Articles 2020

Here are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In Donovan v. Sherman Estate, the Court briefly reviewed the test for granting a sealing order. The Court observed that although the desire for privacy in this case was understandable, by itself, the desire for privacy without a public interest component is insufficient to justify the granting of a sealing order.

On May 1, 2019, the OBA Public Sector Lawyers Section, together with 60 attendees, honoured Richard Steinecke, the recipient of the 2019 Tom Marshall Award.

On April 25, 2019, the OBA’s Public Sector Lawyers section hosted a panel entitled “Claiming Privilege in the Public Sector". The three-person panel provided a refresher on the principles of solicitor-client and litigation privilege and explored the application of privilege to privacy, how to manage privilege within a crown corporation or agency, and the interplay between privilege and Cabinet privilege and Parliamentary procedures.

In Davies v. The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington, a single class member proceeded to trial - and despite being the successful party, ended up with a $2.5 million adverse costs award for his trouble.

On March 20, 2019 (International Francophonie Day), the Law Society of Ontario held a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program entirely in French, in collaboration with PratiquO and the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO), followed by a networking reception organized by the Law Society’s Equity Initiatives Department.

In the fall of 2018, the Ontario Legislature tabled two bills proposing significant amendments to the Ontario Human Rights Code. If enacted, Bill 35 and Bill 40 would introduce new non-discrimination obligations for provincially regulated employers.

A brief intro into this novel litigation insurance coverage by an industry representative.

“Diversity and inclusion” (or “D&I”) has become a hot topic in the legal profession, in areas ranging from recruitment, to interactions with our clients, and at the law society. But what does “diversity and inclusion” actually mean and why should young lawyers care? In this post, D&I advocate Rosel Kim shares her story of why D&I is important to her and how young lawyers can promote D&I in the legal profession.