Writing

So You Want To Be A Criminal Lawyer?

Frequently asked questions and infrequently heard answers — on the practice, the Charter, and the cases that shape Canadian criminal law.

A Criminal Case is Meant to go to Trial and You Cannot be Afraid to Lose

There are many non-criminal lawyers that will never, ever go to trial. In fact, as I have previously written, there seems to be a third option, other than settling or going to trial, in other types of law, which…

A Lesson for Burgeoning Lawyers from Dr. Seuss

One of my favourite books of all time is the children’s book ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ by Dr. Seuss. I read this book to my son almost every week and it has a lesson in there that I think is good advice for all lawyers.…

A Minority of One: Why I Oppose the Statement of Principles

The controversy over the Statement of Principles, a requirement by the Law Society that all Ontario lawyers create and abide by an individual Statement of Principles and acknowledge the obligation to promote “equality,…

A Separation: Why the End of Peremptory Challenges is the Beginning of the End of the Commonwealth

When I was growing up, I don´t think I ever met a single French–Canadian, but when the 1995 Quebec referendum unfolded, I felt a deep connection and solidarity with them and stayed up into the early morning hours…

Bay Street Refugee: Black and White on Bay Street

I absolutely loved Hadiya Roderique´s essay Black on Bay Street. It has been over a year since she wrote it and it is still (obviously) on my mind. The problem I have is that what I loved about Hadiya Roderique´s essay…

Competition is For Losers: What the Story of Richard Williams Can Teach Law Students

One of my main intellectual inspirations is Peter Thiel. Thiel´s book Zero to One is a must read for aspiring entrepreneurs, legal or otherwise. Thiel has a slogan that I have adopted as an article of faith, but that…

Criminal Clients Don't Play Golf

To whoever said that “golf is a good walk spoiled” – I say amen brother! Before you read this post and think I am crazy, you have to understand that I am Jewish and Jews get irrational annoyances out of all proportion…

Death Becomes Them: How Our Failure to Live With Death Led to the Covid-19 Shutdown

We need to talk about death, spelled D-E-A-T-H. Death is so often discussed by using euphemisms that it has become part of the many taboos that govern modern speech. For example, the origin of the word “palliative”,…

Defence Lawyers in the Trenches Getting Coffee

I love Jerry Seinfeld´s show ´Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee´. Not only have I been a lifelong fan of stand-up comedy, but I think I have some insight into the concept behind the show – Jerry Seinfeld likes the…

Do I Have What It Takes to be a Criminal Lawyer?

This is really the key question that is hard to answer. I can only say that this question is not different about whether you have what it takes to be an actor or a singer or a doctor or any other profession where it is…

Hello to Criminal Law and Goodbye to Bad Conversations

I actually articled at a Bay Street firm that I want to emphasize I thought was excellent and continue to. I am very proud to have articled there and to have seen how highly intelligent and conscientious lawyers think…

How do You Represent the People You Represent?

I have represented everyone from accused drug traffickers, to accused sexual assaulters, to accused murderers. The stock answer to this question from most criminal lawyers goes something like this: “Because I believe…

How Much Does a Criminal Lawyer Make?

I get asked this question a lot and before I answer, I need to know what you are thinking in asking this question. Most people that ask this question are making a logical mistake. The better way of asking this question…

Law Is Not A Zero-Sum Game: What the Success of Shopify Can Teach Lawyers

It took me a long time to realize that law school and articling are a very poor model to teach me how the real-world works. Law school has a very nasty way of teaching students that acehivements are a zero-sum game. You…

My First Law Partner - Let Yourself Fall In Love

No I don’t mean with criminal law – I mean in the real sense, let yourself fall in love. This is probably the best advice I could give to be successful on your own in criminal law. A lot of people, I think in particular…

Not Liable: Law Schools Should Not Be Blamed For The Articling Crisis And The Sometimes Bleak Situation Of Young Lawyers

Since the great recession in 2009, there have been a lot of articles and blogs that have heaped negativity on law school and blamed the economic prospects of young lawyers on law schools. Having gone through it myself,…

