A professional legal advocate occupies a unique position, interposed as they are between the justice system on one hand, and their client on the other. Each advocate has a duty of commitment to the client’s cause, and must resolutely pursue the client’s legitimate goals using all legal means. At the same time, the advocate is an officer of the court and must help the legal system accomplish its own objectives. The need to reconcile duties to client with duties to the law comes up frequently in the practice of law, and pervades the study of legal ethics.

The balancing act . . . [more]

For years I’ve been buying the same turkey bites from the grocery store (Canadian made, of course). They’re a high protein, grab-and-go snack. And, for years, I’ve paid about $7.00 for them. During my last visit to the grocery store, those same turkey bites were a whopping $12.99. Reading the sticker price led to an audible gasp while strangers around me nodded in agreement, because without having to say anything, we were all thinking the exact same thing – yes, an 85% price increase is astronomical, but this is our new reality.[1] Just after my shopping experience, I came . . . [more]

Most professionals review their financial portfolios regularly. They assess what’s performing, what’s stalled, and what no longer fits the strategy. They make deliberate decisions about where to invest time and capital.

Almost no one applies the same discipline to the most valuable asset in their professional life: their relationships.

The Asset You’re Not Managing

A contact base that isn’t actively maintained doesn’t stay neutral. It erodes.

The client you worked with intensively three years ago and haven’t spoken to since? They’ve moved on. The colleague who moved to an interesting company but slipped off your radar? They needed someone with . . . [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.

Legal Knowledge in Organizations: A Source of Strategic and Competitive Advantage. By Robert C. Bird. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2025. xxv, 261 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 9781009596671 (hardcover) $143.95; ISBN 9781009596695 (softcover) $47.95; ISBN 9781009596701 (eBook) $41.99.

Reviewed by Gillian Eguaras
Research Librarian
McMillan LLP

Legal . . . [more]

During my Spring Break, I decided to reread some examples of classic literature, including my favorite one of all times, Don Quixote. Since I was a kid, I have always been obsessed with the scene on windmills and the “quixotic” battle that ensues. Don Quixote’s faithful companion, Sancho Panza puts an end to it with his insightful remark: Mire vuestra merced que aquellos que allí se parecen no son gigantes, sino molinos de viento (Look, your grace, that those appearing over there are not giants, but windmills).

In legal research, and in particular our community of Foreign, Comparative and International . . . [more]

It has been clear for a long time that self-represented litigants struggle to understand the system they are often thrown into. By contrast, lawyers study for years, and have the benefit of ever-mounting daily experience, topped off with the privilege and deference associated with belonging to the legal profession. It’s no wonder then that SRLs tend to muddle blindly through the system, piecing together whatever information they can find from a host of sources, some more reliable than others. Naturally they make mistakes, and are inefficient, contributing to the existing backlog and straining the legal system. These litigants are very . . . [more]

Michael Geist had a lawyer on his Law Bytes podcast recently to talk about how AI is radically transforming his practice. For this long-time listener of one of the best law podcasts out there, the episode with New York lawyer Zack Shapiro was among the two or three most interesting and informative episodes I think Geist has ever done.

As someone who follows developments in legal AI closely, I found Shapiro’s insights into how to make the best use of AI outstanding. This is an episode that anyone interested in where law is headed — and concerned with not being . . . [more]

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of everyday professional practice in dispute resolution. As its use expands across the legal profession, questions are beginning to arise about how these tools should be used by mediators and arbitrators.

Until recently, the issue has received little attention within the ADR community itself.

At present, most mediation and arbitration codes of conduct say little or nothing about artificial intelligence.

While much of the discussion about AI in law focuses on lawyers using these tools, far less attention has been paid to their use by mediators and arbitrators. Yet as AI becomes more common . . . [more]

A few recent data points about AI and the law, along with one bracing conclusion.

1. At the end of February, American lawyer Zack Shapiro published an article on Linked titled “The Claude-Native Law Firm.” It described how his two-person firm is powered by customized “skills” that capture and encode his legal frameworks and judgment into Anthropic’s Claude AI, enabling Claude to deliver legal outputs rapidly and transferably across the firm. This interview with LawDroid’s Tom Martin relates what Shapiro is doing and why it’s potentially momentous: It suggests that properly and thoroughly instructed general-purpose Gen AI might prove

A few years ago, I was asked to review a law firm’s student recruitment program. The firm had a respected brand, an engaged student committee, and a long history of bringing in summer and articling students.

The assignment seemed straightforward: review the process and suggest ways to strengthen the program.

So, I began by following the time.

There were student committee meetings. Planning sessions with marketing and talent professionals. Law school outreach events and receptions. Resume reviews. Interview preparation. Full days of interviews involving partners, associates, and administrators. Post-interview debriefs. Offer discussions. Candidate follow ups.

By the time the exercise . . . [more]

What should, and must, a lawyer do when their client persistently breaches court orders, either deliberately or recklessly, despite the firm advice of the lawyer that such breaches must cease?

While I am not qualified to comment on the US context, where such breaches by the federal government are allegedly occurring repeatedly and on a very large scale,[1] I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what a lawyer in a Canadian jurisdiction should and must do in a parallel situation.

First, why does this lawyer have a problem, and what is that problem? A lawyer cannot . . . [more]

Some legal marketers become indispensable strategic advisors. Others stay stuck in the ‘can you make this brochure’ zone. The difference isn’t talent, experience, or even luck. It’s curiosity.

After 20 years in this field, I can tell you: curiosity is a choice and it’s within your control. The marketers who ask better questions, who dig deeper, who challenge assumptions are the ones who earn a seat at the table. They move from taking orders to shaping strategy. The difference? They choose to be curious.

Where curiosity matters most

To succeed in legal marketing, you need four core competencies: relationship . . . [more]