Client: I have a quick question for you. … Can I do <enter question that seems perfectly straightforward to client>? Lawyer:  hmmmmm.  It depends. Client: Grrrrrrrr.  Why can you never just tell me yes or no?! We all know this dance.  Clients ask questions. Lawyers give equivocal answers. Why does this happen? Honestly, we the… Read more »

Thrilled to have been interviewed by the Law Society of Ontario for their first podcast episode of Things CAN Change for the Coach and Advisor Network. Click here to listen. I have been a coach and advisor with the Law Society since 2016. They were interviewing me about my practice, how things in my practice… Read more »

It’s not enough for health care organizations to respect patient privacy rights.  I believe we have an obligation to help our patients understand those rights and activate them. There is a definite power imbalance between health care providers and patients when it comes to their understanding of privacy. Patients (and their caregivers) don’t receive a… Read more »

First of all – it’s time to celebrate. There have been now more than 100 decisions of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario on health privacy.  That’s a celebratory day in my office.  (Note: the IPC did not publish Decision 100 today – so I’ve got to celebrate Decision 101 instead!) Okay – back… Read more »

Stay with me.  This might be a bit bumpy.  Let’s have a deep conversation about consent. And by consent, I mean consent in a health care context. Consent for treatment or for privacy decisions. I recently watched an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert and Marie Forleo. In talking about her book, City of Girls, Elizabeth said… Read more »

In late September, I attended the Gathering of the Creatives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I went to meet my hero, Julia Cameron, who is the author of The Artists’ Way. As a coach of lawyers, I ask my participants to surrender to the growth experience if they want to live creative lives. I thought… Read more »

Since I was in undergraduate studies, I have loved Georgia O’Keeffe. I love her bold colours and exaggerated shapes and scale. A few weeks ago, I was in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a conference. I went to the Georgia O’Keeffe museum and saw her works up close and personal. They took my breath away…. Read more »

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) just released a new blog titled: “Cameras in Doctors’ Exam Rooms? Not in Ontario” and released Decision 98. In this decision, a media outlet notified the IPC that a cosmetic surgery clinic was using surveillance cameras in examination rooms. The clinic had 24 security cameras recording continuously… Read more »

In a new Decision 96 of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC), a father who had access-only (not custody) of his children wanted a certain information from a health care provider. The health care provider refused to confirm or deny they had information about the children. The father complained to the IPC. The… Read more »

Law is generally a no nonsense business. We write legal opinions, emails, and draft court documents with the odd flourish of a bulleted list. We stick to the standard fonts: Times New Roman, Arial. We may splurge with Calibri. No Bauhaus for us. Forget Narkisim. The topic of “beauty” does not often arise in polite… Read more »