Pulse
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March 31, 2025
Judicial Council dismisses Barreau’s complaint; no sanction for sentencing judge’s ethical lapse
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) has dismissed a complaint from the Barreau du Québec against a sentencing judge who failed to meet judicial ethical standards in expressing from the bench his personal “disgust and contempt” for an offender and his crime.
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March 31, 2025
Garrett Lee rejoins Lawson Lundell as partner
Lawson Lundell has welcomed Garrett Lee to the firm as a partner in its corporate finance and securities group.
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March 31, 2025
Inmate abuse underscores need for jail change | John L. Hill
They just let an inmate die. Three guards and a supervisor were charged with criminal negligence, but the prosecution was dropped after a preliminary hearing. A warden and deputy warden were fired. That was the outcome after Ashley Smith died gasping for air while correctional officers observed her suicide attempt at Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution but did not intervene.
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March 31, 2025
Lenczner Slaght welcomes new partners in construction and intellectual property
Lenczner Slaght has announced that two of its litigators, Aaron Grossman and Martin Brandsma, have been promoted to the partnership.
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March 31, 2025
Defending the rights of the worst to ensure they’re there for the rest | Justin D. Rochester
Many times, when I’m teaching the summary offences course at Centennial College in Toronto, students ask me, “How can you defend people who break the law?” My response is always the same: everyone deserves a defence, and we defend the rights of the worst of us to ensure they’re there for the rest of us.
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March 31, 2025
Living paycheque to paycheque on $6,574,000 | Murray Gottheil
"It’s not a principle until it costs you money." — Bill Bernbach, American advertising creative director.
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March 28, 2025
Tailgate party of the first part | Marcel Strigberger
There are three things in life I despise. 1) Those cheeky recorded bank messages saying they’re experiencing more calls than usual; 2) The scent of Parmesan cheese and 3) Tailgaters.
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March 28, 2025
Release of O’Connor report is a good start, but there’s a long way to go to | Anita Szigeti
Seventy thousand legal professionals governed by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) were surprised to hear that the society had finally decided to release the report of Dennis O’Connor examining the raise their CEO got without convocation’s approval last summer.
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March 28, 2025
Ontario Law Society releases report on CEO pay controversy
After a push from members of the legal profession, the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) has released a report looking at the controversial decision to increase the salary of a former CEO despite it not receiving a vote from law society benchers.
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March 28, 2025
Canadian legal groups and regulators slam Trump administration’s ‘attacks’ on U.S. judiciary and bar
Canadian bar groups and the country’s 14 legal regulators are condemning the new U.S. administration’s “attacks” on American legal institutions. The concerns of Canada’s legal community were sparked recently by various calls from U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies to impeach judges who have not ruled in favour of the Republican administration’s actions, as well as by presidential executive orders and negative statements targeting individual lawyers and law firms, the immigration bar and so-called “Big Law” in the United States.