Dispatches from the Middle
Frontline insights on mediation, reform and resolution
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· 4 min read
Dead Man Signing: Forgery, Friendship, and the Fall of a Farmhouse Will
This is a story of a will with two faces. One signed but unwitnessed. The other fully executed—or so it seemed. Found in a…
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· 5 min read
Grenade in the Will, THE SEQUEL: No-Contest Clauses, Discoverability, and the Hidden Risk of Successor Solicitor Negligence
In my recent blog, Grenade in the Will: No-Contest Clauses, Solicitor Negligence, and the Two-Year Limitation Trap, I explored how no-contest clauses - those…
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· 8 min read
Tick...Tock...Time’s Up: Grant Thornton and the Limitation Period Time Bomb
Introduction
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· 2 min read
The Hidden Advantage: Why Every Virtual Mediation Needs an ODR Coordinator
Online mediation is no longer a novelty—it’s the norm. What began as a pandemic necessity has evolved into a permanent fixture of the civil…
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· 3 min read
Limitations Reloaded: A Diagnostic Checklist For Lawyer Errors In Probate Notices
Few things in estate litigation are more unforgiving than a missed limitation period. And yet, in probate disputes across Ontario, lawyers and clerks continue…
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· 12 min read
Bound by Association: The Legal Risk of Group Strategy
In estate litigation and beyond, it’s not unusual for a single lawyer to be retained jointly by multiple individuals who share a common interest.…
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· 6 min read
Grenade in the Will: No-Contest Clauses, Solicitor Negligence, and the Two-Year Limitation Trap
Estate litigation has its share of legal landmines. Chief among them is the no-contest clause, a ticking grenade buried in the back of a…
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· 7 min read
Before the Storm: Why Employment Disputes Should Settle Early
Ontario’s civil justice system is changing—and for the better. After years of calls for reform, we’re finally seeing movement toward a litigation model that…
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· 9 min read
When the Shoe No Longer Fits: Removing an Executor in Ontario
Introduction: Trust, but Verify
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· 4 min read
When the Gloves Come Off: What Ontario’s Top Court Is Teaching Estate Trustees in 2025
In estate litigation, the gloves rarely come off all at once. Distrust builds gradually, through silence, exclusion, and small breaches of duty. Sometimes the…
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· 12 min read
Leap of Faith: Embracing Early Mediation in Ontario's New Era of Civil Procedure Reform
Ontario stands at the edge of a civil justice crossroads[1]. With a sweeping overhaul of the Rules of Civil Procedure on the horizon[2], lawyers,…