There have been an outpouring of tributes to Edward Greenspan since his passing on December 24, 2014. There is not much that can be added, so it is Mr. Greenspan’s own inimitable voice that seems most worth recalling. What follows are extracts from an interview with Mr. Greenspan in the Spring 2009 edition of The …
Yesterday, I posted about the CBC/Canadian Media Guild collective agreement and how in my view it precludes Jian Ghomeshi’s lawsuit from proceeding in court. Mr. Ghomeshi’s remedy for the termination of his employment rests with the grievance process provided for in the collective agreement. As a Union member, Mr. Ghomeshi’s interests in the grievance process …
David Boies is a legendary litigator, having been involved in many of the leading civil cases in the United States. Early in his career, he defended IBM against anti-trust charges and CBS in a hard fought libel case brought by William Westmoreland. When the U.S. government launched a legal case against Microsoft, it turned to …
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, was nominally about the appropriate use of the summary judgment procedure in Ontario. In fact, the decision ventured more widely into whether the civil justice system could deliver timely and affordable adjudication for ordinary litigants. The system, the Court said, has become …
In a widely reported decision, Laver v. Swrjeski, 2014 ONCA 294, the Ontario Court of Appeal set aside a decision of Superior Court Judge John McMunagle for apprehension of bias. The case involved an application that money advanced by the applicant to her daughter and her daughter’s common law husband for the purchase of a …
In March 2013, the United Nations established a Commission of Inquiry to examine the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. The outstanding Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby was appointed Chairman of the Commission. The Commission released its measured but harrowing report on February 17, 2014. …
Legal Implications of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on North Korea Read More »
Over a two year period in the late 1990’s, journalist Stephen Glass fabricated some forty articles in prestigious publications, including The New Republic and Harpers. His fraud is considered among the worst in the annals of journalism. At the time they were committed, Glass was also a part-time law student. Following his graduation, he applied …
The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, is an important one for civil litigators throughout the country. The case was about changes to the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure on the use of summary judgment, however, the Court took the opportunity to discuss the values that underlie …
Summary Judgment and the Civil Justice System in Canada Read More »
Appellate advocates know that careful preparation is the key to a successful oral argument. What happens in the courtroom represents only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of what counsel has done in advance of an appeal. With time limits for oral argument and hot benches, it’s a given that questions from the Court will …
Preparation for Oral Argument in an Appellate Court Read More »
Following six years of litigation, 130 days of hearing, the reasons of a Hearing Panel dismissing all claims and a request for costs of over $3,000,000, the Law Society has made the astonishing decision to appeal the ruling in its failed prosecution of Torys LLP lawyers Elizabeth DeMerchant and Darren Sukonick. In two previous articles …
Law Society of Upper Canada v. DeMerchant, Sukonick: An Update Read More »
