Common questions that clients have but seldom ask when they go to see a lawyer for the first time include: “What is a retainer?” “How do retainers work?” “Are there different types of retainers?”

Corporations can and do change their names, but doing so in Ontario or Canada is actually a big deal.

Whether south or north of the U.S.-Canada border, the proper standard of review of patent claim construction sometimes, especially in complex cases, can be problematic.

Jean-Charles Grégoire, of Marks & Clerk Canada, looks at proposed amendments to the Patent Act, Trade-marks Act, and Industrial Design Act contained in the budget implementation omnibus Bill C-59.

With advances in technology and outsourcing options, today’s lawyers have a wide variety of tools and options available to keep costs down, increase margins and, in turn, allow for specialized legal work at affordable prices, says Allan Oziel.

Lawyers know to listen to what their clients are saying, but they should also be aware of their clients’ cultural context, which quite often tells a much richer story, say Lilian Bahgat and Harpreet Burmy, with Brisebois Law Office in Windsor, Ont.

A recent Ontario court judgment holds that the province’s Insurance Act obligates insurers to continue providing a legal defense to their insured even when there is no possibility of indemnification or the civil action is against…

When two doctors’ estates declared bankruptcy following their deaths, a bank attempted to lay claim to their marital homes, which had been jointly owned with their spouses and against which their loans were not secured.

Co-operating with realtors in the private sale of a home has its own rules. Michael Forcier, a sole practitioner in Owen Sound, highlights some important points.