Resources, Articles, & Advocacy
Article | November 27, 2025
Spotlight on Articling Student Hanaa Ameer-Uddin
Hanaa Ameer-Uddin graduated from the University of Ottawa and now articles at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. Her interest in corporate law traces back to growing up in a family of entrepreneurs; from a young age, she noticed the impact of business decisions on people’s lives. In this conversation, she walks us through her path from undergrad to articling and shares practical advice for law students finding their way.
Advocacy | November 25, 2025
Your OBA LegUp Policy and Legislative Update Week of November 17
Province Targets Child Support from Impaired Drivers: Building on recent measures passed in the Safer Roads and Communities Act, 2024, the Ford government is developing new measures that would require impaired drivers to pay ongoing child support if they kill a child's parent or guardian. Attorney General Doug Downey explained in a statement that, "our government is looking at practical solutions that can ease their [surviving children's] burden in the wake of such tragedies and provide financial stability for children who are left behind."
Article | November 25, 2025
The Client Who Changed Me: A Lawyer’s Reflection on Parental Leave
Parental leave is often described as time away from one’s career, but for many lawyers, it becomes an unexpected chapter of growth, clarity, and transformation. In this candid reflection, Jessica Byles-Nolet shares how stepping back from practice during her first year of motherhood reshaped her understanding of identity, ambition, and balance. What began as a fear of losing her professional edge evolved into a profound realization: that legal skills can be strengthened outside the office, and that presence—both at home and at work—requires intention. Her story offers encouragement to lawyers navigating parental leave and redefining what it means to thrive.
Article | November 24, 2025
Think Bigger: Three Things I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self
In this deeply personal reflection, Dr. Ningjing (Natalie) Zhang revisits her journey from living in a women’s shelter to becoming an immigration and refugee lawyer in Ontario. Inspired by a recent GROWL gathering, she shares three lessons she wishes she could give her younger self — lessons shaped by hardship, resilience, mentorship, and growth. This article invites lawyers, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, to rethink belonging, reject comparison, and embrace their unique stories as sources of strength.
Video | November 24, 2025
Overhauling Ontario’s Civil Rules: What’s Next?
The Working Group is submitting its final recommendations and it's time find out what comes next for Ontario’s Civil Rules.
Article | November 23, 2025
Key Proposed Changes to the Rules: What Civil Litigators Need to Know
In April 2025, the Civil Rules Review Working Group released the Phase 2 Consultation Report (the “Report”), proposing significant changes to Ontario’s existing procedures with a view to making court proceedings more efficient and affordable. The proposed changes are still under consultation and further refinements can be expected. Below is a summary of several key proposed changes in the Report, along with a few additional proposed changes we have learned since its release.
Article | November 20, 2025
Young Persons and the Self-contained Bail Regime under the Youth Criminal Justice Act
The goal of this article is three-fold: to reflect on my non-profit work experience working with children and youth, share limited relevant information about the self-contained bail regime of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, S.C. 2002, c. 1 (the “YCJA”), and briefly discuss how the proposed bail reform may affect youth bail hearings. As this goal is rather ambitious, I would only be able to scratch the surface of the last item. I leave the invitation to other counsel to contribute to this important discussion.
