With the dollar hovering around par for the last year or so, and the U.S. housing market offering good deals, Canadians are heading south to buy vacation homes in greater numbers than ever.

After many months of hard work, hearings, and recent setbacks, dozens of lawyers involved in the largest and most complex restructuring process in Canadian history are preparing for the conclusion of a nearly year-long saga, dealing with numerous issues and questions along the way that have tested the limits of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

In the cutting edge Canadian health biotechnology industry, research and development can hopefully make the transition to marketable product, bringing new challenges for everyone involved, including corporate counsel.

Unpredictable, uncertain, busy for some — but definitely different. This is how some lawyers candidly describe the year ahead for areas of Canadian business law in 2008 following the “credit crunch” that hit the United States last August, recent market turmoil, and the constant reports of an emerging economic slowdown, dare we even say “recession.”

BlackBerrys and cellphones are becoming essential to the work of many employees across the country, and several Canadian companies and their in-house counsel have been actively creating and updating the policies affecting their employees’ use of wireless devices — especially while on the road.   

Providing articling students with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of the court, judicial clerkships are proving to be a popular option not only for aspiring litigators, but for future academics and solicitors as well.

E-discovery is everywhere. Lawyers across the country are well aware elements of it are in every area of law, from commercial litigation to family cases. As e-discovery becomes more prevalent, the need for those with specialized knowledge in this increasingly complex area is becoming apparent to many litigators.

Lawsuits haven’t really hit Canada yet, but U.S. companies are already finding themselves liable for employees who have automobile accidents while talking on their cellphones.

The work done by in-house counsel to support practitioners within the health-care industry can often mimic the emergency room in terms of triaging and determining priorities. Life as an in-house counsel in the health-care industry is fast paced and there’s never a shortage of interesting issues that pop up in any given day. 

Regina, entertainment law, the GTA beyond Bay St., securities law.