33rd Annual Civil Litigation Conference (CCLA)

Moderator:
Heather Williams, Cavanagh LLP/s.r.l

Bienvenue! Welcome!

Ian McBride, President, County of Carleton Law Association

Two! Four! Six! Eight! Do they have to mitigate?

Mitigation of damages: a primer (and an update in light of Southcott Estates Inc. v. Toronto Catholic District School Board)

Robert De Toni, Merovitz Potechin LLP

Causation: the latest (but probably not the last) word

Francois Baril, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion (but maybe not in court…)

Who’s an expert? Rule 53.03: the Divisional Court weighs in (Westerhof v. Gee et al.)

Laurie Tucker, Burn Tucker, personal injury lawyers of McBride Bond Christian LLP

When the going gets tough…

What can you do? Whom can you call? How will your colleagues—and your clients—respond?

Moderator:
Susanne Sviergula, Cavanagh LLP/s.r.l

Panellists:
Steve Kelly, Kelly Santini LLP TBA, Homewood Health Services TBA, practicePRO

The final judgment on summary judgment: The Supreme Court of Canada ends the debate (?)

[*This topic subject to change if the SCC does not release its decision before the conference] TBA

Dealing with administrative dismissals: the courts continue to confound clarify

Master Calum MacLeod, Superior Court of Justice

Moderator:
Kirsten Crain, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto (i.e. “The Treasurer’s Address”)

Thomas Conway, Treasurer, Law Society of Upper Canada

Secret settlements: Sable Offshore Energy Inc. v. Ameron International Corp.

TBA

The minefield of admissions--making them, requesting them and withdrawing them (ideally without having to put LawPRO on notice)

Frank Tierney, Tierney Stauffer LLP

Nadia and Nadia on examinations for discovery: The law on examinations post-Iroquois Falls demystified

Who examines first? Who can be present? What is a relevant question? When can you talk to your client? When is your examination being obstructed and what can you do about it?

Nadia Effendi, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Nadia Authier, Rasmussen Starr Ruddy, LLP

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: the end of the retainer

The LSUC’s rules; what to do when acting for multiple parties; grounds for termination by the lawyer; the importance of retainer agreements; getting off the record in court; solicitors’ liens and how to get paid

Moderator:
Andrew Lenz, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/ s.r.l.

Panellists:
Chris McLeod, Dentons Canada LLP
Cynthia Miller, Senior Claims Counsel, Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company
Justice G. Patrick Smith, Superior Court of Justice
Janet Whitehead, Chair, County and District Law Presidents’ Association

Moderator:
William Simpson, Q.C., LSM, Tierney Stauffer LLP

ADDRESS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

John Gerretsen, Attorney General, Ontario

Conflicts of interest: identifying them and dealing with them— does McKercher have all of the answers for the civil litigation bar?

TBA

Civil litigation in 2038 (i.e. “25 years from now”)

With crowded courtrooms, mandatory mediation, lawyers who have never done a trial, law graduates who need to be trained, new law schools coming on stream, clients who can’t or won’t pay what we think we’re worth, litigants who represent themselves,  computer  programs  that  can  do  some  of  the things that we do, debate over who should have the last word on incivility in the courtroom, talk about alternative business structures and a system that still relies almost exclusively on paper, how are civil cases going to be resolved 25 years from now?

Moderator:
William Simpson, Q.C., LSM, Tierney Stauffer LLP

Preparing for the future: What civil litigators need to be doing now

Panellists:
Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco, Superior Court of Justice
Thomas Conway, Treasurer, Law Society of Upper Canada Dean Nathalie Des Rosiers, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Common Law
Alan Mark, President, The Advocates’ Society

Moderator:
Jessica Fullerton, Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP

Break a leg!

Slip and fall cases against municipalities

William Sammon, Barnes Sammon LLP

State of the region report

Regional Senior Justice Charles Hackland, Superior Court of Justice, East Region

Judges: the questions you might be afraid to ask—but David Scott isn’t

Moderator:
David Scott, Q.C., Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Panellists:
Justice Brian Abrams, Superior Court of Justice
Justice Robert Beaudoin, Superior Court of Justice
Justice Katherine Corrick, Superior Court of Justice
Justice Paul Kane, Superior Court of Justice
Justice Bonnie Warkentin, Superior Court of Justice
TBA

Moderator:
Patrick Thompson, McMillan LLP

Protected by privilege: lessons from Guergis v. Novak et al.

Wendy Wagner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Jury trials 101: the questions for the jury

Justice Giovanna Toscano Roccamo, Superior Court of Justice

TBA

Plaider en francais devant les tribunaux de l’Ontario

Moderator:
Jeff Saikaley, CazaSaikaley LLP/s.r.l.

Panellists:
Justice Julie Thorburn, Superior Court of Justice
Justice Johanne Lafrance-Cardinal, Superior Court of Justice
Hélène Desormeau, President, Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Law Association

Loose lips: confidentiality clauses with teeth

Stephanie Lewis, CazaSaikaley LLP/s.r.l.

The Employment Law Panel

Moderator:
Mark Josselyn, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Panellists:
Justice Stephen Goudge, Court of Appeal for Ontario
Justice Heidi Levenson Polowin, Superior Court of Justice
Jennifer Birrell, Emond Harnden LLP/ s.r.l.
James Cameron, Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP/s.r.l.

Moderator:
Cale Harrison, Tierney Stauffer LLP

Abuse of process: when is an action an abuse of the process of the court?

Allan O’Brien, Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP

Write!

Justice John Laskin, Court of Appeal for Ontario

Maintenance and champerty: still alive in 2013 (even if our spellcheck disagrees about “champerty”)

Ashlee Barber, Williams McEnery LLP

COSTS: trends, explanations and the latest cases

Moderator:
Joseph Obagi, Connolly Obagi LLP

Panellists:
Justice Robert Smith, Superior Court of Justice
John Cardill, Tierney Stauffer LLP
Ian McBride, McBride Bond Christian LLP

ADVANCED ADVOCACY: TELL A STORY; WIN YOUR CASE

Telling your client’s story persuasively and ethically and grabbing the attention of the trier of fact*

Moderator:
Regional Senior Justice Charles Hackland, Superior Court of Justice

Keynote Speaker:
Professor Gary Gildin, Penn State Law

Panellists:

Professor Gary Gildin, Penn State Law
Regional Senior Justice Charles Hackland, Superior Court of Justice
Justice Bonnie Warkentin, Superior Court of Justice
John Hollander, McBride Bond Christian LLP
TBA
Elizabeth Quigley, Connolly Obagi LLP
Heather Williams, Cavanagh LLP/s.r.l.