Dispatches from the Middle
Frontline insights on mediation, reform and resolution
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· 1 min read
Quoted in The Globe and Mail on Ontario's Auto Insurance Reforms
I was pleased to be quoted in this weekend’s Globe and Mail article examining Ontario’s upcoming automobile insurance reforms and the move toward optional…
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· 13 min read
Pricing Fault: How Liability Risk Shapes Settlement Value
The Difference Between a Courtroom and a Mediation Room
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· 4 min read
Kicking the Can Down the Road: The Hidden Consequences of Optional Accident Benefits
Earlier today, I was quoted in a Globe and Mail article by Erica Alini, “Ontario Is Making Some Auto Insurance Optional. The Savings May…
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· 3 min read
Reading the Tea Leaves: Retreat or Reality in Ontario's Civil Justice Reforms?
The recent joint statement[1] from Attorney General Doug Downey and former Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz has generated a surprisingly skeptical reaction in some corners…
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· 15 min read
Trust Falls: Fiduciary Duties and the Relationships the Law Protects
When I was in law school in the late 80’s, fiduciary duties were one of the hottest subjects in Canadian legal scholarship. The Supreme…
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· 7 min read
REVIEW Chapter 12: Demeanour Evidence: Appearances are Often Deceiving
One of the most enduring assumptions in courtroom advocacy is that judges and juries can “read” people. Lawyers are trained from the beginning of…
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· 6 min read
The Fine Print: How Ontario’s New Accident Benefits Regime May Reshape Mediation
The Quiet Structural Shift Beneath Ontario’s Auto Reforms
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· 8 min read
Mind the Gap: The Evidence Divide That Derails Personal Injury Cases
Not long ago, I mediated a motor vehicle accident claim that failed to resolve for a reason having little to do with personalities, legal…
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· 4 min read
Demise of the Guillotine: The Ontario Court of Appeal Overrules Itself on Handley Estate
By now, most Ontario litigators have likely seen the reaction to 1086289 Ontario Inc. (Urban Electrical Contractors) v. Welland (City), 2026 ONCA 352[1]. The…
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· 7 min read
Intimate Partner Violence: The Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes a New Tort
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia[1], released on May 15, 2026, marks one of the most significant developments in Canadian…
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· 20 min read
Fault Lines: The Law of Duty and Standard of Care in Canada
As I began assembling my next book of essays, Dispatches from the Middle: Volume Two — Fault, soon to be available on Amazon in…
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· 11 min read
Hide & Seek: The Law of Vicarious Liability
When I was practicing, a client would walk in after a motor vehicle accident, understandably focused on the individual who caused the collision. That…