Pulse
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March 11, 2026
The billable hour is running out of time
Early in my career, I noticed a pattern I could not ignore. I would build rapport with clients, earn their trust and then watch everything fall apart the moment the invoice was sent. They were not upset with me personally, even though sometimes it felt that way. They were blindsided by a system that charged them in a way they found unfair. Even worse, I would get penalized if I found strategies to be fast and efficient to make it more fair.
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March 11, 2026
The mask of professionalism: Impression management
Practicing law is demanding work. It requires sustained concentration, analytical thinking, and the stamina to push through long hours and periods of intense pressure. The intellectual demands of the job are real and executing that work in a competent and ethical way is the core of the profession. But there is another layer of work that lawyers are often expected to perform — one that has little to do with legal ability. I am talking about the performance of professionalism.
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March 10, 2026
Courtney Yaremchuk joins MLT Aikins in Edmonton
MLT Aikins has welcomed Courtney Yaremchuk as an associate lawyer in the firm’s Edmonton office.
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March 10, 2026
Luke Bernas appointed associate judge in Manitoba
Luke Bernas has been appointed an associate judge of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba, according to an announcement from the province.
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March 10, 2026
How a referral source can invalidate a will
In Anroop v. Naqvi, 2026 ONCA 142, the Court of Appeal overturned the Application Judge, Justice Cory Gilmore’s decision Anroop et al. v. Naqvi et al., 2025 ONSC 160, and declared the fourth invalid largely due to the drafting lawyer’s “conflict of interest.”
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March 10, 2026
The problem with great expectations in the legal community
I am on a slow boat to Tokyo. Over the last few weeks, I have come to know Bill and Paul, both good-looking guys in their early eighties. Bill is a pianist and music aficionado. He wears a baseball cap that says, “I’m old, but I’m cool,” which pretty much sums things up for both of them.
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March 10, 2026
Keegstra in Bill C-9: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code: Hate propaganda, hate crime access
More than three decades after the Supreme Court of Canada decided R. v. Keegstra, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697, the case continues to shape how Canadians think about hate speech, free expression and the limits of the Charter. Yet, while legal analysis has focused intensely on constitutional doctrine, far less attention has been paid to the place that gave rise to the case: Eckville, a small rural community in central Alberta. Revisiting Keegstra today, particularly in light of renewed legislative debates surrounding Bill C-9, requires not only revisiting the court’s reasoning, but also reconsidering how Eckville and central Alberta itself has been constructed in media, academic and greater legal narratives.
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March 09, 2026
Gabrielle Hélène Genest joins Woods
Woods has welcomed Gabrielle Hélène Genest to its team.
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March 09, 2026
Duwyn, Dokter named partners at Cohen Highley
Cohen Highley has welcomed two more professionals to its partnership.
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March 09, 2026
Dead men talking, 2026 style
The Mafia instructed their wannabe associates that dead men don’t talk, so once they make their bones and whack a rat — never leave a witness.