Pulse
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October 17, 2025
Cross examination: Don’t ask … less is more?
“Were you lying then or are you lying now or are you a chronic and habitual liar?”— Sir Wilfred Robarts (Charles Laughton) from the film Witness for the Prosecution
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October 17, 2025
Law Society of Ontario: Time to wipe the slate or start over with a new one?
As the originator of the idea to run a slate in the 2019 Law Society of Ontario bencher election, I am not sorry I did so. Slates have been blamed for everything from “open warfare” in convocation to the supposed erosion of public confidence in the legal profession. In a March 2023 edition of SLAW, one writer called the idea of lawyers organizing and debating as groups “repugnant.” He predicted that visible disagreement among factions of lawyers would lead to public distrust.
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October 17, 2025
Risks and challenges of AI in online dispute resolution for family law, part two
While the use of AI offers tremendous potential to enhance online dispute resolution (ODR) in family law, its use also introduces serious risks spanning technical, ethical, legal and social domains. Family law disputes are deeply personal and often involve vulnerable individuals; thus, if AI is not carefully implemented, it can reinforce inequalities, erode trust and undermine fairness and justice.
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October 17, 2025
Manitoba proposes law to automatically have court weigh in on use of notwithstanding clause
Manitoba has introduced legislation which would make it so the provincial government’s use of the notwithstanding clause would automatically be put before a court to determine whether it results in a violation of people’s rights.
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October 17, 2025
Timothée Doutriaux joins Smart & Biggar
Smart & Biggar has named Timothée Doutriaux as a patent agent joining the Patents: EICT group in Ottawa and Montréal.
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October 17, 2025
Xin Lu (Crystal) Li, Adam Wyville join Thornton Grout Finnigan
Thornton Grout Finnigan (TGF) is pleased to welcome two associates, Xin Lu (Crystal) Li and Adam Wyville, to the firm.
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October 17, 2025
Legal professionals under fire: Rising threats stir
In recent years, legal professionals across Canada, from Crown prosecutors to administrative staff have increasingly found themselves on the front lines of violence. High-profile assaults, random attacks and deadly outcomes are prompting reflection on how safe our legal system really is, and what must change.
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October 17, 2025
We are not in the results business
Back in law school, my criminal law professor told us that our job would be to use every bit of our intelligence, ingenuity and strength, and to work tirelessly, to deliver the best possible outcome for our client. “But,” he told us, “if at the end of the day, someone has to go to jail, make sure that it is your client.” He was warning us not to become so zealous in our representation of our client that we crossed over the ethical or legal lines.
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October 16, 2025
New report urges ‘common sense’ Ontario bail system reforms
With the federal government promising action on bail reform, a new report from a criminal justice reform organization is calling for Ontario to take steps to strengthen the provincial bail system through what it calls “common sense” changes.
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October 16, 2025
Miller Thomson partner Nora Osbaldeston new Americas Regional chair at Multilaw
Nora Osbaldeston, a partner at Miller Thomson, has been elected Americas Regional Chair of Multilaw. She has been on the board since 2016.