[The Full-text of the following summary can be downloaded from the SSRN (Feb. 1, 2021).]

The riotous insurrection at the Washington Capitol building on January 6th is a good example of this truth: “The strength of a nation’s rights, freedoms and rule of law lies not in its Constitution but in its politics.” On January 27, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a “National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin,” warning of, “a heightened threat environment across the United States,” and, “violent riots have continued in recent days,” and, “ideologically-motivated actors” could incite further violence. But President . . . [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. Kaushal v. Vasudeva et al., 2021 ONSC 440 (CanLII)

[54] The risk of mischief on a virtual examination is an area which has yet to be fully explored, although the possibility has been adverted to. Myers, J. in Arconti et al. v. Smith et al, 2020 ONSC 2782, did not disallow the use of a virtual examination just because of . . . [more]

The forthcoming travel requirements issued by Transport Canada have raised some ire in certain quarters, primarily among those who desire to travel for vacations or to spend time at winter homes during the pandemic and now must face an increased cost. The travel requirements do not prohibit international travel; rather, they make it difficult and come with additional cost. What are the constitutional implications of these regulations? . . . [more]

Over the years, I’ve had the honour of being invited into many law firms to examine and make recommendations on their strategy, structure, practice areas, compensation, management, leadership, and marketing.

My initial advice is always the same: start with a strategic plan so you understand your long-term goals before you attempt any short-term implementation. But aside from this, my advice tends to move quickly to ensuring the right people are doing the right things. This might require some process or structural re-organization within the firm but the end of the day it all boils down to one thing: establish and . . . [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

Unnecessary Lawyerisms
Neil Guthrie

These aren’t always confined to lawyers; they permeate the e-mail and speech of law clerks, legal assistants and students. Advised: The phrase Please be advised that … has to be one of the most leaden openings of all time. Cut to the chase and just convey the actual information, without the pointless preamble. … . . . [more]

The fear of being replaced by “robots” is not unique to our profession. Automation is predicted to impact even highly skilled workers. But the legal profession is well placed to ride the waves of artificially intelligent systems with confidence rather than panic.[1] We should not be concerned about being replaced—it should be our A.I. assistants that should concern us, particularly those marketed as case or litigation prediction tools.

The legal profession should embrace AI tools that improve efficiencies, access to justice and results for our clients. However, we must set thoughtful norms about how new and old lawyers alike . . . [more]

As the legal system clumsily attempts to proceed along remotely during a pandemic, parties have tried their best to continue to move things along.

This approach was never entirely without risk, and a new decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kaushal v. Vasudeva et al. highlights some of these risks. The motion was to strike out evidence based on misconduct and abuse of process during a remote cross-examination.

The cross-examination of the affidavit occurred via Zoom, with an interpreter present in the same room. There was also a court reporter present virtually.

Although the examining counsel inquired . . . [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.

TRAVAIL : À partir du moment où une question est visée par la Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles, qu’il s’agisse d’indemnisation, de réadaptation ou de retour au travail, elle échappe à tous égards aux tribunaux de droit commun; ceux-ci ne peuvent être saisis de . . . [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:

• Director, People and Culture (Full-time) | Remote/Vancouver, BC
  (Ecojustice)
• Legislative Affairs Specialist (Full-time) | Remote/within commuting distance to Victoria, BC
  (Ecojustice)

Three regulators^[1] issued a joint warning letter to numerous mobile app developers late in November 26, 2020 cautioning the companies to comply with various compliance obligations under Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL), the federal privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and the Completion Act.

The co-operative effort was part of a CASL compliance awareness-raising campaign and the warning letters were directed at businesses involved in making apps available to Canadian consumers. The letter is available online^[2] and reminds the businesses that they have obligations under the CASL-related provisions under CASL, PIPEDA, and the . . . [more]

The Statement of Principles guiding the Canadian Bar Association’s COVID-19 task force puts the focus on innovation, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability as the justice systems and legal profession move from prioritizing safety at the height of a pandemic to institutionalizing change.

One word at the heart of it all is triage.

Innovation is needed to establish the kind of triage necessary to make the justice systems effective and efficient. If it’s done properly, it will also be sustainable well into the future, in bad times and good.

In a hospital emergency room triage means to sort by priority – urgent . . . [more]