So the Ontario government set up 13 new Regional Tourism Organizations across the province.  This is all part of a master plan to help create a stronger tourism industry in Ontario.  A Request for Expressions of Interest (“RFEI“) – which is set to close on March 1st, 2010 – was put out by the Ontario government to see which organizations or groups of organizations would be interested in becoming a Regional Tourism Organization.

So, you are part of the tourism industry and you want to apply so that your organization or group of organizations can become a Regional Tourism Organization?  The good news is that the Ontario government is going to fund the 13 Regional Tourism Organizations: in the 2009 Ontario Budget, the government allocated $40 million in ongoing annual funding to support regional destination marketing in Ontario’s tourism regions, once they are established.  Then, an additional $25 million was allocated in each of the next two years starting in fiscal year 2010-11.

Great.  So what’s your next step?  Well, as you’re going through the application process, you realize that there are questions about your organization, how it’s internally governed (e.g. by laws, policies, etc.), about the membership and the executive team, etc.

Oh oh….If you don’t have an Ontario not for profit corporation (established under Part III of the Corporations Act), you may be in a tight spot.  You’ll need letters patent to incorporate, by-laws, policies, elections, meeting minutes, membership and director registries, etc.  Have you seen my previous blogs about setting up an Ontario not for profit corporation, more on Ontario not for profit corporations, what members should know, tax issues, and internal governance issues?  Perhaps I should write an eBook on the topic to help educate the broader public.

In any event, here’s my pitch: if you need an Ontario lawyer to help you set up and organize an Ontario not for profit corporation so that your organization or group of organizations can submit an application to become a Regional Tourism Organization, then feel free to make a post on Dynamic Lawyers or contact me directly.

written by admin \\ tags: ontario not for profit corporation, ontario regional tourism organization expression of interest, request for expression of interest, setting up not for profit corporation, tourism

It’s confirmed: Marc Saltzman of Tech Talk (remember the guy who’s always talking about cool technology before the movie starts at the theatres?) is going to have me on for 30 minutes to update listeners on everything Dynamic Lawyers. The show airs live on CFRB1010 on March 14, 2010 starting at noon.  I’m looking forward to it…

written by admin \\ tags: Dynamic Lawyers, marc saltzman, tech talk

One of the more popular pages on the DL Blog is the one dealing with legal forums.  Everyday people are hungry for answers.  The problem is that lawyers may be reluctant (and for good reason) in giving away any type of advice over the Internet.  Why?  Well, because they need to meet the client, get retained, review the facts, research the law, provide an opinion and get paid for their services.  It would be negligent of lawyers to provide such services without going through this process.  There is a risk that recommending something could be taken out of context by a person who doesn’t fully appreciate their unique situation (and all situations are unique).  The next thing: the lawyer gets blamed for giving advice.  So, with that caveat said and done, legal forums are not typically places where you will find legal advice.  Rather, you’ll find legal information which is general guidance rather than specific advice (i.e. doesn’t apply to any particular person).

So here’s an updated list of legal forums I am aware of:

1. AdviceScene – These guys just revamped their website.  They’re doing some new and cool things in addition to have a general law wiki.
2. Ottawa Divorce Forum – This is a forum dedicated to family law and divorce matters.  I laughed when I read one category that said: “Family law is a joke and fathers are the punch line” (or something like that).
3. IsItLegalTo – U.S. legal forum
4. The Attorneys Forum – another U.S. legal forum
5. Free Advice – yet another U.S. legal forum
6. Expert Law – yet again another U.S. legal forum

So what does this tell you?  Well, there are lots of U.S. legal forums, but not that many Canadian ones!  Wow.  Even though there’s  areal hunger for legal information, you’d have to go to individual lawyer websites (assuming they provide answers or information) which could be hard to find as they are generally not search engine optimized (so you can’t search for them online!).  But then again: there’s always Dynamic Lawyers if you’re looking for an Ontario lawyer and want to get a quote!

Note: lawbuzz.ca is shut down – apparently permanently.

written by admin \\ tags: legal forum, legal forums

As part of the Legal Forms project which we are releasing this month, I took it upon myself to become the best legal drafted I could be.  I read all the books I could get my hands on and surfed the internet for tips and tricks on how to draft in your language: Human!

