3 minute read
Networking
Event Highlights
After a well-deserved break over the holidays, we were ready to start 2021 with a bang. Throughout almost a year of running events fully virtual we have been presented with many challenges, but the support of members and the community has made it all worthwhile. As we continue to navigate this pandemic together, we hope to connect with you in one way or another soon.
January included some remarkable events which provided an opportunity to network, educate and connect our community. Some of our highlights included:
The Pillars of Economic Prosperity: Healthcare Edition
For this event, we hosted the three local hospital presidents. The fireside chat gave attendees an inside look at the local healthcare system and the effects of COVID-19.
The 2021 Libro Chamber Young Professionals Annual Mentor Mix & Mingle
We virtually connected local young professionals with over 20 industry leaders and seasoned business professionals, and offered a live session discussing the importance of mentorship.
RESCHEDULED:
2021 Business Excellence Awards Gala
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the 2021 Business Excellence Awards Gala that was scheduled for Thursday, February 18, 2021 has been rescheduled.
Although it has been a difficult year, there are still so many accomplishments from local businesses in our community that we are looking forward to celebrating. We hope you will join us (virtually) on the rescheduled date of Thursday, April 22nd,
2021.
We look forward to seeing you virtually soon, so one day we can get back to safely seeing you all in person.
Carolyn Marsh Hannah Kelly| Events Manager Events Coordinator
LMI Canada
INSURANCE
formerly Lackner McLennan & Erb and Erb Insurance Visit us online at www.LMICanada.com · Integrity · Expertise · Commitment ·
Asked and Answered with Lerners LLP
Civil Litigation during the pandemic – how are the Courts coping?
As it did in so many other areas of our lives, when the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, it interrupted the delivery of legal services. Although considered “essential”, many law firms effectively closed their offices: lawyers worked from home and found new ways to meet with clients and
hearings and conducted 140 remote trials. The Court of Appeal decided +800 appeals in 2020 (about 75% of its normal caseload), and currently does not expect any backlog when we finally emerge from the pandemic.
Ontario Courts began the return to in-person hearings in the fall. When the second wave hit, the courts returned to remote hearings in all but the most urgent of cases, but with the technology in place allowing for a smoother transition while we wait for vaccines to be delivered and the curve to flatten.
Lawyers and the court system in which we advance our clients’ cases continue to adapt and “carry on” during this challenging time. Lerners has, for generations now, served its clients through difficult times and will continue to do so during and after the pandemic.
other lawyers. Courthouses closed to the public and many cases, except those considered urgent, were adjourned. The Ontario government suspended most provincial limitations and procedural time periods until September 14, 2020.
Following an initial focus on urgent cases, the pandemic jump-started Ontario’s court system to introduce long overdue technology and process improvements, and Courts embraced Zoom and other videoconferencing to conduct hearings. At a recent virtual Town Hall meeting the Chief Justices of Ontario’s three levels of Courts were on hand to discuss these changes. They noted that lawyers had “risen to the occasion” to ensure clients were heard, and that between March and November of 2020 the Superior Court of Justice held +74,000 virtual Find out more about Lerners LLP at lerners.ca
Graham M. Bennett, C.S.
Graham Bennett is a partner at Lerners LLP, working from Lerners’ new Waterloo Region office located at 9 Ahrens St. W., in Kitchener. Graham is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in civil litigation and his practice is focussed on serious personal injury and insurance matters.
