Articles 2024

A mentor once told me that he knew it was time to do his own thing when he grew to dislike the colour of the walls at the firm where he worked. At that instant, he wanted to change everything about where and how he worked. He wanted to choose the colour of the walls in his office. He wanted to call the shots; he wanted to work for himself. My mentor is not alone. Here are practical tips from lawyers who have gone out on their own and found incredible success in establishing their own firms.

A proper estate plan is just as important for Millennial and Gen Z individuals as it is for older generations. However, Millennial and Gen Z clients may have unique estate planning considerations, including non-traditional assets such as cryptocurrency or collections. Some aspects of an individual’s relationships or sexuality may also require special attention in creating an estate plan. Demetre Vasilounis reviews some of these factors as discussed at a recent CPD program.

This article summarizes Price v. Lundbeck A/S, 2022 ONSC 7160, in which the Ontario Superior Court of Justice refused to certify a class action alleging that a product caused teratogenicity because that covered hundreds of different congenital defects and the evidence was not specific to each defect.

This article summarizes a consultation report for proposed amendments to Saskatchewan's class proceedings legislation.

This article summarizes D’Haene v. BMW Canada, 2022 ONSC 5973, in which the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a class action for delay, but then revived in with what was colourfully called a "Phoenix Order".

The article discusses the report entitled “A Voice Unheard: Brandon’s Story” released by the Ontario Ombudsman on December 19, 2022 concerning an investigation into the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

In this first of a series of interviews with our colleagues in the estates bar, we are getting to know a bit more about Doreen So, an estate litigator and partner at Hull & Hull LLP.

The recent decision in P.C.L., by her Litigation Guardians, E.C. et. al. v The Estate of B.L. et. al. considered in what circumstances a person will be found to have demonstrated a “settled intention” to treat an individual as a child, particularly in the context of a SLRA dependant’s support application. Notably, in this case, the court distinguished between an intention and a settled intention, and found on these particular facts that there was no settled intention.

During the Ontario Estates Bench-Bar Liaison Committee's June meeting, the committee discussed several matters of importance to the Estates Bar. Topics addressed included estate model orders, updates to the practice direction, and other ongoing discussion points.