Here when you need us most.

It won’t be long before picking up your phone while driving, even if stopped at a red light, will cost you even more money.

On September 20, 2017, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced that the Liberal government will introduce legislation to increase the fines for distracted driving from a maximum of $1,000 to up to $2,000 on second conviction, and up to $3,000 for a third or subsequent conviction as well as six demerit points for multiple offences.

Note: This article originally appeared in The Lawyer’s Daily.

The Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Bruff-Murphy v. Gunawardena 2017 ONCA 502, is a must-read for all personal injury lawyers. On the one hand, the court sent a clear direction to trial judges that they must take a more robust role as the gatekeeper of expert evidence, which should mark the end of either side using "hired guns."

Note: This article was originally published for the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association. 

Should people with auto insurance be excluded from juries in car crash trials?

That is the question being posed to Justice Daley in the case of Kapoor v. Kuzmanovski. 

Hot coffee from McDonald’s is again the subject matter of a legal case.

I’m sure everyone has heard of the case in the United States where McDonald’s served scalding hot coffee to an elderly lady. The coffee spilled on the lady’s legs, causing severe third-degree burns. Unfortunately, that case made headlines for the wrong reasons and was wrongly ridiculed as being frivolous. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

This is a blog about blogs, specifically my blog and why I choose the things I write about. I think it’s important to explain why; even though I write blogs as a criminal defence lawyer, law is rarely one of my topics.

Criminal law is evolving almost daily. Judges make decisions about interpretations of the law, parliamentarians bring in new legislation, and sometimes situations get ahead of the law, and all the players in the justice system have to scramble to adjust to new dynamics. It's fascinating, and challenging – and frequently reported in the news.

Note: This blog was originally published for the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association.

On March 9, 2016, Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment) 2016 received royal assent.

On Thursday, May 5, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced he plans to implement 12 recommendations to bolster accountability, regulation, quality and safety in the increasing number of non-hospital health clinics in Ontario.

If you drive a vehicle in Ontario you must have auto insurance — that is the law. The question is do you know what is included with the basic auto insurance coverage?

On June 1, the basic coverage will once again be slashed. You will be paying the same premiums for less coverage.

Almost everyone has heard of Uber, a relatively new ride sharing service connecting drivers and riders in major cities across North America. While the service is beneficial to many, one major problem with using Uber is the risk of riding in a vehicle where the status of insurance is unknown.