Civility and its importance are contested in the Canadian legal profession and the Canadian legal academy. [1] Moreover, civility and the broader concept of professionalism have a shameful history as exclusionary concepts with significant negative impact on the ability of members of equity-seeking groups to join the legal profession and succeed in the practice of...Read More

I was recently speaking with someone about the Internet’s “Eternal September”, which is the concept that starting in 1993/1994 so many new users started using the internet that it could never settle into the online equivalent of November on campus, when people have figured things out where their classes are and where to get the...Read More

An email from a faculty member at the University of Toronto on the topic of AI made the rounds at law schools across Canada recently. It’s about using AI on final exams. It points out that if a student has an app already open when they launch Examplify – the software most schools use to...Read More

Donald J. Trump’s second term as President of the United States has stunned the world. Commentators increasingly say the US has now crossed the Rubicon into authoritarian territory. While some say Trump’s actions are erratic, a closer look reveals a methodical attempt by his administration to dismantle a broad range of US institutions and agencies...Read More

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized many industries, the legal sector among them. Furthermore, it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future in ways that we haven’t even begun to comprehend. However, I fear that its promise of solving and revolutionizing every single legal challenge or area is often...Read More

Each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were: R. v. R.B., 2025 ONSC 153 [1] The Applicant is...Read More

INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court of Canada (“the SCC”) has granted leave to appeal English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al., in which the English Montreal School Board and others are challenging Quebec Bill 21, Act respecting the laicity of the State (“Bill 21”). In enacting Bill 21, the Quebec...Read More

As we contemplate 2025, the NSRLP is considering how to tackle the ongoing challenges in access to justice. While the barriers facing individuals attempting to access justice remain many, it is challenging to consider where the focus on improving access should be directed, given limited resources and capacity. Moreover, the coming year is likelier than...Read More

What happened in Canadian lawyers’ ethics and legal services regulation in 2024? This column looks back on three high-profile areas of development. It also flags several major court cases and disciplinary proceedings from 2024, as well as cases to watch for the year ahead. Three High-Profile Areas of Development 1. Generative AI and the delivery...Read More