Category: Law Blogs

Many years ago, in Life Before Law School, I was an elected official in municipal politics. Shortly after I was sworn in, one of the senior administrators with whom I worked kindly gave me the three rules he felt were all I really needed to know. The first rule was: get elected. The second was: stay elected. And the third was: deny rules one and two. Cynical? Perhaps. But it had a ring of truth to it. And in today’s

Sometimes snapshots from the past creep up on us at unexpected times. Sometimes they are bright pictures that make us smile; at other times they remind us of something that made us who we are. I recently had one of those latter snapshots. In 1998 I was writing my Bar admission exams in Toronto. Two days before one of my exams my mother died, and I flew out West for her funeral. While my brother and sister ran errands, I

I was at a great criminal defence lawyers’ conference earlier this month, listening to some of the finest members of my profession offer advice and new techniques to help us better fight for our clients. The information that was shared was excellent and thought-provoking. And, as so happens at these things, some of what was said triggered other ideas, and reminders for me of skills that are important, and sometimes under-utilized. One of those skills is listening, something that I

A few weeks ago I was in Toronto, for a wonderful criminal lawyers’ conference. I learned a great deal, and after the conference I walked past Old City Hall Courthouse. That courthouse has great personal significance for me because it’s really where my career in criminal law began. In my second year of law school I was very fortunate to be part of the Criminal Intensive Program. I was conducting real criminal trials – and learning from the very best

I rarely wade into the murky waters of gender politics, particularly as they relate to my profession, but the recent case of R. v. Ghomeshi cries out for comment. More than enough ink has already been spilled about the verdict, the evidence, and all the attendant side shows. But what really stood out for me in the Ghomeshi case was the staggering amount of commentary about the fact that female complainants were, gasp, being cross-examined by a woman! And the