Dispatches from the Middle
Frontline insights on mediation, reform and resolution
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· 5 min read
REVIEW: Chapter 8: Discovery as a Forum for Persuasive Advocacy
When in practice, I had a trick where I would attend an examination for discovery and, sometimes during or sometimes even at the start,…
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· 8 min read
Mediation Re-engineered: Where Mandatory Mediation Fits in Ontario’s New Civil Justice System
One of the most consequential and quietly transformative aspects of the Civil Rules Review Working Group’s Final Policy Report[1] is its treatment of mediation.…
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· 5 min read
Ontario’s Civil Rules Review: A New Blueprint for Civil Justice
Ontario’s system of civil procedure stands at a crossroads. After decades of incremental amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure, the Civil Rules Review…
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· 7 min read
Social Host Liability: Turn Up the Lights, the Party’s Over
With the Christmas season approaching and holiday parties taking place all over the city, my mind recently turned back to a case I once…
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· 7 min read
Sitting In the Circle: Reflections on Indigenous Mediation and the Space Between Legal Systems
A little-known fact about me is that I am of Indigenous ancestry and was among the Founding Members of the Qalipu First Nation, a…
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· 12 min read
Pulling the Strings: Proving Undue Influence in Canadian Estate Litigation
Introduction: Why Undue Influence Is So Hard To Prove
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· 11 min read
BLOG SERIES: Special Considerations In...Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle cases are not just car cases with fewer wheels. The physics are different, the injuries are different, the insurance consequences are different, and…
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· 7 min read
REVIEW: Looking Into an Advocacy Mirror: The Parallels Between Tribunals and Courts
Chapter 7 of Justice Todd L. Archibald’s book “Litigation and Administrative Advocacy: The Art and Science of Persuasion” is one of those quiet but…
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· 17 min read
Collateral Benefits Deductibility: The Hidden Math of Compensation
I see the issue of collateral benefits entitlement and deductibility in almost every mediation we handle these days. Clients come to the mediation table…
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· 14 min read
The Subrogation Maze: Who Recovers What, When and How in Ontario Auto Claims
In my early years of practice as defence counsel, I was a designated hitter for subrogation opinions in loss transfer cases for some of…