by Dan van der Burg | Mar 19, 2026
Where This Issue Actually SurfacesIn my practice as a mediator, this issue rarely appears at the outset of a case. It was front and center in one of our recent mediations.It does not usually feature prominently in pleadings, and it is often only briefly touched upon...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 18, 2026
There is a moment that experienced mediators recognize immediately.It happens early, sometimes very early. You leave one caucus room, step into the other, and before you have even had a chance to relay a single message, counsel looks up and asks, sometimes pointedly,...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 17, 2026
A View from the MiddleAfter years of mediating personal injury, insurance, and commercial disputes, estate files stand apart. The legal issues are often narrower. The damages are sometimes easier to quantify. And yet, they are consistently more difficult to...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 14, 2026
The Opening Ritual at MediationAnyone who mediates motor vehicle cases in Ontario will recognize the pattern almost immediately. Counsel starts to deliver their opening remarks, and before the medical records, before the treatment chronology, before the plaintiff’s...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 12, 2026
I read an recent article[1] reporting on a case where the judge came down hard on defence counsel who had stepped up to fill in for an ill colleague.The recent Ontario Superior Court decision in Hicken v. Abbot Chiropractic and Health Care[2] offers a useful window...
by Dan van der Burg | Mar 10, 2026
The Changing Landscape of Urban CyclingI have recently mediated cases involving bicycles and cars. I’ll say this. When steel hits flesh, it is often so much worse than when steel hits steel.Over the past decade, cycling has moved from the margins of urban...
