the state of the law on termination clauses in Ontario, which I summarize in this post. …

The Lean Law Firm
Featured Article: Three Keys to a Healthy Referral Network for Your Law Firm

Many solo and small firm lawyers live in one of two extremes: they’re either so busy they can’t breathe, or they’re anxiously wondering where the next client will come from. A healthy, well-nurtured law firm referral network helps solve both problems. A healthy law firm referral network fills your business pipeline with a steady flow of work, bolsters your reputation, and allows you to focus on the work that sits squarely in your “power zone.” That’s the work you’re uniquely qualified to do, you enjoy most, and that adds the greatest value to your firm. …

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*Randomness here is created by Random.org and its list randomizing function.