I am a big fan of trivia. I am pretty much undefeated in any game of Trivial Pursuit since the mid-1980s[1]. One night years ago my family thought they might defeat me playing a DVD-video based version of the game. My victory that night has become family legend.[2]

A piece of trivia I recently learned was that the Audi automobile company takes its name from the legal maxim, audi alteram partem. The founder, August Horch, could not use his surname as it was part of the trademark of his former company. “Horch” in German means “hear”. . . . [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. Miller v Edmonton (City), 2020 ABQB 784 (CanLII)

[23] One point where I disagree with Edmonton is that this is an instance where Mackin v New Brunswick (Minister of Finance) would apply, and that allegations that a law is unconstitutional cannot ground a claim for damages. When conducting procedure pursuant to r 3.68, pleadings are presumed to be factually correct ( . . . [more]

Three recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions illustrate the very different perspectives or philosophies the judges bring to their consideration of the cases before them. The most recent, CM Callow Inc. v. Zollinger, dealt with the duty of honest performance in contract law, while the other two were concerned with equality issues: Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General), which considered whether the RCMP pension plan discriminated against members (primarily women) who shared jobs, and Ontario (Attorney General) v. G, involving the different treatment of persons found guilty of a sexual offence and those who had committed a sexual . . . [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.

Practice

The Dangers of Dopplelawyers
Shawn Erker

Be careful: There may be another you out there, lurking in the non-SEO-optimized back quarters of the internet. Another website profile with your name, maybe even your firm’s name, but with different contact information. …

Research & Writing

More Terminology: Law Students
Neil Guthrie

A friend, who is originally from the UK and not a lawyer, asked me why we call our . . . [more]

The rights and obligations of workers and employers in the pandemic continue to raise new and novel issues. While many businesses encourage or require their staff to work from home, there are plenty of industries which still require work in-person, especially in deemed essential services (which differ based on jurisdiction).

A particularly challenging area has been long-term care and retirement homes, where several outbreaks have been observed across the country. Not only do these facilities have especially vulnerable residents, but they are often busy and understaffed relative to the work involved and the needs of the facility. Employers continue to . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all appeals as well as leaves to appeal granted so you will know what the SCC will soon be dealing with (November 21 – December 18, 2020 inclusive).

Oral Judgments

Banking: Fraud; Insurance
Co-operators General Insurance Co. v. Sollio Groupe Coopératif, 2019 QCCA 1678; 2020 SCC 41 (38938)

Kasirer J. “We are all of the . . . [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.

FAMILLE : Le juge de première instance était fondé à attribuer une indemnisation à l’intimée en raison d’un enrichissement injustifié; au terme de la vie commune des parties, l’appelant s’est retrouvé avec une part disproportionnée de la richesse accumulée grâce aux efforts combinés des parties.

Intitulé : Droit de la . . . [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:

• Legislative Affairs Specialist (Full-time) | Remote/within commuting distance to Victoria, BC
  (Ecojustice)
• Research Resources and Inclusivity Initiatives Librarian (Full-time) | Ithaca, New York
  (Cornell University Law Library)
• Legal Content Developer (Full-time) | Toronto, ON
  (CLEO – Community Legal Education Ontario)

Over the past decade, many commentators, myself included, have argued that lawyers should have a duty of technological competence. This duty now exists: in October 2019, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada amended its Model Code rule on competence to include explicit reference to technological competence. Several provincial and territorial law societies have incorporated this amendment into their respective codes, and more will hopefully soon follow suit.

The fact that there now exists a formal duty of technological competence raises the question of what, exactly, does this duty entail? What does this duty require from lawyers? In a strict . . . [more]

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

Neil Patzwald was an engineer who worked at FMC Corporation from March 2011 to September 2013. His short tenure was marked by multiple lengthy absences for medical reasons, disagreements with his superiors about his abilities and suitability for his position-culminating in an acrimonious end to the employment relationship. Since it became apparent the employee had a disability, the case became centered on the employer’s duty to accommodate Mr. Patzwald. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal determined that the company did not discriminate against Mr. Patzwald on the basis of disability contrary . . . [more]

Earlier this fall, the Law Society of British Columbia made headlines when it announced the creation of an “Innovation Sandbox” that would allow unauthorized providers of legal services to deliver those services in BC on a pilot-project basis while the regulator assesses their reliability and effectiveness. From The Lawyer’s Daily:

Proposals to enter the innovation sandbox must include a summary of the services that the provider is proposing to pilot, who are expected to be clients, how the services will increase access to justice, as well as information about the provider and an assessment of any risks to the