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Information and Insights

Welcome to the home of our blogging lawyers. Here you will find information and insights on legal trends that we hope will bring clarity to your complex business and personal challenges.

Field Law is a 100+ year old business law firm serving western and northern Canada from offices in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Firm offers a comprehensive range of legal and complementary services to businesses, institutions, governments and other organizations. Additionally the Firm provides private services to individuals including estate planning services and real estate transactions. One of Field Law’s core values is giving back to the communities it serves and is active in many community and charitable initiatives. The Field Law Community Fund Program was launched in 2013 and has so far provided $550,000 in funding to 96 local projects.

Information on this website does not establish any form of lawyer-client relationship with Field LLP or with any of its lawyers. The information on this website is public information and is not individualized legal advice. Readers should not rely on or take any action based upon this information; professional advice should be obtained.

Can Border Officers Search Your Phone?

A few months ago, and despite widespread criticism, the Canadian government passed legislation allowing US border officers to conduct warrant-less searches on Canadian soil. The Pre-Clearance Act implemented a bilateral treaty between Canada and the US, which outlines the circumstances in which either party can examine, inspect and search travelers outside of their jurisdiction (the 2015 Agreement […] Read More
February 26, 2020
Privacy + Data Management

How Memory Issues and Delusional Beliefs Invalidated a Will

When you pass away, your Will can be challenged and declared invalid on the basis that, at the time you made it, you lacked mental capacity. Whether a Testator had the necessary capacity at the time he made his Will is not a simple question. A Testator may live independently, drive a vehicle, and nevertheless […] Read More
February 20, 2020
Wills + Estates + Trusts

Access to Information and Privilege: The Saga Continues

The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench has provided some much needed guidance on solicitor-client privilege in the context of access to information requests in Edmonton Police Service v. Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner), 2020 ABQB 10 [EPS]. The Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act [FOIPPA] provides individuals with the right to seek […] Read More
February 4, 2020
Privacy + Data Management

Who You Gonna Call (As a Witness)?

Construction disputes (as with any matters in litigation) rarely make it to trial. Matters typically settle or are resolved on a summary basis through written evidence alone. But if a matter proceeds to trial, where evidence via live witnesses is required, which people to call as witnesses is integral. In construction, it is common that […] Read More
January 15, 2020
Litigation

Spies and the Supreme Court: Charting a New Course for the Standard of Review 

On December 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-awaited trilogy of decisions that will significantly shift administrative law. Administrative law encompasses legal challenges to regulatory or government action, ranging from cabinet approval of pipelines to the denial of refugee status, from professional regulatory decisions to First Nations band council decisions.  Recognizing the […] Read More
December 31, 2019
Litigation

Cutting the Red Tape: New Condo Regulations coming to Alberta January 1, 2020

On November 26, 2019, the Alberta Government released the long-awaited, newly-revised amendments to the Condominium Property Regulation, and proclaimed that certain sections of the Condominium Property Amendment Act, SA 2014, c. C-10 will also come into force on January 1, 2020. The majority of the revisions in this phase of the amendments addresses governance issues, […] Read More
December 20, 2019
Real Estate