Law Times

BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times SOLE practitioners and small firms make up the majority of Ontario's lawyers, and some say Convocation could benefit from more sole practitioners and small-firm lawyers, too. Lawyers that own their own business could have important feedback as the Law Society of Ontario considers issues such as continuing professional de- velopment, parental leave, licen- sure and alternative business structures, according to bench- er candidates who work on their own or in small firms. Deepa Tailor, managing di- rector of Tailor Law PC, is one small-firm lawyer who is run- ning for a spot on the law soci- ety's board as a bencher in Con- vocation. Tailor says if she wins a spot in the April 30 election, she would advocate for expansion of programs that impact solo law- yers, such as the Parental Leave Assistance Program, Coach and Advisor Network, as well as sup- port for lawyers preparing for their first audit. "The one thing that the Coach and Advisor Network doesn't really address, though, is all of the other challenges you face as a sole proprietor: sales, PM #40762529 BY SHANNON K ARI For Law Times PLAINTIFFS in libel actions stemming from comments in online posts should present evi- dence of actual harm at an early stage or a proceeding may not be permitted to proceed to trial, the Ontario Court of Appeal has suggested in two recent rulings. The decisions in New Der- mamed Inc. v. Sulaiman and United Soils Management Ltd. v. Mohammed upheld rulings by Superior Court judges that dismissed the claims under the "anti-SLAPP" provisions in s. 137 of the Courts of Justice Act. In both cases, the Court of Appeal focused its analysis on the section of the statute that re- quires a judge to weigh whether the harm suffered by the expres- sion is sufficiently serious that there is a greater public interest in permitting a proceeding to continue than in protecting that expression. The Court of Appeal first set out a template on how to apply the Protection of Public Partici- Claims made under anti-SLAPP laws dismissed Iain MacKinnon says that, in dismissing two recent cases, the Ontario Court of Appeal 'is saying there needs to be some quantifiable or substantial damages.' Solo lawyers, small firms strive for seats in Convocation #BencherElection 2019 discussion kick-started See Candidate, page 2 See #BencherElection2019, page 3 See Important, page 2 Street Legal returns Class action part of plot page 5 Benchers' wisdom Lessons shared page 4 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | MARCH 4, 2019 | WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM | VOL. 30, NO. 8 | $5.00 Uber ruling Gift to employees page 7 Focus on Personal Injury Law page 8 Deepa Tailor says if elected she would advocate for expansion of programs that impact solo lawyers. Photo: Laura Pedersen cLeishOrlando_LT_Oct29_18.indd 1 2018-10-25 7:52 AM & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM The Bencher Election is April 30th Visit our new micro-site devoted to the upcoming LSO Bencher Election with news coverage, candidate profiles and advertising opportunities for bencher candidates. Connect with all facets of the bencher election and make an informed decision by visiting BencherElection.ca today. BencherElections_LT_Mar4_19.indd 1 2019-02-28 3:24 PM BY PATRICIA CANCILL A Law Times IN the lead-up to the bench- er election, Law Times has launched a dedicated website to cover top news issues and self- authored responses by some candidates on their platforms. Recently, a spirited debate broke out on Twitter in relation to small firms and solo practitio- ners, kickstarted by lawyer Mi- chele Allinotte, in a thread she hashtagged with #BencherElec- tion2019, our designated elec- tion hashtag. Here are some of the com- ments. Follow along online and read how candidates responded.

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