The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is comparing the "tipping" offences of Andrew Rankin to multi-million-dollar investment and health-care frauds and even multiple armed robberies, in arguing the former investment banker should receive a penitentiary sentence.

The predictions that Canada would go the way of the litigation-happy United States after class action proceedings were introduced into Ontario appear to have been a touch overdone. But "copycat" actions have been on the rise.

You may not have heard of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions (NI 45-106), but if you or your clients want to raise money by selling securities in Canada, you should get to know it well.

It's been less than a month, but New Orleans' Tulane University law school student Adam Dunlop has made himself at home at the University of Western Ontario in order to complete his third year of law school.

HALIFAX — Managing a large law firm is a full-time job. The trouble is, too few lawyers have the time, training, or desire to do it effectively.

Toronto litigator Ronald Manes says sometimes there are opportunities that come along in your career that are important enough to make sacrifices for.

When the Ontario Liberals first promised to abolish designated assessment centres (DACs) in the weeks leading up to the October 2003 election, Premier Dalton McGuinty said the centres — intended to provide neutral assessments in disputes over claims under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) — were too expensive, too cumbersome, and failed to respond to the needs of accident victims.

Trial time is a precious and valuable resource. It should be viewed that way by litigants and their lawyers, and by the judges who both schedule trials and work to resolve cases without trials. It was heartening to see the Ontario Court of Appeal recently uphold a Superior Court judge's decision to refuse to grant trial time (relying on Rule 2(3), of the Family Law Rules) for a separating couple arguing over the ownership of their pet. This was the purpose of Rule 2, the prime directive.

When it comes to learning the nuts and bolts of criminal defence, there are arguably no better mentors than the famous Greenspan brothers.

While Justice Denise Bellamy found there was enough credible evidence to conclude that former Toronto city councillor Tom Jakobek had taken a $25,000 payoff from computer salesman Dash Domi, among other things, how difficult would it be to come to the same conclusion in a criminal or civil court?

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's surprise announcement to ban faith-based arbitration in the province, including any based on controversial Islamic sharia law, has left some in the legal community scratching their heads and wondering why there wasn't more consultation surrounding the issue.

The Hislop v. Canada (Attorney General) case is poised to form the cornerstone of an important series of constitutional remedy cases in early 2006, says the lead lawyer representing about 500 class action members whose same-sex partners paid into the Canada Pension Plan and then died between 1985 and 1998.