Articles 2025

When administering an estate, one should be mindful of the dual effects of the executor’s year and the rule of convenience. This article discusses the recent Ontario Court of Appeal case of Rivard v Morris and when an interest payment of five per cent per year on specific bequests may be payable from the residue of the estate.

There are times in every litigator’s practice when he or she concludes that for one reason or another they can no longer act for their client. In order to get off record when a client does not agree, counsel must bring a motion seeking an order removing him or herself as lawyer of record. In doing so, there are three principal issues the lawyer must consider: when, why and how?

This year is shaping up to be a great one for legal innovation in Canada. For many lawyers and firms the task of updating their systems and processes to currently existing technology is an intimidating challenge, and the prospect of actually pursuing innovative or novel solutions is just not on the table. However, and despite this apparently ubiquitous problem, lawyers across the globe have finally begun to embrace technology.

At the Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) Annual General Meeting (on May 9, 2018, Treasurer Paul Schabas, announced that the LSO will be conducting a review of the “good character” requirement for licensee applications. There is a need to ensure not a different or lower standard, but that the process for admission to the bar is fair and does not unduly prejudice Indigenous applicants.

The sun is finally starting to shine, and it seems that spring has arrived. With summer just around the corner, Ottawa has a number of great outdoor team sporting events coming up that you can get involved in with fellow young lawyers or even potential or existing clients.

The race to seek a resolution in Kinder Morgan’s hard-fought Trans Mountain Pipeline saga is making headlines. Kinder Morgan, in news reports, has imposed a May 31 deadline, after which it will cancel its multibillion dollar pipeline project. Meanwhile, Alberta Senator Douglas Black has tabled a public bill that would see that the “Trans Mountain Pipeline Project and related works are declared to be works for the general advantage of Canada.”

The typical articling term involves a steep learning curve and long hours. It can be difficult to think about or plan for life after that ten-month end date. But once you’ve run the gauntlet and been called to the bar, it’s time to transition into life as an associate. The following observations and tips, learned through experience, can ease this transition.

Joint ownership of property is one of the most commonly used strategies for property ownership in the context of developing an estate plan. There are specific nuances that must be addressed when dealing with jointly owned life insurance.

In the last few years the momentum for change has grabbed hold of the construction industry in Canada, and pulled tight on the reins. Several provinces, as well as the federal government, have been grappling with the issue of prompt payment on construction projects, and trying to determine how best to incorporate the rights and concerns of the most vulnerable parties who are lower down the pyramid: the construction trades.

Following are summaries of this week’s civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, including Ontario Inc. v. Maple Leafs Foods Inc., in which the Court decided Maple Leafs Foods did not have a duty not to harm the reputation or profits of Mr. Sub franchisees who sold Maple Leaf meats; and, on the Criminal Law front, the Court's decision in R. v. Forcillo, in which the appeal from the conviction of the constable for attempted murder was dismissed.