New Panic Over Old Mistakes: Judicial Sanctions and Hallucinated Citations
The column examines recent judicial sanctions imposed for AI‑generated citation hallucinations, questioning whether these penalties reflect a bias against generative tools rather than a new error category. It argues that the core issue is the sheer volume of AI‑produced content, which amplifies traditional citation mistakes and burdens courts. The author highlights the unfairness of penalizing self‑represented litigants who rely on AI to navigate the system, while stressing that lawyers have a professional duty to verify outputs. Ultimately, the piece calls for a nuanced response that separates tool misuse from legacy error handling.
Book Review: Mary Jane Mossman’s Quiet Rebels: A History of Ontario Women Lawyers
Mary Jane Mossman’s *Quiet Rebels* offers a comprehensive history of Ontario’s women lawyers, profiling the 187 women admitted to the bar between 1897 and 1957. The book weaves individual biographies with the political, social, and economic context of each era,...
RECLAIM Part III: Equity and Clarity Are the Foundation of a High-Performing Law Firm
The third installment of the RECLAIM model spotlights equity and clarity as twin pillars of high‑performing law firms. It argues that clear expectations, transparent processes, and consistent feedback reduce guesswork and boost productivity, while fair hiring, work allocation, and compensation...
Agreeing to Disagree: The Value of Having an Interaction Plan as a Dispute Is Addressed
The article advocates using a structured interaction plan whenever parties must continue to encounter each other during a dispute, whether in a workplace, condominium, or other shared environment. It outlines how anticipated and unanticipated interactions can heighten anxiety, and suggests...
Monday’s Mix
Slaw’s weekly “Monday’s Mix” curates excerpts from five award‑winning Canadian legal blogs, spotlighting recent analyses that range from Supreme Court jurisprudence to cultural shifts affecting lawyers. The post highlights the Court’s February 2026 Fox decision reaffirming accused rights over lawyer‑client...
The Time’s Not Right: Advocacy When a Tribunal Is Delayed or Imposes Short Timelines
The article examines how Canadian advocates grapple with two timing extremes: systemic delays that stretch cases for years and tribunal-imposed short deadlines that pressure rushed advocacy. It highlights Canada’s respectable global ranking (13th) but a low 42‑point score for civil‑justice...
Why the Grocery Code of Conduct Won’t Lower Prices and What It Shows About Industry Self-Regulation
Canada’s new Grocery Code of Conduct, a voluntary framework signed by Loblaws, Metro, Costco Canada, Walmart Canada and Empire, aims to bring fee predictability between grocers and suppliers. After five years of industry consultation, the Code clarifies roles but remains...
Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ
The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s conviction of S.G. c. R. on six firearms‑related charges, finding that the appellant had "imputed possession" of guns discovered in his ex‑partner’s apartment. The judges relied on circumstantial evidence – the appellant’s keys,...
Book Review: Robert Bird’s Legal Knowledge in Organizations: A Source of Strategic and Competitive Advantage
Robert C. Bird’s new book, *Legal Knowledge in Organizations*, argues that legal expertise can be a strategic competitive advantage rather than merely a compliance cost. The 261‑page volume presents a five‑stage framework—avoidance, conformance, prevention, value, and transformation—to help firms embed...
Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII? – March 2026
Slaw’s March 2026 roundup highlights the three most‑viewed English and French decisions on CanLII. In Ontario, the Kapahi Real Estate case raises concerns about AI‑generated “hallucinated” citations, prompting a referral to the Law Society. The Air Canada arbitration affirms religious‑based...
The New “School for Family Litigants”
The National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP) has launched a revamped “School for Family Litigants,” a hybrid online program that blends recorded lectures with live Q&A sessions. The pilot 12‑week course in 2022 attracted full enrollment and strong feedback, prompting a...
The AI Future of Law Is Already Here — It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed
Lawyer Zack Shapiro argues that off‑the‑shelf large language models like Claude and ChatGPT now eclipse specialized legal AI tools. By building custom "skills" and feeding the models 2,000‑word prompts, he reduced contract drafting from hours to minutes, creating a self‑reinforcing...
Summaries Sunday: Supreme One-Liners
Supreme Advocacy LLP in Ottawa introduced Supreme One‑Liners, a monthly ultra‑short guide summarizing recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions. The latest issue highlights a leave to appeal granted in North v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, certifying a class action for...
AI and ADR Neutrals: When Should Its Use Be Disclosed? Three Emerging Approaches to Transparency in Mediation and Arbitration Practice
Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering mediation and arbitration, prompting a debate over whether neutrals should disclose its use. Practitioners are considering three emerging approaches: treating AI as a routine professional tool with no disclosure, offering limited transparency about its administrative...
