Over the past year, a number of websites containing databases of valuable legal information have been redesigned. Among them are websites and services that are foundational to legal research in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), the Nova Scotia Courts, CanLII, HeinOnline, Lexis+, and more. While redesigns are not uncommon, the timing and consistency of these recent updates hint at something else, something shaped by trends in the broader digital environment. The rapid growth of generative AI has seemingly pushed legal research websites and services to modernise. Even without adopting AI, there’s growing pressure to look current and . . . [more]

On December 18, 2024, the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued a decision in Clearview AI Inc. v. Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, 2024 BCSC 2311. At its core, the case involved a challenge by a U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) company against a binding order from British Columbia’s privacy regulator. The company, Clearview AI, had amassed a large facial recognition database by scraping billions of publicly accessible images from the internet, many of which depicted individuals located in British Columbia, without obtaining their consent.

The decision is significant not only for its factual context, but for what . . . [more]

Ever closed a browser tab accidentally and been unable to find it again? Sure, you could try to go through your browser history to attempt to locate it, but if you’re like me you likely keep your tabs open for days (sometimes weeks) at a time making a search through your history futile.

There are two ways that you can recover closed tabs. The methods vary between browsers and therefore, these tips will apply to Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome (sorry Microsoft Edge users!). The first method is to “Recover Last Session” or review “Recently Closed”.

In Google Chrome:

• Click

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

In Cyncora v Axton Inc (“Cyncoxa”), an employer discriminatorily dismissed its employee with a disability despite the employee’s undisputed absenteeism. The fact that the employer had some legitimate concerns about the employee’s fitness for its time-sensitive workplace did not remove the reality that one of the underlying reasons for its struggles with the employee was his ongoing struggle with depression and anxiety. . . . [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.

Cold Case North: The Search for James Brady and Absolom Halkett. By Michael Nest, Deanna Reder & Eric Bell. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2020. 311 p. Includes illustrations, maps. ISBN 9780889777491 (softcover) $24.95; 9780889777545 (hardcover) $89.00.

Reviewed by Leslie Taylor
Research and Instruction Librarian
Lederman Law Library, Queen’s University . . . [more]

Lewis Waring, Paralegal, Student at law, Editor, First Reference Inc.

In Abdon v Brandt Industries Canada Ltd (“Abdon”), an employer rightfully dismissed an employee for cause as a result of a tendency to fail to show up for work without authorization. After the employer engaged in a series of disciplinary steps, the employee’s dismissal for cause became the only reasonable option to respond to the employee’s egregious failure to fulfill their duties in the workplace. . . . [more]

In 2016, Justice David Stratas of the Federal Court of Appeal took the unusual step of posting “A Plea for Doctrinal Coherence and Consistency” online, stating,

Our administrative law is a never-ending construction site where one crew builds structures and then a later crew tears them down to build anew, seemingly without an overall plan…

Administrative law matters. Resting at its heart is the standard of review, the body of law that tells us when the judiciary can legitimately interfere with decision-making by the executive—a matter fundamental to democratic order and good governance, a matter where objectivity, consistency

By Lewis Waring, Paralegal and Student-at-Law, Editor, First Reference Inc.

One of the most important crucial aspects of managing the employment relationship is written policies. Company policies, when drafted and applied properly, can be an effective shield against liability in many employment law cases. Through policy, an employer sets the rights and obligations of the employer and the workers within the workplace. When employers draft up-to-date policy that stays within legal boundaries and workers are kept notified about their rights and obligations under that policy, employers may often successfully fend off legal action such as wrongful dismissal or constructive dismissal. . . . [more]

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

In Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, 2019 CanLII 95328 (ON LA), a labour arbitrator upheld the reasonable application of a workplace absenteeism policy. Although the employee’s excessive absenteeism was because the employee tried to better herself and upgrade her training, the employer was still justified in dismissing her. . . . [more]

The Conflict of Interest Act (the “Act”) is likely one of the most reviewed pieces of legislation this week, as a result of the release of the the Trudeau II Report. The characterizations of the Report, and the underlying lessons that may be gleaned, risk being lost to partisan narratives absent close scrutiny.

The history of attempts to define rules around conflicts of interest go back to at least the 1970s, but despite several discussion papers, task forces, committees, inquiries, and reports, very little was actually achieved for over three decades.

The first of these was a green paper introduced . . . [more]

A lawyer should be a loyal ally for a person with a legal need. This loyalty is at the core of our profession’s value proposition to society. Thus, legal ethics strives to guarantee devoted service to clients. Conflict of interest rules prohibit all situations creating “substantial risk” that the lawyer’s loyalty to a client “would be materially and adversely affected by the lawyer’s own interest.” Lawyers, as fiduciaries, must be “concerned solely for the beneficiary [client]’s interests, never the fiduciary [lawyer]’s own.”

There is, however, a glaring exception to the duty of selfless loyalty to clients. Lawyers are allowed . . . [more]

After five years of ABS liberalization in England (and Wales), it is worth having a look at what has happened. Surprisingly and significantly, the answer is “not much”.

ABS liberalization in England

A decade ago, Legal Services Act 2007 brought about significant changes to the practice of law in England. These changes included allowing what were called alternative business structures to provide legal services where only lawyers were previously permitted to serve clients. The first alternative business structures were licensed in late 2011.

The essential idea of alternative business structures is that constraining ownership of legal practices constrains competition and . . . [more]