CL Talk

Canadian Lawyer Magazine
  • 4.6 (7)
  • Business

CL Talk is the official podcast of Canadian Lawyer magazine. It will hear from leaders in the legal profession in Canada and beyond. Our editorial team interviews legal leaders about topical issues affecting lawyers from coast to coast.

  1. 13 hrs ago

    Correctional Negligence: Holding Canada's Institutions Accountable

    Correctional negligence is one of the most consequential and underexplored areas of Canadian personal injury law. As scrutiny of the country's correctional system intensifies, driven by rising deaths in custody, inadequate medical care, the expanded use of solitary confinement, and a growing number of coroner's inquests, the legal obligations governments owe to incarcerated individuals have never been more relevant to Canadian lawyers. This is not a niche practice area: it sits at the intersection of constitutional rights, government accountability, and the fundamental standards of safety and human dignity that Canadians expect from their public institutions. In this episode of CL Talk, Joel Dick, a Partner at Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP in Toronto and a certified specialist in civil litigation recognized by the Law Society of Ontario, offers a thorough examination of how correctional negligence claims are built and litigated in Canada. Drawing on his experience representing individuals harmed while incarcerated, Dick explores the evidentiary challenges unique to this area of law, the legal duties the Crown owes to people in its custody, and how systemic failures translate into viable negligence claims. He also examines how coroner's inquests contribute to institutional accountability, what reforms would make the greatest difference inside correctional facilities, and why every Canadian lawyer, regardless of practice area, should care about this evolving field. Key Takeaways • How correctional negligence differs from conventional personal injury litigation, and the specific legal duties the government owes to incarcerated individuals • How these cases are investigated, built, and argued, including the evidentiary complexities that make them uniquely challenging • The systemic failures most commonly giving rise to correctional negligence claims in Canada today • What rising deaths in custody and coroner's inquests reveal about accountability gaps within the correctional system • What Canadian lawyers need to know if they are considering this area of practice, and why it matters far beyond prison walls Tune in now and gain a deeper understanding of correctional negligence, and what it means for the Canadians who need the law to work for them most.

  2. Sep 8

    Fasken on agentic AI: building the tools lawyers actually use

    In this episode of CL Talk, Canadian Lawyer managing editor Tim Wilbur speaks with Clarke Barnes, Fasken's firm managing partner, and Andrea Alliston, who leads the firm's knowledge and practice innovation programs, about an AI strategy that predates the firm's July 2026 announcement of a firmwide Legora partnership by more than a year. Barnes and Alliston discuss Fasken's joint innovation program with Walter AI — acquired by Legora in March 2026 — how that work began in the firm's emerging technology and venture capital practice, what agentic AI changes about legal workflows compared to earlier tools, why bilingualism was the deciding factor in the platform evaluation, and how the firm is managing adoption through lawyer secondments and dedicated AI engagement roles. They also address how client expectations have shifted in under two years, and where agentic AI may take legal service delivery next. Andrea Alliston will appear on a panel titled "How Law Firms Are Re-Engineering Legal Delivery" at the Canadian Legal Summit in October. Visit us here for more information on the summit: https://events.canadianlawyermag.com/canadian-legal-summit?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=editorial_article&utm_campaign=CLS2026&utm_content=awareness&utm_term=asset01.

  3. Sep 1

    Mesha Donaldson on building Tandem Law her own way

    In this episode of CL Talk, Canadian Lawyer managing editor Tim Wilbur speaks with Mesha Donaldson, founder and managing partner of Tandem Law P.C., a family law, real estate, and wills and estates firm in Pickering, Ontario. Called to the Ontario bar in 2011 after graduating from the University of Windsor, Donaldson made partner at her previous firm within three years, then launched Tandem in 2016 and got it fully operational in less than 24 hours. In this conversation, Donaldson talks candidly about how she has built and leads a team in a small firm environment: hiring deliberately for personality and culture fit ahead of credentials, researching the market to pay competitively despite operating one GO Train stop from Bay Street, tying team bonuses to firm performance, and holding a firm line on no after-hours or weekend client emails to protect the team's mental health. She also shares why she remains skeptical that AI will replace a good clerk or lawyer, and what she would tell any lawyer considering going solo. Donaldson will bring these perspectives to the panel "From Hiring to High Performance: Rethinking Legal Talent Strategy" at Canadian Lawyer's Canadian Legal Summit on October 14 at The Carlu in Toronto. Register now: https://events.canadianlawyermag.com/canadian-legal-summit

