Thursday, September 05, 2019 @ 8:30 AM
Legal operations: The business side of law
A lot has been written about legal operations recently. Is it a new function, a business solution or maybe even a complete overhaul of the legal industry framework? Whatever the case, it is an important topic for today’s legal professional. ... [read more]
Wednesday, September 04, 2019 @ 8:53 AM
Alberta Court of Appeal clarifies time limit for filing privacy breach civil actions
On May 13, 2019, the Alberta Court of Appeal clarified the limitation period for filing civil claims for privacy breaches. This is the first time the Court of Appeal has written a decision about s. 60 of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). ... [read more]
Tuesday, September 03, 2019 @ 8:46 AM
Thin line between cybersecurity certification, compliance for SMEs
There’s never been a dearth of guidance over the last half-a-decade or so from national and provincial regulators in Canada for businesses to improve their cybersecurity programs. But, in a first-of-its-kind federal initiative, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau, on Aug. 12, launched CyberSecure Canada, a pilot voluntary certification program to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) “raise the cybersecurity baseline” and “increase consumer confidence.” The initiative is akin to the Cyber Essentials certification program of the New Brunswick government, launched in 2017. ... [read more]
Friday, August 30, 2019 @ 9:20 AM
Terror in the courts | Lawrence DavidThe concept of “terror” is not one commonly associated with civil litigation. “Terror” and “terrorism” instead overwhelmingly arise in the context of national security prosecutions, refugee status determinations and the listing of terrorist entities under Part II.1 of the Criminal Code. Still, many civil litigators are or may quickly become familiar with another form of “terror in the courts” — namely, the in terrorem doctrine. ... [read more]
Thursday, August 29, 2019 @ 9:39 AM
Workplace bullying solutions in a social media age
Bullying and cyberbullying are very real and very modern problems in organizations. It’s Newton’s third law of physics, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” applied to the workplace. ... [read more]
Thursday, August 29, 2019 @ 8:27 AM
Lawyers getting up to speed on machine learning
Lawyers spend an inordinate amount of time learning the law, following trends and attempting to analyze the law. This learning doesn’t end in law school but continues into practice on files and through continuing professional development (CPD). ... [read more]
Tuesday, August 27, 2019 @ 8:37 AM
Occupational classification: What is an accountant?
The trade national (TN) occupational classification list under NAFTA’s Appendix 1603.D.1 was not reassessed when the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was negotiated. Defining what does and does not fall under various occupations within an ever-changing economic landscape is not easy. This is particularly true for financial and business positions within the related TN occupational classifications for economists and accountants. In part one of this two-part series, we discussed the classification of economist. In this article we tackle the classification of accountant. ... [read more]
Monday, August 26, 2019 @ 8:37 AM
Settlement agreements: Consequences of ignoring confidentiality provisions
Disclosure of the terms of a settlement agreement could be detrimental to one or more of the parties to the settlement. For example, consider a situation in which an employee receives a substantial payment from their former employer pursuant to a settlement agreement. If other employees become aware of that payment, this may encourage them to commence their own litigation against the employer to obtain a similar payout. This could result in employers becoming less willing to resolve disputes, leading to more lengthy and expensive litigation for both employers and employees. ... [read more]
Friday, August 23, 2019 @ 11:20 AM
Gig economy certification highlights flaws in independent contractor exception
If you’ve been in downtown Toronto or on Twitter lately, you’ve probably heard about the Foodsters United campaign. Foodora (a food-delivery app) bike couriers are seeking better working conditions from the current “chaotic swirl of cars, cyclists, pedestrians and potholes” while they deliver your lunch or dinner. This union certification drive by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) was an unusually public campaign, with posters on telephone polls and stickers on bike racks across the city. ... [read more]
Friday, August 23, 2019 @ 8:40 AM
Number of civil claims related to financial products rising fast
We have seen the proliferation of civil claims in respect of financial products in Canada in recent years. These claims have involved different types of widely available investment funds, such as mutual funds, as well as more targeted tax minimization strategies and alternative investment strategies. Plaintiffs’ lawyers are being creative in devising new claims against financial product design, product operation and product sales and compensation. ... [read more]
