Apr 15, 2019For a lawyer who started his career on a typical path, Ryan Teschner has surely benefited from and embraced tumultuous events. As a young associate with a promising career on the partnership path at Heenan Blaikie, his career seemed straightforward. But it was not to be, once the firm dissolved in dramatic fashion.
Feb 15, 2019Not every communication made between a lawyer and their client is subject to solicitor-client privilege — only legal advice is covered, and when it comes to the alleged pressure the Prime Minister’s Office may have put on former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to not prosecute SNC-Lavalin, that would not necessarily be privileged, ethics lawyers say.
Jan 23, 2019With the U.S. government shutdown in its fifth week — the longest government shutdown in U.S. history — its effects are beginning to take a toll on those north of the border. For Canadians with financial interests in the U.S., the shutdown of non-essential government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service may prove to be more than just a minor inconvenience.
- Nov 5, 2018
In 2015, prior to the last federal election, the then-third-party Liberals made three promises that warmed the hearts of lawyers who work in the criminal-justice trenches.
Aug 7, 2018Meet the Canadian lawyers and judges who are making an impact
- Aug 7, 2018
Back in April, the federal government committed $85.3 million over five years “to help Canadian businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators understand, protect and access intellectual property through a comprehensive IP Strategy.”
- Apr 9, 2018
The legislation, Bill C-75, was billed as a silver bullet to unclog our courts and bring about a “cultural shift” in the justice system. The changes may be bold, but in this case the proposed reforms will likely result in more delays and more unfair trials.
Jan 30, 2018A retired tax lawyer for the federal government sued his former employer because he alleges the government failed to fulfil its duty of care in regard to giving him complete and accurate information about his pension options.
- Jan 29, 2018
Religious organizations and editorial writers have sown confusion about new eligibility criteria for organizations that want to hire students under the Canada Summer Jobs program.
- Jan 29, 2018
It could be a House of Cards political thriller: A high-ranking elected official and his family are wined and dined by a rich and powerful foreign agent who does business with the government.
- Jan 15, 2018
It is always dangerous to prophesize, particularly, as an old Danish proverb warns, about the future. Unfortunately, the temptation to make an educated guess about the future is irresistible.
Dec 11, 2017Denise Dwyer is using her racialized experience to find solutions for black and indigenous youth.
- Oct 10, 2017
The film Rashomon uses a plot device that involves various characters providing subjective, alternative, self-serving and contradictory versions of the same incident. One can see the theoretical application of this plot device to the multi-varied perception of the liberal government’s changes to the taxation of Canadian controlled private corporations.
- Oct 2, 2017
Should the police be able to track who you call or text and where you are located throughout the day even when you are not suspected of any crime? Most people would not hesitate, I suspect, to say no.
- Sep 18, 2017
It’s disappointing to see Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau engage in a subtle form of “class warfare” against professionals and small-business people given the proposed tax changes that would detrimentally affect lawyers, doctors, farmers and other small-business people who run their businesses through corporations. So, let’s be a bit bold and provocative in the definitions department and call these people “job creators.”
- Aug 21, 2017
Canadians were told that reforming the justice system was a priority for Jody Wilson-Raybould and the Trudeau government. We were told that evidence-based policy is the new order of business when it comes to crime and punishment. Both Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould identified the use of mandatory minimum sentences and constraints on judicial discretion as priority areas for reform. And then there was no action.
- Aug 14, 2017
In 2016, the federal government eliminated ways to maximize the small business deduction. Earlier this year, the government took aim at tax deferral opportunities afforded to certain professionals, including lawyers, by proposing to eliminate billed-basis accounting.
Aug 8, 2017Canadian Lawyer’s top 25 Most Influential in the justice system and legal profession in Canada is now in its eighth year.
Jul 10, 2017Poor François Desroches-Lapointe. A board member and spokesman for the Quebec civil lawyers’ and notaries’ union — Les avocats et notaires de l’État québécois, or LANEQ — he tried in vain in May to find members who were willing to share their first-hand experiences on the picket lines during their historic four-month general strike, the longest in Canadian public service history.
Jun 5, 2017A turf war between law societies and the federal government is almost inevitable with new rules on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing in the pipeline. From where he sits in his downtown Vancouver office, Kim Marsh doesn’t like what he sees.