Rejected Twice After Condo Board Battle, Stellar Law Grad Tries Again for Bar Admission

Despite graduating in the top 10 percent of his class and working for top legal firms as a summer associate, a 30-year-old graduate of prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School has twice been rejected for bar membership over a 2008 battle with fellow members of his condo board. But Ryan Manilla…

Jul 16, 2012 10:55 PM CDT

Judge Faces Disciplinary Hearing Over Photos Posted by Attorney Husband on the Internet

The husband of a Queen’s Bench judge in Manitoba says that she knew nothing of the explicit photos of her he uploaded onto the Internet years ago. It also appears that Justice Lori Douglas may not have known at the time that her husband, who is also an attorney, had…

Jun 25, 2012 5:28 PM CDT

Hang Glider Allegedly Swallowed Memory Chip After Fatal Accident; Expert Says Device May Still Work

A lawyer for a Canadian man accused of swallowing his camera’s memory chip after a fatal hang gliding accident last week says the device has been recovered. William Jonathan Orders, 50, is now scheduled for a Friday bail hearing in Chilliwack provincial court, where he is facing an obstruction of…

May 4, 2012 9:02 PM CDT

Judge Blasts Prosecutor for Not Viewing YouTube Video of Claimed Crime in Progress

A Canadian judge released on minimal bail Wednesday a taxi driver accused in a hit-and-run incident involving a passenger and blasted a prosecutor for admittedly not reviewing a cellphone video of the incident that has been posted to YouTube, the National Post reports. “All of Quebec has seen it on…

May 3, 2012 7:10 PM CDT

Given a Chance to Become a Partner of a 400-Attorney Law Firm, Lisa Ridgedale Opts to Go Solo

Invited to become a partner at a 400-attorney law firm, Lisa Ridgedale made a gutsy career move. She hung out her own shingle as a securities and commercial litigation sole practitioner. Despite two children, a mortgage and a self-employed partner, the 40-year-old tells the Vancouver Sun, she resisted an initial…

Apr 19, 2012 4:07 PM CDT

2 McCarthy Tetrault Lawyers Testify About Files for a Current Client, the Ex-CEO of Nortel Networks

Updated: In what may be the first such testimony ever in a Canadian white-collar crime trial, two Bay Street lawyers for a former CEO of a major corporation are being called upon to offer potentially incriminating evidence against the client they are representing in ongoing legal proceedings. Attorneys Tom Heintzman…

Apr 18, 2012 6:47 PM CDT

Miss Universe Reconsiders Transgender Ban After Allred News Conference Is Announced

Gloria Allred is still planning to hold a news conference today with a transgender woman who wants to compete in Miss Universe Canada, despite a possible reversal by the beauty pageant. Shortly after Allred announced the press conference on Monday, Miss Universe said it may allow Jenna Talackova to compete…

Apr 3, 2012 12:20 PM CDT

Appeals Court Rebukes Judge for Dismissing a Dozen Cases Because Prosecutor Was Late

A Canadian appellate court has rebuked a Toronto judge for dismissing the cases of a dozen people facing either conviction or sentencing because a prosecutor was a few minutes late returning after a break, reports the Star. “It is clear that the trial judge had no power to make the…

Mar 20, 2012 8:48 PM CDT

Law Firm Known as ‘Slavies’ Uses the Nickname in On-Campus Ad, Then Apologizes

A Canadian law firm informally known as “Slavies” to law students, due to its reputation of working them hard, decided to have a little fun with the moniker. Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg crossed out the D on its Davies logo in an on-campus recruiting ad in the student magazine…

Jan 25, 2012 7:59 PM CST

Lawyer Blows Whistle on Own Firm, Testifies Against Ex-Partner at Trial

Daniel Bornais had looked forward to handing over much of his corporate client list to his younger partner, Scott Sullivan, as he headed down the road toward retirement. But irregularities in the way Sullivan was handling the finances at Sullivan Istl and Bornais came to the senior partner’s attention not…

Nov 29, 2011 9:54 PM CST

BigLaw Firm’s Innovative Buddy Program Helps Lawyers Stay Connected During Maternity Leave

A major law firm in Canada has developed an innovative buddy program to help women lawyers stay connected to their careers while they are on maternity leave. Partner Tara Piurko of McCarthy Tétrault, for example, regularly met with her buddy attorney, along with her baby, for lunch, reports the Globe…

Nov 19, 2011 1:47 AM CST

Shaken Defense Lawyers Decry Violent Attacks on Two Colleagues in Organized Crime Megatrial

For the second time in less than a year, a lawyer representing a defendant in a Canadian organized crime megatrial involving a number of Hell’s Angels has been violently attacked near his home in Montreal. Gilles Doré, 58, was beaten badly in the upscale Outremont area of the city on…

Nov 8, 2011 8:18 PM CST

Despite Globalization, Lawyers Find New Barriers to Practicing Abroad

Lisa A. Alfaro joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 1995 after receiving her JD from Stanford Law School. Now she is partner in charge of the firm’s São Paulo office in Brazil, and she co-chairs the Latin America practice group. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, and she is…

Nov 1, 2011 10:19 AM CDT

Norton Rose to Merge with Macleod Dixon, Increasing Megafirm’s Attorney Roster to 2,900

In the latest move in its aggressive expansion campaign over the past two years, London-based Norton Rose is to merge with a several-hundred-lawyer Canadian firm that focuses its practice on energy and natural resources. As of Jan 1, 2012, when Norton Rose and Macleod Dixon plan to tie the knot,…

Oct 4, 2011 9:57 PM CDT

‘Mr. Small Claims’ Makes a Career on Volume

Oct 1, 2011 7:20 AM CDT