The Friday Brief: Managing Editor’s must-read items from this week

Matthew Grace

Here are my picks for the top stories we published this week.

CBA in midst of revamp; downsizing expected at national office
Unbeknownst to most of its rank-and-file members, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is poised for a dramatic retooling this year that could cut its fees, pare down its national staff and “non-core” national activities and redirect more cash and delivery of member services to its provincial and territorial branches, The Lawyer’s Daily has learned.

SCC says general contractor had fiduciary duty to notify subcontractor of existence of payment bond
In an important construction law ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a general contractor who was the obligee/trustee under a labour and material payment bond for a construction project in the Alberta oil sands had a fiduciary obligation to timely notify a subcontractor stuck with unpaid bills from that project of the existence of the bond.

SCC clarifies test for mandatory interlocutory injunctions
The Supreme Court has clarified the test for mandatory interlocutory injunctions in a judgment which holds that CBC need not remove website content that identified a young murder victim before a publication ban shielded her identity.

Lawyers’ groups express concerns over B.C.’s auto insurance reforms
The B.C. government has announced major steps to help the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) get out of financial crisis, but a number of organizations representing the legal community have expressed concerns the reforms to the provincially owned auto insurer may do unintended harm to victims of motor vehicle accidents.

Seeing is believing: Litigation in the age of surveillance
In his column, Patrick Brown writes: “With the advent of new technology from dashboard cameras to iPhones, it has become easier to capture a collision unfolding right before our eyes.”

Five Canadian cities to participate in Global Legal Hackathon
Legal professionals and tech companies from across the globe will be banding together for a three-day hackathon that is meant to break down silos and encourage the creation of solutions to improve the legal industry worldwide.

Matthew Grace is the Managing Editor of The Lawyer's Daily.