Canada’s online legal magazine.
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AI and the Diffusion of Responsibility: Dispatches From the Road

Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to speak with leaders across a range of sectors about artificial intelligence. These conversations have taken place in boardrooms, universities, professional development seminars, and informal gatherings following presentations. The contexts vary and the industries differ, however a common pattern has begun to emerge.

The organizations I encounter are not dismissive of AI. Quite the opposite. Most are experimenting with generative tools, reviewing internal processes, or considering policy development. Many have established working groups. Some have launched pilot projects. Others are waiting for clearer regulatory direction before moving further. At first . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Technology

From Copyright to Contract: How User Rights Are Being Reshaped

There has been a dramatic shift in our personal lives, schools, and workplaces from buying and owning cultural materials like books, music, movies, and television, to licensing (i.e., subscribing to) these materials. Digital materials should be easier to access and use, however in this new environment activities like copying, sharing, and reusing cultural materials are governed by contracts rather than by the Copyright Act and its users’ rights like fair dealing. Additionally, in the digital age we can no longer separate the object (e.g., a book) from its content (the copyright-protected text) – actions such as lending or reselling a . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Publishing

Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. NSRLP 2. Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style 3. Canadian Securities Law 4. Legal Feeds 5. Family Health Law Blog

NSRLP
Does Access to Justice Include Access to Judges?

At the beginning of January, the Globe and Mail ran an article about the Chief Justice

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Puisque l’article 37 (6) de la Loi sur le système de justice pénale pour les adolescents ne s’applique pas dans le contexte particulier du présent dossier, où seules les requêtes en arrêt des procédures ont été jugées conjointement, l’adolescent ne peut interjeter appel conformément à la partie . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

Privileged Space

The coolest thing about being a lawyer is the ability to walk into privileged space. It’s why every immigrant parent wants their child to be a lawyer, why TV shows perennially propagate legal dramas, why politicians hate lawyers and are lawyers, why in the Godfather the biggest flex is having a lawyer-consigliere, and why there are, for lawyers, only two kinds of people: lawyers and non-lawyers.

Most tangibly, a lawyer enters a courthouse by skipping security, a place guarded by metal detectors, police, jails, and judges. Then, upon entering a courtroom, only the lawyer has the presumptive right to pass . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law

Book Review: Sam Elkin’s Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga. By Sam Elkin. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2024. 200 p. ISBN 9781771126656 (softcover) $29.99; ISBN 9781771126663 (ePUB); ISBN 9781771126670 (PDF).

Reviewed by Brianna Calomino
Digital Projects Librarian
University of Calgary

With a distinctive book cover featuring a crocheted penis that elicits a . . . [more]

Posted in: Book Reviews, Legal Information

Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII? – February 2026

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:

1. R. v. Fox, 2026 SCC 4

[1] The main issue on this appeal is whether a lawyer charged with a criminal offence can invoke the “innocence at stake” exception to solicitor-client privilege recognized in R. v. McClure, 2001 SCC 14, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 445, and R. v. Brown, 2002 SCC . . . [more]

Posted in: Wednesday: What's Hot on CanLII

A New Home for the BC Family Unbundled Legal Services Roster!

Almost ten years ago the BC Family Unbundled Legal Services Roster (the “Roster”) and Unbundling Toolkit were launched [Note 1]. We are delighted to announce that, in partnership with Access Pro Bono BC, the Roster is now being administered by the new Legal Referral Service (“LRS”).

This transition marks an important milestone in the continued growth and sustainability of unbundled legal services in British Columbia.

Unbundled legal services (often called limited scope services) help to improve access to legal advice, coaching and representation for the public. [Note 2] This approach also offers many important benefits for legal professionals, the . . . [more]

Posted in: Dispute Resolution

The Law Firm Disappearing Act

Disappearing acts pertaining to people, skills and talents have always happened every few years in the global legal services market as the sector continually refreshes itself. But disappearing has never been more prevalent than it has been of late and will become even more common in months and years to come. Act now.

As mentioned in my previous column, I am well aware that my opinions and perspectives especially over the last few years and more so lately are becoming more fearless and urgent as factors impacting the global legal services market surge with a magnitude of force that demands . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Marketing, Practice of Law

Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Official Clio Blog 2. Canadian occupational health & safety law 3. Meurrens on Immigration 4. Family LLB 5. Double Aspect

Official Clio Blog
AI Disclosure for Lawyers: When to Disclose, What to Say, and How to Stay Compliant

A client who learns you used AI on their

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

Summaries Sunday: Supreme Advocacy

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from January 1 – February 28, 2026 inclusive.

Appeals

Charter: Mobility Rights
Taylor v. Newfoundland and Labrador, 2023 NLCA 22; 2026 SCC 5 (40952) Feb. 13, 2026

During the early days of the COVID‑19 pandemic, Newfoundland and Labrador declared a public health emergency. The province’s . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

FAMILLE : La juge de première instance a commis une erreur lorsqu’elle a condamné le mari au paiement de l’intégralité d’une somme correspondant à la valeur du «mahr» — la dot islamique — qu’il avait consenti à l’épouse au moment du mariage.

Intitulé : Droit de la famille — 26172, . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

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This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada | Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au gouvernement du Canada