Ontario's court system is about to be subject to major reforms in an attempt to address the significant delays facing civil courts, marking the largest overhaul of the rules governing civil litigation in more than 40 years.
"It's all anyone's talking about," partner Chris Hunter said in an interview with Law.com.
In early April, a working group led by attorney general of Ontario and Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz released a report proposing amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure. The report—which was developed based on core aspects of other jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore—aims to have matters to trial within two years of filing.
The amendments have been met with mixed reviews by Ontario's legal community. While some believe they could be effective at helping get disputes resolved more quickly, senior associate Alicja Puchta says they could require greater client involvement and result in higher costs.
"Clients will have to be much more involved early on in faster-paced litigation," Alicja said to Law.com, noting that this could mean higher up-front litigation costs for clients.
You can read more about our Disputes and Investigations work on our practice page.