In-House Counsel
-
July 16, 2025
Dentons stands by its commitment to inclusion as it navigates trade volatility, say CEOs
These are “interesting times” to be one of the world’s largest law firms. With about 5,900 lawyers across more than 80 countries, Dentons is helping clients navigate some of the worst economic volatility in decades and generational technological change as it carefully works to protect its own flanks from a U.S. administration that’s frequently been hostile to the legal sector. Global CEO Kate Barton said that while several major U.S. law firms have been targeted by President Donald Trump — particularly those perceived as opposing him or representing his adversaries — Dentons has managed to avoid the administration’s scrutiny by maintaining a bipartisan approach.
-
July 16, 2025
View from inside prison: Opening the box
I’m not a person who is hugely attached to things. I have no trouble throwing out or giving away old clothes or furniture or even books. But I do tend to hang on to reminders of my past life, such as letters and pictures.
-
July 16, 2025
Prepare for change: The plain language legal writing standard is coming
What lawyer has not heard that legal writing should be clear and concise? Everyone wants legal documents to be straightforward, client-oriented and “crisp.” Yet, cryptic memoranda, wordy submissions, legalese-filled judgments and insurmountable walls of text in contracts and policies remain common. Even with clarity in mind, writing clearly is hard without knowing the rules to guide the process.
-
July 15, 2025
B.C. court affirms Labour Board’s power to bar shifting ‘struck’ work beyond province
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld an order that barred an airline catering provider from relying on catering crews outside of B.C to load meals onto flights going through Vancouver, where its workers were on strike.
-
July 15, 2025
No complaint required to trigger harassment investigation obligation, Ontario Court of Appeal confirms
In a significant ruling, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has upheld Metrolinx’s decision to dismiss five employees for sexual harassment. The case, Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, 2025 ONCA 415, highlights that employers are obligated to investigate potential workplace harassment allegations even without a formal complaint or the participation of the alleged victim.
-
July 15, 2025
Termination clauses: The unenforceable
Recently I was reviewing the briefs that counsel had submitted for a mediation, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that counsel for the employer had not even bothered to assert that the termination clause was enforceable. It clearly was not in light of the current state of the law, but that does not usually stop counsel from making the argument.
-
July 14, 2025
Federal Court judge strikes SRL’s submission in employment dispute over AI hallucination citation
In another sign of AI’s growing impact on the law, the Federal Court has ordered that a self-represented respondent’s motion record be removed from a court file because it relied in part on a non-existent court decision hallucinated by an artificial intelligence (AI) research tool.
-
July 14, 2025
FINTRAC publishes updates to its guidance on ministerial directive on Iran
Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog has updated its existing guidance related to the federal government’s ministerial directive on financial transactions associated with Iran.
-
July 14, 2025
Feds introduce interim reciprocal procurement policy to protect Canadian businesses, workers
As Canada continues to negotiate with the United States on tariffs, the federal government has put in place a new Interim Policy on Reciprocal Procurement to “protect Canadian workers and businesses from unfair trade practices.”
-
July 14, 2025
Self-funded LTD plans cause conflict of interest and leave workers vulnerable
Insurers serving as both claim adjudicator and benefit payer creates an inherent conflict of interest that must be addressed by the Ontario government.