Articles 2020

Highlights from the September 17, 2019 Brown Bag Lunch, including discussions of multiple wills, best practices when a parent wishes to disinherit a child, assessing capacity via Skype, and many other issues relevant to an estates and trust practice.

Updates on the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Ontario government draft regulations on electronic communications, Income Tax Act changes, CRA publications, and recent decisions from Ontario, including the Nortel decision from the Financial Services Tribunal.

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Topics covered this week include family law, insurance coverage, enforcing settlements, adding parties after a limitation period expires, and obtaining dispensation from some of the requirements of perfecting an appeal.

In a landmark decision (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada et al. v. Attorney General of Canada (Representing the Minister of Indigenous and Norther Affairs Canada et al.), 2019 CHRT 39, released on September 6, 2019, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the federal government to pay $40,000 for every First Nations child unnecessarily removed from family members on reserve and in the Yukon on or after January 1st, 2006.

On September 10, 2019, two members of the OBA's Young Lawyers' Division Executive attended the Momentum Summit on gender equality and equity. The event was a capstone on the OBA’s 2018-2019 initiatives to advance gender equality in the legal profession. In case you missed it, this article has 7 takeaways from the summit's sessions.

The headline decision this week is Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General). Everyone will recall that the Better Local Government Act, 2018 reduced the number of Toronto wards in the middle of the election campaign. The City challenged the constitutionality of the change. On the appeal, four of the five members of the panel noted that the section 2(b) protection of expression does not extend to the effectiveness of the expression and was thus not unconstitutional

I always knew that I wanted a family and a rewarding career, both of which are extremely important to me. Somehow, I am lucky and extremely privileged to have it work out so far. I should not be naïve as I know that I’m only a few miles into a life-long marathon in this balancing act, but for those who might be at the start line, here are a few of the (somewhat) expected and unexpected challenges to parenting and lawyering that I have encountered so far.

It’s no surprise that young lawyers tend to be workaholics who don’t take care of themselves. After all, we are still fresh out of the all-nighter mode of law school and the crazy hours of articling. Plus, there’s the ever-present pressure to prove yourself as a recent call. But wouldn’t you rather get that dream job AND be mentally healthy?

As an articling student, and even as a young lawyer, direct interactions with clients can seem daunting. So, for those of you heading into your first solo or lead file, or for those of us who are still developing and fine-tuning this skillset, here are some considerations and tips for client management from colleagues and hard-learned lessons.

The number of Canadians without a Will should astonish lawyers. A recent study found that the majority of Canadians do not have a Will. In my experience, anecdotal evidence suggests that these statistics are consistent among young lawyers, particularly among those who are just beginning their practices. As a young lawyer (potentially with student debt, but also on the verge of significant financial milestones such as home ownership and child rearing) you should seriously consider making a Will.