Articles 2025

This past week, the Court of Appeal for Ontario provided us with several substantive and interesting civil decisions. Please find below our summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of January 18.

Oksana Romanov writes about her experience at the OBA Award of Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution, held on December 3, 2020. Oksana also provides valuable insight on what excellence and mentorship means in the legal profession.

In this interview of Professor Scott Franks by Oksana Romanov, he discusses his LLM research that investigated barriers and opportunities in the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action in law schools.

Updates in Ontario pension legislation, pension regulator guidance and pension case law.

On December 9, twin U.S. lawsuits against Facebook were launched that will shape the competition and privacy landscape for years to come. They were initiated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of Attorneys General from 48 U.S. states and territories.

Penalty and liquidated damages clauses may seem like an attractive option in the contractual legal toolkit for franchise agreements. However, there are potential drawbacks and drafting considerations to keep in mind. This article provides an overview of these clauses, their benefits, and thoughts on their utility in the franchise context.

In this article, the author shares the wisdom and experiences he has received from his mentors about five key factors to consider before hiring your first clerk, assistant, or associate.

Perhaps you are looking to hire your first associate or staff member, or perhaps you already have a team. Either way, contracts and policies are your best opportunity to improve your legal position, and the simple reality is that the vast majority of employment contracts are ineffective. As a fellow OBA member, we will gladly review your current employment agreement template, at no cost, and let you know if it needs to be updated.

The author talks about the challenges she faced in opening her practice straight out of articling and into the COVID-19 pandemic.