The Hidden Economics of Law Firm Student Recruitment
Law firms spend over $500,000 annually on student recruitment alone, not counting salaries, training, and mentorship costs. A recent survey of twenty firms revealed that mentorship, business‑development training, and deriving value from student work are the biggest post‑hire challenges. Firms...
Withdrawal Is Mandatory Where a Client Persistently Breaches Court Orders
In Canada, a lawyer who repeatedly advises a client to stop violating court orders faces ethical duties that may compel withdrawal. The Federation of Law Societies’ Model Code prohibits lawyers from assisting dishonest conduct and requires them to report up...
Summaries Sunday: Supreme One-Liners
Supreme Advocacy LLP in Ottawa introduced a new "Supreme One-Liners" series, offering ultra‑short digests of the latest Supreme Court of Canada rulings. The first installment spotlights a leave to appeal granted in American Pacific Corp. v. RPG Receivables Purchase Group,...
How Curiosity Shapes Legal Marketing Careers
Legal marketers who choose curiosity move from execution to strategy, becoming indispensable advisors. By asking deeper questions and immersing themselves in lawyers' work, they gain insights that shape firm positioning and client acquisition. Curiosity enhances four core competencies—relationship building, service‑delivery...
Book Review: Debra Austin’s the Legal Brain: A Lawyer’s Guide to Well-Being and Better Job Performance
Debra S. Austin’s new book, The Legal Brain, presents a neuroscience‑based framework for improving lawyer well‑being and job performance. Drawing on research into memory, stress, and habit formation, the guide offers concrete strategies such as sleep, exercise, and nutrition, plus...
Improving Trust Through Judicial Transparency : Building Public Confidence Through Open Government Initiatives
North Macedonia is tackling deep public distrust in its courts through two low‑cost transparency initiatives. In June 2024 the Judicial Council adopted a five‑year Communication Strategy that standardizes proactive, two‑way information sharing and upgrades the unified court portal. Since 2018...
Why Blowing the Whistle Is the Right Thing — and How to Do It Right
The article traces whistleblower protection back to 1777 when naval officers Richard Marven and Samuel Shaw exposed misconduct, prompting Congress to pass the first U.S. whistleblower law in 1778. It highlights the modern Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) program launched in...
Contingency Planning for Lawyers
The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) now mandates that sole‑practitioner lawyers and paralegals maintain a written contingency plan, effective Jan 1 2025, with the first certification due on the March 31 2026 annual report. The requirement targets only solo practitioners, but the article advises...
RECLAIM Part II – R Is for Mutual Respect and Recognition
The article introduces the RECLAIM cultural operating system for law firms, focusing on the first element—Respect. Drawing on David Rock’s SCARF® framework and Martin Seligman’s PERMA model, it links neuroscience‑derived status cues to everyday legal practice. Practical tactics such as...
AI and the Diffusion of Responsibility: Dispatches From the Road
Senior leaders across sectors are experimenting with generative AI, yet a hidden governance flaw is emerging. Organizations rely on cross‑functional committees, IT sign‑offs, or employee trust, which collectively diffuse responsibility for AI risk. This diffusion leaves no single owner accountable...
From Copyright to Contract: How User Rights Are Being Reshaped
The digital marketplace has moved from owning books, music and films to licensing them, placing user rights under contract terms rather than the Copyright Act. In Canadian higher‑education libraries, over 90% of acquisitions are licensed, forcing librarians to navigate complex...
Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ
The Quebec Court of Appeal held that an adolescent convicted of a summary offence cannot appeal under Criminal Code part XXI because article 37(6) of the Youth Justice Act does not apply when only procedural‑stay requests were heard jointly. The court interpreted...
Book Review: Sam Elkin’s Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga
Sam Elkin’s debut memoir "Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga" chronicles his experience as the first LGBTQIA+ community outreach lawyer in Victoria, Australia, while navigating his own gender transition. The book offers a candid, humor‑infused account of the challenges faced...
Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII? – February 2026
CanLII’s February 2026 roundup highlighted three English and three French decisions that dominated legal research. The Supreme Court’s *R. v. Fox* affirmed a lawyer’s right to invoke the “innocence at stake” exception to solicitor‑client privilege and excluded Charter‑breached evidence under...
The Rise of Claude Cowork Platform and the Potential to Shake Up the Legal Industry
Claude Cowork has launched a legal plug‑in that automates contract review, NDA triage, compliance workflows, and templated responses, positioning itself as a direct competitor to traditional law firms. The announcement triggered immediate market reactions, with SaaS giants Adobe, HubSpot and...