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

2023 ONSC 2740 (CanLII) is a defamation case of epic proportions, both for the scope and turpitude of the statements made and in the number of victims. It’s also a strange case, in that the defendant only knew one of the 53 plaintiffs, and the plaintiffs, based all over North America, were mostly strangers to each other. . . . [more]

Some forms of legal research routinely take place in the legal profession. For example, research into the facts of a dispute, prior rulings, relevant regulations, and precedent often informs legal strategy, and generally precedes the presentation of a case or position. Legal research databases that facilitate everyday access to primary and secondary sources of law are staples of today’s law libraries. Legal departments the world over invest—often heavily—in knowledge management systems and legal software expressly to aid in research and curating information. In these ways, and in these spaces, the legal profession embraces research as integral to accessing the law; . . . [more]

Generative AI will disrupt legal research. Its negative impact has been highlighted in mainstream media in the UK and the US. Many legal information professionals have valid concerns about how generative AI’s application in legal research may impact the integrity of the profession. Meanwhile, social media (e.g., LinkedIn and Twitter) is flooded with legal tech companies’ commentary on how it can be harnessed to streamline legal research, improving efficiency and productivity. I reached out to several colleagues to hear their thoughts and ideas on how to address this contentious topic in their legal research classrooms.

Determining whether the impact . . . [more]

“We are already working with more people with disabilities than we think,” says Ben Lumicao, an in-house counsel in Chicago with a visible disability (cerebral palsy). More than a quarter of Americans have a disability of some kind, but only 30% of those fall into the “visible” spectrum Lumicao describes.

That’s an arresting thought for those of us currently without disabilities, and especially so in the legal profession. Many lawyers with invisible or less visible disabilities keep them hidden — in part, the article suggests, because of our profession’s cultural obsession with strength and fear of appearing weak. . . . [more]

Marketing yourself as a legal professional can be difficult. Some take an active approach, while others do little to no marketing at all. In the legal profession, marketing and advertising is always constrained by the parameters set by our law societies as to what we can and cannot say, which further exacerbates the problem.

One way that I market myself is through indirect marketing in my community. Creating connections through networking is great, but finding ways to get into a setting where others can see qualities, beyond being a good networker, that may translate into the type of lawyer you . . . [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) : L’accusé, auquel il était reproché d’avoir, pendant des années, accédé aux comptes courriel, Facebook et iCloud des plaignants à leur insu afin de télécharger du contenu privé leur appartenant, est reconnu coupable de l’utilisation non autorisée d’un ordinateur, de vol d’identité, de fraude à l’identité et de . . . [more]

A recent Ontario Superior Court decision shows some of the complexities employers face when dealing with Employment Standards Act (ESA) entitlements versus common law. In this case, the employee was seeking damages from the successor employer for an alleged wrongful dismissal from her continued employment. . . . [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.

Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis. By Florence Ashley. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2022. xiii, 249 p. Includes glossary, bibliographic references, and index. ISBN 9780774866927 (hardcover) $89.95; ISBN 9780774866934 (softcover) $32.95; ISBN 9780774866941 (PDF) $32.95; ISBN 9780774866958 (ePUB) $32.95. <ubcpress.ca>.

Reviewed by Alexandra Kwan
Digital Services & Reference . . . [more]

Disputed territories is a term that comes and goes, depending on who is doing the disputing and whether the claims can be attached to other geopolitical trends or issues. Personally, I’m currently working on the concept as part of my research for my upcoming book, Legal and Government Research on US and Canadian Territories. Territories are incredibly different from one another and they continue to develop in multiple shapes and forms. For a long time, the term “territory” has become a useful bucket where national governments, the law, media, academia and national narratives lock these places in an attempt . . . [more]

At the beginning of each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. 

For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were:

1. South West Terminal Ltd. v Achter Land, 2023 SKKB 116

[40] Counsel for Achter remonstrates that allowing a simple 👍 emoji to signify identity and acceptance would open up the flood gates to allow all sorts of cases coming forward asking for interpretations as to what various different . . . [more]

To be a victim is one thing. To be a survivor is quite another. In a world where violence against women and intimate partner violence (IPV) runs rampant and unabated, victims are everywhere, seen and unseen. But survivors — those who have endured, who continue to endure, who persevere against adversity — they are everywhere too. They too are unseen, their stories and lives hidden beneath the scars they carry and the pain in their hearts. Their voices, their words, and their lives have informed everything I am about to tell you. These survivors are those who have survived intimate . . . [more]