Taxation with Representation - Tax Lessons From a Criminal Lawyer

I actually took tax law in my third year of law school because I had already taken all the courses that I was interested in and because people told me I should take tax law for the bar exam. I remember exactly two…

Ten Years Late For A Staff Meeting

I hit ten years of practice on my own on March 1, 2021 and wanted to write a blog about the top ten best things about being on your own in criminal defence. I have written about this over the years, including not having…

The Definition of Theft in the #MeToo Era

This is the story of Joe and Jim Cortez who ran Joe and Jim´s Fantasy Sports Memorabilia in Las Vegas for more than twenty-five years. Joe and Jim grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. Joe had a chance encounter at a…

The Emperor's New Clubs

Once upon a time, there was an Emperor so fond of athletic pursuits that he spent all his vast wealth attending various sporting events around the world for many decades. When Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics faced off…

The Intense Highs and Immense Lows of Criminal Law

Let me tell you about the first acquittal that I ever experienced. The client was charged with a sexual assault and forcible confinement. If he were found guilty, he was going to go to jail for years and have his life…

The Road to Hell: The Intentions of Politicians in Eliminating Peremptory Challenges are Irrelevant to an Accused

There is someone I knew in high school who was really involved in politics and used to table for the “Young Convervatives” or “Young Liberals” or “Young NDP” (the party is irrelevant). He used to annoy the shit out of…

The Thin Line Between Success and Failure: What Sidney Crosby's 2016 Stanley Cup Can Teach Lawyers

In 2015, Sidney Crosby was going through the worst slump of his career. He had 15 points in 23 games and instead of being in his usual top 5 spot among the NHL scoring leaders, was ranked somewhere in the hundreds.…

The Difficulty With Taking Advice: What a Vicious Mike Tyson Knockout Can Teach Law Students

Shakespeare was onto something when he wrote in Hamlet, “this above all: to thine own self be true.” I have been a fan of boxing, especially heavyweight boxing, since I was 6 years old. I drive my wife crazy by watching…

What is Criminal Law Humour and Do I Like It?

Why are there so many Jewish comedians? From Jerry Seinfeld to Rodney Dangerfield to Mel Brooks to Larry David to Seth Rogan, what is it about the European Jewish culture that produced so many hilarious minds? After…

What Law Students And Legal Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Life moves pretty fast” says a young Matthew Broderick to the camera breaking the fourth wall with the audience in the classic 80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you…

When Tradition Goes Wrong: A Reimagination of the Years 18 to 23

On September 28, 2019, Paul Magder, who owned a fur store and a fought a battle against the forced closure of businesses on Sundays in Ontario for decades, died. Upon his death, Magder´s sons reported that their father…

Why Graduation Ceremonies Are Stupid

When I first started my criminal law practice, I joined something called a networking group. The idea of a networking group is to meet weekly with the group and refer business to each other. In order to join the…

Why I Love The Jury System

I have a high point in every jury trial. You are probably thinking that the high point of a jury trial for me is when I have had the experience of hearing the words “not guilty”. These are indeed, some of the best…

Why I Support the Creation of Ryerson University Law School

I talk to a lot of law students that oppose the existence of another law school in Ontario and are not happy that Ryerson University Law School has been approved by the Law Society of Ontario and is set to begin classes…

Why Rafael Nadal is My Legal Hero

I have always loved watching the tennis rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I especially loved the contrast between these two tennis legends. Roger Federer is smooth, effortless and always seems in control.…

Why We Should Defund the Law Society of Ontario

By far the funniest spending scandal in recent history is the credit card spending scandal of the Ryerson Student Union. There is no doubt that the slate that won the leadership positions in the RSU ran on a platform of…

Like a Moth to a Flame: Why You Shouldn't Listen To Your Elders

I don’t mean you shouldn’t listen to your elders ever, but when it comes to entrepreneurship, you should be very skeptical about the advice your get from elders, particularly from the Baby Boomer generation. If you are…

You Can Stand on the Other Side of Humanity and be Right: How the Christopher Husbands' Verdict Made Me Appreciate Our Criminal Justice System

For virtually my entire life, I have been in the minority when it comes to thinking. I can remember examples of this throughout my life from the time I was nine years old and liked the song Fight the Power by Public…