Articles 2020

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of May 22, 2023.

This article reviews a recent BC Supreme Court case that revisited the principles to be considered when the court determines whether or not to order a capacity assessment in a guardianship proceeding; further, the article provides guidance for requesting and/or conducting effective capacity assessments.

Following are our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of May 8, 2023.

From live demonstrations and abundant, unparalleled networking opportunities, to proven tactics for effective trial advocacy and new strategies for litigating in the digital age, program chairs for the always-popular, ever-evolving Anatomy of a Trial highlight the special features of this year's not-to-be-missed event.

"[Unconscious bias] comes up in my day-to-day. For example, people assume that I am more mellow, more docile, under-spoken, or not very assertive, all because I am an Asian woman. So when I’m handling files where the lawyer on the other side is known for being abrasive or unreasonable, senior lawyers sometimes assume that I’m unable to stand my ground. And when I act as assertive as any other lawyer, I get called aggressive."

"Anti-Indigenous bias is pervasive and particularly in Northern Ontario. For example, I remember being at the OCJ in Kapuskasing as an out of town Crown. I was standing at the podium and there was an accused being belligerent and badgering the registrar. I interrupted and told him to sit down and wait for his matter to be called on the list. As he walked away, he said, 'You send them to law school for free and they come back all uppity.'”