In Ciszkowski v Canac Kitchens, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice concluded that a long-term employee was constructively dismissed when he considered himself demoted upon his return to work from heart surgery. This demotion due to his disability created a serious erosion of the working relationship. . . . [more]

I started my legal career as a summer student in 2008 with what was then known as Ogilvy Renault LLP in Montreal (now known as Norton Rose Fulbright Canada (NRF)). Before discovering the firm, I had not contemplated working at a big firm but I loved the people, the practice area I chose (employment & labour) and the intense intellectual challenge of working with some of the smartest people I had ever met. I wasn’t planning on leaving. I considered myself a “lifer”.

“Life” lasted only a few years. I left the firm in 2012 to lead Employee Relations for . . . [more]

On Tuesday, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its findings after its multi-year investigation into over a century of physical, cultural and sexual abuses against Aboriginal children at Church-run Indian Residential Schools.

The Government Library & IM Professionals Network, part of the Canadian Library Association, has compiled the Commission’s many calls to action that focus on the information management community (museums, Library and Archives Canada, archivist associations, vital statistics agencies, etc.).

Library and Archives Canada has compiled a list of resources relating to residential school records.

  . . . [more]

Ontario has an elaborate system that allegedly protects endangered species. Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), endangered, threatened or extirpated species and their habitats cannot be harmed or destroyed, except by permit or if authorized under the regulations.

Leaving aside the massive exemption regulations for industry and agriculture that are presently under attack in the courts, endangered species and their habitats are supposed to be harmed only with the personal permission of the Minister of Natural Resources (MNR). Most regulatory permits in Ontario are issued by civil servants; requiring that endangered species permits be issued by the Minister personally underscores . . . [more]

Alberta has been the subject of some change-related discussion lately, described with words like transformation, major change, new ways and old ways, and alignment nationwide. And I’m not referring to politics.

On May 22, 2015, the Law Society of Alberta sent Alberta lawyers and students-at-law an article offering “a glimpse into the new education plan” — which plan was rolled out this Monday, June 1, 2015.

The Education Plan addresses the articling process in Alberta: According to the article, any student who applied to be a student-at-law after June 1 is to use the new plan. The plan is also . . . [more]

There’s plenty of rich data on new lawyers in Canada to be found final report from Law and Beyond (“LAB”), a study of Canadian lawyers called to the bar in 2010. The key findings of the study, released last week by Ronit Dinovitzer, provide a glimpse into the kinds of information researchers gleaned about this cohort; for example:

• Twenty-two percent (22%) of the LAB sample are non-white, 56% are women, and 16.4% are immigrants.
• Women remain more likely than men to work in the public sector, even in their early careers, with more than one quarter of women

Nobody likes conversations with clients who are complaining about the size of their bills. If you respond with something like “I think you’ll find that our fees are commensurate with other firms of our size and experience”, you’re missing an opportunity.

Ideally, clients should not be surprised by the amounts of their bills; if you’ve communicated with them throughout the matter, they should already know what to expect. But what they’re really asking is “What do I get for all this money?” That’s when you need to have the Value Talk.

To a client starting up a business, the value . . . [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. Law Society of Upper Canada v Robson, 2015 ONLSTA 18

[15] Mr. Robson has communicated with the Tribunal and Law Society counsel on multiple occasions in ways that are properly characterized as deeply offensive and appalling. However, given our conclusion above, it is unnecessary for us to consider whether his conduct would have disqualified him from a favourable costs order, had . . . [more]

Law firms and legal departments often rely on technology to create cost-effective training options. Mistakes can be costly, though. If you choose the wrong platform or make incorrect assumptions, both you and your program could lose credibility.

In the second half of an interview with Holly MacDonald, driving force behind Canadian e-learning innovation consultancy Spark &+Co, we learn what to consider when creating an e-learning module, and which trends might help sustain progress. (The first half of the interview discussed what individual lawyers should look for when selecting an e-learning course.)

Q. Which mistakes do organizations commonly . . . [more]

Subject to limited exceptions, all parties litigating in Superior Court have the right to have the issues of fact tried, or the damages assessed, or both, by a jury.

Despite this fundamental right, civil jury trials are much more rare than trials conducted by judge alone.

A recent decision of Mew J., provides an excellent, comprehensive, summary of the law on civil jury trials including the law pertaining to the fundamental right to a jury trial and a detailed discussion of the law pertaining to a judge’s discretion to strike a jury notice.

The decision is a useful read for . . . [more]

When Walmart, Target, and the ultra-conservative Koch brothers stand shoulder-to-shoulder on an employment issue, you could be forgiven for thinking that a workplace apocalypse is brewing. This trifecta is more likely to be found campaigning against union certifications or decrying a minimum wage hike than singing hymns on a picket line with the likes of ColorOfChange.Org, The Center for American Progress, and the American Civil Liberties Union. And yet the lion doth lay down with the lamb.

Several weeks ago Koch Industries added its ample voice to the chorus of “ban the box” promoters. The “box” being “banned” in . . . [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 technology, research and practice.

Research

What Is Your Legal Research Project Status?
Shaunna Mireau

I despise long deadlines for legal research projects. Give me a complex project that has to be completed by the end of the week over a complex project that I must pick away at over a month or two any day. Why? With a longer project I must use formal project management – on myself. …

Practice

Hacker’s Guide to . . . [more]