Articles 2023

The Crypto Evolution Continues: An overview of client onboarding, virtual law offices, video conferencing and privacy/security considerations of practicing in the metaverse.

For almost 20 years, mediation has been required in most civil litigation proceedings in Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor. Mandatory mediation has significantly reduced the time taken to resolve cases and increased litigant satisfaction. A provincial roll-out of mandatory mediation will alleviate the current backlogs in Ontario courts and address the province’s urgent need to increase access to justice.

While we generally refer to mediation as a confidential and without prejudice process, the truth is that there are three potential situations in which what happens at mediation can be referenced and relied upon. It is important that counsel are aware of these exceptions, and advisable that they ensure that mediations they participate in are governed by an agreement which rebuts them to the extent possible. My standard mediation agreement does so, but not all of them do.

A key aspect of mentorship is ensuring that you establish mutually beneficial professional connections and focus on maintaining those relationships throughout your career, rather than just seeking out how others can support you.

Learning how to handle senior lawyers who are all-too-comfortable resorting to bullying is an essential part of any lawyer's toolbox. Here are some tips for dealing with those bullies.