One-third of the more than 24,000 lawyers in private practice in Ontario are sole practitioners. as a solo, it’s great to have the freedom that comes with being your own boss, but you also have full responsibility for all aspects of the operation of your law practice. Do you have what it takes to be a sole practitioner? This self-assessment quiz will help answer that question.

The chart helps identify your strengths and weaknesses and gives you a better idea of whether you’re cut out for solo or small firm practice. . . . [more]

The greatest criminal defence attorneys may best protect and serve their clients by taking an offensive approach to mounting a client’s defence. The point at which that intersects with the ethics of the profession is difficult to determine. Comparing the work of defence attorneys to football coaches provides interesting insights into the mechanics of the profession. In defending a client, should a lawyer run a play that strengthens their defensive line or mount an aggressive offence?

Does A Good Defence Start with a Great Coach?

A good lawyer gives advice, but at what point does that advice become training? Ethically, . . . [more]

It was Record Store Day on Saturday and I did my part to support record stores. This year, thanks to my friend Dave C., I was flipping through bins of records at BJ’s Records and Nostalgia up in Barrie. This activity brings back many happy memories of my once annual pilgrimage to Sam the Record Man every Boxing Day. I absolutely love the physical process of search and discovery, finding a new or unknown album that sparks an inspiration to try looking down a new path.

I like vinyl records too and not just because of the perceived quality . . . [more]

LAWPRO is pleased to take part in Slaw’s Student Week. We’ve made an effort to reach out to students and new lawyers by creating a student issue of LAWPRO Magazine for the law schools, and this week we’ll post some of the articles from those issues. They contain practice management and risk management content aimed at helping students make the transition to becoming a practicing lawyer and getting their careers off on the right foot.

Law students – like all students – are prone to anxiety about their career prospects. High-profile news about the employment challenges faced by new grads . . . [more]

Ontario lawyer David Lepofsky, the 2014 Roy McMurtry Visiting Clinical Fellow, recently delivered a baker’s dozen of lectures on disability rights advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School. You can view them all online using the playlist on Osgoode’s YouTube channel.

David’s lectures range across a wide variety of topics, from particular specific case studies, such as causing Toronto’s transit commission to announce subway stops, to “ethical lawyering in a global community.” . . . [more]

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This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Rule of Law   2. SOQUIJ | Le Blogue   3. Michael Geist   4. Labour Pains    5. Thoughtful Legal Management

As I sit and write this column it is a warm 11 degrees in Victoria and the flowers are starting to bloom. While I realize that my colleagues in many parts of the country are still buried in snow, our thoughts on the west coast are starting to turn to spring. At this time of year I engage in an annual exercise that began when I ran my small law office and continues to this day with my consulting firm. That practice is spring-cleaning and it is a simple process that I recommend to all of my clients. While each . . . [more]

This week's summaries concern: Professional misconduct in medicine / Assignment of copyright / Breathalyzer / Stalking / Punitive damages:

Sivia v. British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles), 2014 BCCA 79

1. CASE SUMMARY

Areas of law: Motor Vehicles; Legislation; Constitutional law; Charter of Rights-

-Provisions in Motor Vehicle Act establishing automatic roadside prohibition regime for motorists registering a failure on an approved screening device infringing s. 8 of Charter (unreasonable search and seizure) and not salvageable under s.1

Background: The petitioners were motorists who had received 90-day roadside driving prohibitions (”IRP”) under provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act (“MVA”) establishing an automatic roadside prohibition regime (“ARP”) after they had either refused to supply a sample of breath, or having . . . [more]

Faillite : Il n'y a aucune raison d'importer en droit canadien le concept américain de «contribution substantielle», l'article 11.52(1)c) de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies permettant à une partie de requérir une sûreté afin de garantir les honoraires professionnels d'intervenants faisant preuve d'une participation efficace au processus de restructuration.

Technology, particularly legal technology is supposed to make the delivery of legal services more convenient. However, sometimes lawyers get in the way and muck things up. Teraview is a perfect example.

Back in the day, anyone could walk into the local registry office and register any document they wanted. Since the mid-1980s registration documents were not witnessed, nor were signatures checked. The system was one of openness and accessibility.

Then along came Teraview – which allowed registration from anywhere in Canada via the internet. A seemingly great idea that would make real estate transactions faster and smoother. However, everyone forgot . . . [more]