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]

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. Canadian Combat Sports Law Blog 2. Legal Post Blog 3. The Court 4. Canadian Class Actions Monitor 5. Rule of Law

Canadian Combat Sports Law Blog
Study – Brain Damage in Strikers vs Grapplers

A recent study conducted neuropsychological testing on a group of strikers and . . . [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 ordonne la tenue d’un nouveau procès dans une affaire de conduite avec les facultés affaiblies et avec une alcoolémie supérieure à la limite permise ayant causé, dans les 2 cas, la mort; le juge de première instance a abordé la question de la causalité selon . . . [more]

I’m thrilled to share with all Slaw readers this great opportunity from our dedicated law students at the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. I work closely with these students either in the Journal or in the courses I teach and I can confidently see that they are hardworking, intellectually engaged and eager to make an impact. The topics of the 2027 Symposium taking place in Tucson will include International Trade Law, Digitization of International Commercial Law, and Indigenous Peoples and International Economic Law. These areas of study have been an integral part of the Journal since its inception . . . [more]

Most of the common reasons for declining mediation are well known. These include concerns that it may be premature, that additional information is required, or that the opposing party is unreasonable. Other justifications include the belief that the law is clear, the case is strong, and mediation would only increase costs. Some of these concerns are legitimate. Not every dispute is suitable for mediation, and even appropriate cases may not be ready for mediation at a particular stage.

Ontario has now had mandatory mediation in parts of the province for more than twenty-five years. The program began in Toronto and . . . [more]

Ask ten partners in the same firm to describe their approach to client service and you will likely hear ten different answers.

One partner will insist on quarterly check-ins. Another prefers to let the client reach out when they need something. One responds to every email within the hour, while another believes that as long as the work is delivered on time, the client will be happy. Some actively introduce colleagues from other practice areas. Others rarely do.

None of these approaches are necessarily wrong. But when they all exist within the same firm, they create a challenge. The result . . . [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. PierreRoy & Associés 2. IFLS at Osgoode 3. Michael Geist 4. Canadian Combat Sports Law Blog 5. David Whelan

PierreRoy & Associés
Dépenses d’été : comment profiter de la saison sans compromettre sa santé financière

L’été multiplie les occasions de dépenser. Et contrairement à la période des . . . [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.

PROCÉDURE CIVILE : La Cour supérieure peut rendre une ordonnance de sauvegarde concernant 2 des 3 enfants des parties; elle ne peut le faire à l’égard du cadet, qui est né après le 29 juin 2025, puisque seul le Tribunal unifié de la famille possède cette compétence.

Intitulé : Droit . . . [more]