The Battle Royal: Hybrid or Back to the Office?

You might as well resort to reading goat entrails and tea leaves to predict the future of law practice, because it is woefully unclear what law firms will decide. There are two large and outspoken groups, those who believe that we need to get back to the office if we haven’t already and those who believe that some combination of going to the office and working from home is the way to go.

As COVID continues to complicate our lives, most law firms we deal with are opting for the hybrid . . . [more]

Cryptocurrency is becoming more mainstream. However, the law has not kept pace with the technology, leaving a vacuum, akin to a “Wild West”. In the recent decision, Cicada 137 LLC v. Medjedovic, 2021 ONSC 369, Justice Myers touches upon the issue of litigating cryptocurrency, an area that is under regulated.

In Cicada, it is alleged that the defendant stole money ($15 million in cryptocurrency tokens). In handling the interlocutory matters, Justice Myers notes that there are different theories on when cryptocurrency can be considered stolen. At paras 5-6, Justice Myers writes that one theory is that if . . . [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. Green v. CIBC, 2022 ONSC 373 

[93] In MacDonald, Belobaba J. suggested that the most import element of fee approval in mega-cases is the need to apply a principled approach. From my discussion throughout these reasons, I find that of the ten principled factors listed by Perell J. in SNC-Lavalin above, (including: complexity, risk, demonstrated skill, the amount in issue, . . . [more]

The purpose of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3 (BIA) is to relieve an honest and unfortunate debtor of their debts and liabilities. A discharge from bankruptcy releases the insolvent debtor from pre-bankruptcy debts or liabilities provable in bankruptcy subject to certain exceptions.^[1]

An exception to this rule is s. 178(1)(e) relating to “any debt or liability resulting from obtaining property or services by false pretences or fraudulent misrepresentation”.^[2] Where the exception applies then such debt or liability is not released, and continues to remain enforceable against the debtor after bankruptcy.^[3]

A successful claim . . . [more]

INTRODUCTION

If the state of Florida were a province in Canada, on the one hand, people might find it easier to travel to warmer climes when winter really hits snowy and cold part of Canada. On the other hand, they might find Canada too expensive to travel for long-term winter escapes. But that’s not my topic today. I’m more interested in an article in The Globe and Mail discussing the quandry facing health care providers in that state, caught as they are between opposing vaccine mandates. What if this conflict existed in Canada?

VACCINES MANDATES: FLORIDA LAW AND FEDERAL CMS . . . [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

Finding UK Docket Materials
Susannah Tredwell

I’ve previously talked about how to find docket information about Canadian courts. If you’re trying to find information about the status of current British cases, there are a few options: … . . . [more]

If 2021 is any indication, 2022 promises to be another busy year in estate litigation. With the incredible transfer of inter-generational wealth occurring right now, skyrocketing real estate values, the increase in blended families, and the heightened level of emotion when a loved one dies, estate litigation is going to continue to be a reality for many people in Canada.

Here are 12 of the top trends and recurring themes in estate litigation that I see as we start the New Year.

1. Challenging whether a person was actually the “spouse” of the deceased

Spouses have certain rights and available . . . [more]

As the many COVID-19 employment law cases continue to work their way through the courts, there is an increasing number of decisions emerging in the unionized context.

A recent arbitral award by Arbitrator Jesin in Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment looked at the issue of vaccination disclosure, and the reasonableness of it in context of a mandatory vaccination mandate by the employer.

The unionized employee worked in a sporting and events environment that required close contact with other parties, including other employees. The employer implemented a mandatory vaccination policy after the provincial government in Ontario . . . [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’appelant échoue à établir que les actes et omissions de l’avocat, évalués sur la base du caractère raisonnable, constituent une incompétence et qu’une erreur judiciaire en a résulté.

Intitulé : Vdovin c. R., 2021 QCCA 1969
Juridiction : Cour d’appel (C.A.), Montréal
Décision de : Juges Jean . . . [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:

• Real Estate Legal Assistant (Full-time) | Abbotsford, BC
  (Waterstone Law Group LLP)
• Litigation Associate (Full-time) | Vancouver, BC
  (Bernard LLP)
• Policy Counsel – Temporary Position – Conseillère ou conseiller en matière de politiques – poste temporaire (Contract role) | Ottawa,

2021 was a better year than 2020, but has ended badly with soaring virus outbreaks. Our U.S. Congress still has a lot of leftover legislative work carrying over into 2022. But the federal information worker bees have continued to add more content and finding aids to their many online resources.

On December 20^th the Law Library of Congress posted A Trove of Information: The Congress.gov Coverage Page and then on December 21^st their 2021 Congress.gov Top 10 and Year in Review. Next on December 27^th they posted their list of The Most Viewed In Custodia Legis . . . [more]