So I decided to share some of the wealth of knowledge about the topic of legal drafting with you.  Lucky you!

So here is lesson #1: the introductory clause.

Agreements typically start off with an introductory clause.  This is what tells you what the agreement is, when it is being entered into, and who the parties are.  I’ve seen some pretty different variations of this.  The key here is that, so long as it’s clear and certain and answers those few basic issues, you have some flexibility over how to present the information.  Here are some tips and tricks:

• Give the agreement a relevant title.
• You don’t need to identify the parties to the fullest extent possible.  So if a corporation is a party, you can put their address in the notice section in the General Terms (at the end) instead of here.   Putting it in the introductory clause clutters things up.
• Don’t identify or try to explain what the relationship of the parties is.  Leave that for the Background.
• I’m not a big fan (unless you have a lot of parties) of separating each party and writing “On the First Part”, “On the Second Part”, etc.  Not sure where this custom came from, but it’s seemingly not necessary.
• You can use defined terms to identify the parties in a short form way to be used throughout the rest of the agreement.  I like to make this stand out by putting the defined party term in bold and underline (e.g. the “Party“).
• I like to use the following example as an introductory clause: “This X Agreement is dated X and is between X and X”.  Notice how I didn’t say the agreement was executed on this date?  That’s because there’s a possibility that it is executed on a different date than the date it was signed.  Execution basically means signed and delivered.  But delivery may not be done on the same day.  You get the point.  To simplify: just say when the agreement is dated.  It’s clearer than using the word “made” or “entered into”.  What about the use of the word “between”?  Why not “by and between”?  Well, it’s simple: is too wordy.  You could also use the word “among”.
• Try not to clutter the introductory clause with extra information that isn’t necessary (e.g. what the parties intentions are, etc.).

Keep it clean.  Keep it simple.

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Dear Spammers (Part 2):

No, I am not interested in claiming a million dollar prize.  No, I don’t want you to try to get my website, Dynamic Lawyers to the top of Google for my key terms (we’re already there, thank you very much).  No, I don’t want to help anyone from overseas get funds from an estate.  No, I don’t want to sue someone in my “jurisdiction” (which is not identified) on behalf of some rich person in the far east…

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Dear Spammers:

No I don’t want to buy Viagara.  You can stop asking.   And no I don’t want 25% off pharmacy drugs.  I’m doing fine, knock on wood.  As for all those “persons” or “programs” who leave comments like “Wow, great post.  I really learned a lot and will be bookmarking this blog”…well, to them I say: “I know you’re a spammer and if Akismet doesn’t catch you, I will”.  So keep trying.  It only takes a click and you’re history.  What about those people steal the content of my blog posts?  They just copy and paste into their websites so it looks like they wrote it….Well, I’ve got one thing to say about that: I’m a lawyer who has access to a whole slew of lawyers…

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Please note that the information provided herein is not legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only.  If you need legal advice, you should seek professional assistance (e.g. make a post on Dynamic Lawyers).  We have Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, and other Ontario business lawyers registered on the website who can answer your questions or help you.  I should know – I’m one of them and you can contact me directly.

The law does not operate in a vacuum.  There is a context.  Take the following example.  A real estate agent is investigated by the governing body, the Real Estate Council of Ontario.  Now the investigator can’t just do or say whatever they feel like.  There are limits on their ability to investigate.  There are also limits on how the Discipline and Appeals Tribunal deals with maters.  Those limits can be found in the Real Estate Business and Brokers Act, 2002, the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, and the Discipline and Appeals Committees Rules of Practice.  Limits can also be found in judge-made law (called the common law).  Part of a lawyer’s job is to review all of the governing legislation to see that they’ve been complied with.  Failure to comply may result in a remedy.