  4. Aug 25

    Kurt Schlachter on building a succession plan that holds up

    In this episode of CL Talk, Tim Wilbur speaks with Kurt Schlachter, chief executive officer of Stringam Law, about succession planning at small and medium law firms — why it is universally discussed and rarely done well, and what it actually takes to get it right. Schlachter draws on his experience running one of Western Canada's largest regional firms to walk through the mechanics that most leaders avoid: how to transfer client relationships without losing them, why governance failures tend to surface long before anyone is thinking about succession, and what a compensation structure that holds together through a transition actually looks like. He also describes the tiered partnership model Stringam introduced in 2023 — and why he deliberately built it so income partners have real skin in the game rather than just a title. The conversation covers the full arc of succession planning, from the first hard conversations with junior lawyers about thinking like owners, to the advice Schlachter gives to firm leaders considering a sale or merger: start early, or there may not be much to sell. Schlachter is speaking on this topic at the Canadian Legal Summit in Toronto on October 14. Details and registration at https://events.canadianlawyermag.com/canadian-legal-summit?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=editorial_article&utm_campaign=CLS2026&utm_content=awareness&utm_term=asset01

  5. Jul 7

    AI is not all or none: Tiana Van Dyk on using it well in e-discovery

    A single litigation file or regulatory investigation can now surface more data than any team could read in a lifetime, and the temptation is to let AI sort it out. On this episode of CL Talk, Canadian Lawyer managing editor Tim Wilbur speaks with Tiana Van Dyk, managing director of Epiq Canada, about using these tools well without handing over judgment. Van Dyk, who has spent nearly two decades in e-discovery, is blunt that when AI disappoints, the fault usually lies with the user rather than the tool. She explains where generative AI is genuinely delivering in document review, why fluent, human-sounding output tempts lawyers into overconfidence, and why keeping a human in the loop is non-negotiable. She also traces the shift from vendor-as-provider to embedded partner, and makes the case that more affordable tools could widen access to justice for smaller firms. Van Dyk expands on these themes as a panellist at the Canadian Legal Summit in Toronto this October, where she joins a session on how far lawyers can treat AI as a genuine legal partner. For more information on the Canadian Legal Summit, visit our website: https://events.canadianlawyermag.com/canadian-legal-summit?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=editorial_article&utm_campaign=CLS2026&utm_content=awareness&utm_term=asset01

  6. Jul 3

    Luca Citton and Marti Phillips on the hiring shift AI is forcing on law firms

    What should law firms be hiring for in an era when AI can handle the work that once defined a junior associate's first years? In this episode of CL Talk, Tim Wilbur sits down with Luca Citton, president of Boughton Law in Vancouver and board chair of Meritas, and Marti Phillips, who leads the legal technology program at the global firm network, to explore how legal talent strategy needs to change – and why most firms are still behind. Citton introduces the concept of "lawyer fluidity" – a lawyer's ability to move between legal work, business, technology, and client relationships – and explains why Boughton Law has already shifted its recruitment criteria and rebuilt its mentorship program around it. He also reflects on what law schools are still failing to teach, and shares the moment a ChatGPT demonstration at a Meritas annual meeting changed how he thought about hiring entirely. Phillips brings a global view from her work across Meritas member firms, offering a frank assessment of where the profession stands and what the firms actually getting this right have in common. Her advice to managing partners who feel overwhelmed: start by taking a breath.

  7. Jun 24

    Samsung's Sahil Razdan on AI, ad tech and privacy by design

    What does it take to govern AI responsibly inside a global technology company? In this episode, Sahil Razdan, senior legal counsel at Samsung Electronics Canada and chair of the board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) AI and Emerging Technology Committee, traces an unplanned path into privacy and technology law and explains why the privacy infrastructure a company already has is, in his view, the foundation for managing AI. He talks through the legal side of Samsung's ad tech business, the role of consent and privacy by design, how IAB Canada is setting industry standards as AI accelerates, and why human oversight still matters in legal work.

  8. Jun 23

    Lindsay Duprey on AI, e-discovery and defensible legal data

    A single litigation file, regulatory audit or breach response can now arrive as a mountain of emails, documents and transcripts. On this episode of CLTalk, Canadian Lawyer managing editor Tim Wilbur speaks with Lindsay Duprey, president of Array Canada, about how legal teams can dig out without sacrificing defensibility or judgment. Duprey, who has led the e-discovery and litigation support firm in Canada since January 2025, breaks down the two forces reshaping the market at once: the rapid shift of AI from conversation to execution, and the competing demand for both speed and predictability. She explains where AI is delivering real value in document review today, why "the human in the loop" remains essential, and how data sovereignty has moved from a question of where data lives to who controls it. She also makes the case that the real challenge with legal technology isn't buying it, but embedding it into how an organization actually works. Duprey expands on these themes as a panelist at the Canadian Legal Summit in Toronto this October, where she joins the session on turning overwhelming volumes of evidence into legal strategy. For more information on the Canadian Legal Summit, visit our website: https://events.canadianlawyermag.com/canadian-legal-summit?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=editorial_article&utm_campaign=CLS2026&utm_content=awareness&utm_term=asset01

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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

CL Talk is the official podcast of Canadian Lawyer magazine. It will hear from leaders in the legal profession in Canada and beyond. Our editorial team interviews legal leaders about topical issues affecting lawyers from coast to coast.

Information

  • Creator
    Canadian Lawyer Magazine
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    143
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    CL Talk

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