March2018

Please note that our website will be offline from 8 am to noon on Saturday, November 21 for planned maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Federal Court has provided new case management tools for complex Federal Court proceedings. Please more information, please see the guidelines and checklist.

The Ontario Bar Association congratulates former OBA President Justice Paul Sweeny on his appointment as Regional Senior Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Central South Region. Justice Sweeny replaces Justice H. Arrell, who elected to become a supernumerary judge in June.

As part of the Federal Courts’ procedural bijuralism pilot project, the Federal Court rendered its first decision under Québec’s Code of Civil Procedure instead of the Federal Courts Rules. For more information, please see the Court's decision.

The Hon. David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, has appointed Justice Paul R. Sweeny as a judge of the Superior Court of Justice for the Central South Region.

On October 15, the provincial government announced the appointment of ten new members to an expert panel to help modernize cyber security across the Public Sector. 

The Law Foundation of Ontario (LFO) is seeking to appoint a person to act as its representative on the Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for the overall supervision of the LCO, which is Ontario’s leading law reform agency. Appointments are for three years with a potential renewal for an additional term.

After changes enacted due to COVID-19, LAO is returning to its standard Change of Solicitor process and its standard Contribution Agreement process.

LAO has released data regarding the racial makeup of clients who use legal aid certificate services. In 2018, LAO began to ask clients to voluntarily indicate their racial identity, and 85% of clients were willing to do so. The LAO compiled the race-based data over the 2019-20 fiscal year in all areas of law, and has now publicized this information.

The Ministry of the Attorney General has advised the OBA that amendments to the Solicitors Act relating to contingency fees are now scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2021.