I recently watched a movie, and one of the characters, who was bullied, made a very poignant statement.

She said: “If the person who bullied me decided not to be mean, his life would not have changed… however, my life would have been profoundly different.”

It struck me, that those who are unkind, would not lose anything by being kind. In fact, many benefits are derived from showing kindness to others.

However, as we all know, the person who is on the receiving end of the bullying or unkindness, is affected in ways that reverberate for years, and at times, . . . [more]

In recent years, the number of law librarians in public sector and academic roles has declined. Most notably, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) has reduced the staff of its Toronto-based law library to the point that, as of sometime in 2025, it no longer has a professionally staffed law library.^[2] In other words, no actual librarians work at the law library of the Ministry of the Attorney General.^[3] This deprofessionalization took place quietly and gradually, with no public announcement, no discussion in the legislature, and no opportunity for public scrutiny.

The MAG is not the . . . [more]

Many generative AI tools are relatively easy to access and use. For example, no technical expertise is required to pull up and type a prompt into ChatGPT, and the most basic version is free. This reality has led to a significant amount of “shadow AI” use within organizations; that is, uses of AI that are not formally approved or are even contrary to formal policies. Concerns about shadow AI commonly arise in the context of private companies, with some studies indicating that over 80% of workers report using unapproved tools at work. Much less discussed – and worthy of far . . . [more]

This is a fairly specific problem: sometimes a case quotes a section from an older edition of a book and you need to find the quotation in the current edition of the book.

Assuming the most recent edition is available electronically, generally the easiest way is to search for a portion of the quote in the new edition. However, if the wording has significantly changed it may be hard to identify the equivalent in the new edition.

The second way to do this is by using both a copy of the old edition and a copy of the current edition. . . . [more]

The growth of self-representation in all adjudicative settings may ultimately require a new approach to adjudication that is even more fundamental than a root and branch overhaul of procedure and practice. What legislators and courts may need to consider is the development of forums that are focused on and limited to adjudicating cases involving SRLs. Such courts would channel cases involving SRLs into a specific forum where court participants, including the adjudicator and court staff and any required wrap-around services, would exclusively plan for and engage with litigants who do not have legal representation. One such experiment has been underway . . . [more]

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. Hull & Hull Blog 2. Great LEXpectations 3. Doorey’s Workplace Law Blog 4. Double Aspect 5. The Every Lawyer

Hull & Hull Blog
Knowing the Limits: Section 3 Counsel and the Lesson of Groves v. Groves

Guardianship litigation asks the court to do something profound: to decide . . . [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) : La Cour d’appel ordonne la tenue d’un nouveau procès dans une affaire de meurtre; à l’absence de directives restrictives relatives à la preuve de mauvaise moralité s’ajoutaient des erreurs dans les directives au jury quant aux modes de participation pouvant ou non conduire à une condamnation pour . . . [more]

This summer our law library intern (shout out to Bailey Kaye!) is reviewing our archival casebook collection for a digitization project. Among them was a casebook for exchange students arriving at Dalhousie Law School in 1978. It outlined an introduction to the common law, as provided by the Sir James Dunn Law Library. In this casebook, the Sir James Dunn Law Library included a helpful list of general information about library etiquette. Let’s review how you were to conduct yourself in the law library of 1978, shall we?

The one rule that has survived nearly word-for-word, across nearly fifty years . . . [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.

Frustration of Contract. By Bruce MacDougall. Toronto: LexisNexis, 2025. x, 316 p. Includes table of cases and index. ISBN 9780433524380 (softcover) $180.00.

Reviewed by Susannah Tredwell
Manager of Library Services
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

Frustration of Contract is the latest in the series of books written by Bruce MacDougall about . . . [more]

Artificial intelligence is proliferating the legal sector. In the article, “AI Competence Is Now a Professional Obligation“, Soussanna Karas writes that the question is not will lawyers use AI but “whether they will do so competently, ethically, and responsibly”. I think the same question can be extended to the judiciary. At some point, judges will be using AI, and may already be doing so. For example, CanLII uses generative AI. So, when lawyers and judges access CanLII, they could already be considered using a form of AI.

But where should we draw the line? In my opinion, . . . [more]

Every now and again, a mainstream occurrence helps inform the general public about the world of dispute resolution. Often through the world of sports. Mediation has resolved a hockey lockout. Arbitration has resolved salary disputes between player and team. This summer, we encountered another one.

A trade that would return Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors has been delayed pending the outcome of an investigation surrounding an alleged salary cap circumvention. Fans frustrated by the delay have wondered why the ongoing investigation cannot be sped up. Some media have speculated that this was possible, though at the time of . . . [more]

Is the re-examination of past decisions sapping the justice system’s capacity to hear and decide legal disputes at first instance? Our system has numerous ways to reopen past decisions and let a new set of adjudicators and advocates root around for errors: review, reconsideration, and motions to set aside or reopen as well as appeal itself.

These re-examinations constitute a necessary organ, which serves essential functions in the justice system: correcting legal errors, delineating and refining legal rules, making new common law, and ensuring that administrative decision-makers do not exceed their jurisdiction. And yet these procedures have arguably been allowed . . . [more]