Articles 2023

The recent decision of Justice Brown in Prism Resources Inc. v. Detour Gold Corporation, 2022 ONCA 4, discusses the foundational role of written advocacy in appeals, illustrates the many legitimate reasons why an appellant might want to file a reply factum, and offers an excellent viewpoint for an automatic right to file a brief reply.

As a young lawyer trying to learn the ins and outs of practice, it can be difficult to stay on top of recent jurisprudential developments. This article provides four tips on how you can keep up with current case law and maintain the requisite level of competency to represent your clients.

As the highly-contagious Omicron variant sweeps across the province and COVID-19 immunization campaigns for children ramp up, two recent Ontario decisions—A.C. v. L.L., 2021 ONSC 6530 and Saint-Phard v. Saint-Phard, 2021 ONSC 6910—offer a glimpse of the legal trends emerging at this latest intersection of family law and health law.

As widespread vaccination against COVID-19 continues in Ontario, many lawyers are transitioning from working at their kitchen tables to working at the office. With this in mind, here are some considerations and observations on returning to the office after spending almost 20 months working from home.

Conflicts of interest are all around us. The politician who takes a large campaign donation from a special interest group. The realtor who pushes a sale to get their commission. The hiring director who insists their relative is the best candidate for a job. You likely know it when you see it. For legal practitioners, however, conflicts of interest work on us in complex ways and recognizing them is not always intuitive.

“You’re going to burn out.” Many of us have probably heard this phrase, having either been the one telling this to someone or been on the receiving end. With its stay-at-home orders, working from home, and not having a clear division in our days, the pandemic has made burnouts a more prevalent issue across various professions. The author shares some tips on dealing with burnout in the workplace as a young lawyer.