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So when I tell people about the upcoming online legal forms project, a lot of people naturally respond: “Are they valid and enforceable?”  The answer to that question, as always, is going to be: “It Depends”.  Think of it like this.  You download a template.  It is incomplete.  You read it over and finish it.  Then you and another party sign it and deliver it to each other.   So, is it a valid and enforceable contract?  Believe it or not, this simple situation still results in the answer: “It Depends”.  It depends on how the contract was entered into.  For example, if the contract was entered into under duress, by undue influence, through a misrepresentation (negligent, fraudulent, innocent, etc.), or it was an unconscionable contract, then a party may claim that it is invalid and they might be entitled to undo the contract!  So, if procedurally, it was entered into properly, can the substance of the legal form make it unenforceable?  Sure!  If there’s something missing which typically makes a contract enforceable – such as an exchange (called “consideration”), clear and certain terms, an offer and acceptance, etc. – then the contract may be challenged as not being valid and enforceable.   So what does this have to do with online legal forms?  Well, not much.  you see, you could go to a book store or a library and see books with legal forms and use those legal forms. You could also ask a friend or relative for a sample of a legal form they’ve used in the past.  It makes no difference.  Legal forms are simply templates.  But the way in which the contract is entered into and the actual substance of the contract is what matters.  The substance will depend on the drafter, their skills, knowledge, and experiences.  The best legal forms are simple to understand, cover the basics, devoid of legalese, etc.   Each legal form we plan on offering has been drafted, reviewed, and revised over the course of a number of days to make sure that it covers the basics, that it is easy to understand and customize, etc.  So the answer is: as with any agreement that you can acquire, there’s always a chance it can challenged.  Even legal agreements drafted by lawyers are not necessarily bullet-proof.  Having a good lawyer, however, can help mitigate or eliminate the ability of other parties to challenge a contract.

written by admin \\ tags: customize, legal forms, online legal forms, reviewed, valid and enforceable

I wanted to give you an update on our Ontario legal forms project.  Our February Launch is still a go. All 10 legal forms are now complete and are being tweaked.  Each form takes a number of days to draft, review and revise.  Not only that, but we’re including videos and ebooks with each package to help provide some insight into the form itself and how you can customize it.  So you’ll end up being able to download a fully customizable template (e.g. in .doc, .wpd., and .rtf format).  Here are a list of our initial packages (all for Ontario):

1. Independent Contractor Agreement (One-Sided: Client)
2. Plaintiff’s Claim: Construction / Renovation Dispute
3. Confidentiality Agreement (One-Sided)
4. Confidentiality Agreement (Mutual)
5. Settlement and Release Agreement (One-Sided)
6. Settlement and Release Agreement (Mutual)
7. Auto-Accident Settlement and Release Agreement (One-Sided)
8. Continuing Power of Attorney for Property
9. Power of Attorney for Personal Care
10. Living Will

(One-Sided): means that the clauses are drafted in favour of one of the parties.

(Mutual): means that the clauses are drafted in favour of both parties.

A big benefit of these legal forms is that they are lawyer prepared but written in a language you can understand: HUMAN.  We’ve stripped out the legalese and simplified each document so that you can understand it.  Together with the eBook and the Video, you should be all set.

As time goes on, we will be adding additional legal forms to the mix in the areas of:

• Family Law (e.g. Cohabitation Agreement)
• Will and Estates (e.g. Last Will and Testament)
• Real Estate (e.g. Residential Lease Agreement)
• Websites (e.g. Terms of Use Agreement)
• etc.

Once things take off, we’ll also be adding additional jurisdictions….

So there you have it…

written by admin \\ tags: auto-accident settlement and release agreement, confidentiality agreement, continuing power of attorney for property, independent contractor agrement, legal forms canada, legal forms ontario, living will, plaintiff's claim, power of attorney for personal care, settlement and release agreement, understandable legal forms

Ok sports fans, it’s confirmed.  I’ll be back on CFRB1010 radio next month.  Marc Saltzman has invited me back to do a 1 year anniversary show about Dynamic Lawyers.  We’ve got lots to discuss including the new legal forms + video guides + eBooks project we’ll be releasing this month!  We’ll chat about the first 1,000 posts on dynamic lawyers, how traffic has increased exponentially, and how the future of law is changing (assuming there’s time!).  Very exciting…

written by admin \\ tags: cfrb1010 radio, Dynamic Lawyers, marc saltzman, media attention, tech talk