Category Archives: Announcements

Stem Legal is pleased to welcome our newest client, Van Dyke Law Office.

Van Dyke Law Office is a Southern Ontario personal injury firm with offices in Kingston, Ottawa, and Belleville. Principal lawyer Frank Van Dyke assists clients through a wide variety of legal issues in the following areas:

• Motor vehicle, snowmobile, and boating accidents
• Catastrophic injuries, dog attacks, and slip and falls
• Disability insurance claims, CPP claims, and WSIB claims
• Life insurance denials
• Medical malpractice, human rights violations, and wrongful dismissal

Frank Van Dyke’s clients appreciate his straightforward, realistic, and determined approach. They also praise his responsiveness and compassion for the physical, social, emotional and financial ramifications of their injuries. (Hear what satisfied clients have to say about Frank Van Dyke on his YouTube channel.)

Van Dyke believes that creating personal, one-on-one connections with his clients is key. “What I try to do is reach people as a lawyer, but also on a personal level, to let people know that I’m there. If I get them the benefits they’re entitled to, this makes their life a little easier,” says Van Dyke. “It doesn’t give them back their health, it doesn’t give them back a lot of the things that they’ve lost, but it helps.”

Frank Van Dyke is a member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, and other regional law organizations. He works on a contingency-fee basis, where clients do not pay any fees unless fair and reasonable compensation is secured.

About Van Dyke Law Office: For more than 20 years, Frank Van Dyke has been helping injured Ontarians and their families get the compensation they need and deserve, both at trial and through settlement. He assists clients coping with injury, insurance claims, human rights violations and other difficult situations, giving each case his utmost care and attention. With offices in Kingston, Ottawa, and Belleville, the firm serves clients throughout Southern Ontario.

About Stem Legal Web Enterprises: Stem Legal helps law firms build online profile and increase web-driven business. Our tactics range from law firm SEO and link building campaigns, to audience profiling and content development strategies. Stem also helps firms leverage the social web by using law blogs and social networking, and participating in business market conversations.

For more information, please contact Steve Matthews at 604.826.8072, or by email at steve@stemlegal.com.

 

Stem client Cutter Law recently launched a new microsite for their metal-on-metal hip replacement practice at www.metalhipimplantlawyer.com.

The site provides information to people injured by defective metal hip implant units, which are known to cause side effects such as joint failure, pain, infection and metal poisoning.  These devices, produced by manufacturers DePuy, Biomet, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, Wright, and Zimmer, have been implanted in thousands of people across the United States.

One novel feature of the microsite is an interactive map of the firm’s reported metal-on-metal hip implant problems, which helps the visitor visualize the geographic spread of this issue throughout the United States.

Also included are details on settlement agreements with Stryker, Biomet and DePuy, along with the firm’s experience and involvement with metal-on-metal hip implant litigation and a blog that provides updates on related lawsuits, recalls and settlements.

Announced on his FamilyLLB blog earlier today, Russell Alexander has launched a new FAQ and resource driven website at OntarioDivorceHelp.ca:

“Developed by legal counsel at Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers, Ontario Divorce Help is an online resource that delivers answers to many common questions about Ontario family law. From the initial stages of marital separation, to longer-term disputes related to issues such as child custody or support payments, we answer the most frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) that we hear about marital disputes in Ontario, Canada.”

Created with our team here at Stem, this site is presented in a “Question and Answer” format, documenting answers to common family law questions.  This site also offers a list of Family Law mediators in the region, recommended websites and books, and a series of helpful videos taken from the firm’s youtube channel.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Stem Legal is pleased to welcome our newest client, Robson Carpenter LLP.

Robson Carpenter LLP is a specialized firm and services clients requiring legal services in the following areas:

• condominium and subdivision development
• construction law and litigation
• insurance law
• condominium corporation advice
• litigation and dispute resolution

Robson Carpenter LLP’s lawyers – Greg Carpenter,  Craig Robson, William Thompson, Adam Zasada,  Khiam Nong, and Megan MacDonald – clerks, and administrative staff are committed to providing excellent service and a high level of value to the firm’s clients.  Just a few of the things that make Robson Carpenter LLP different from many other firms and that exemplify the service and value that Robson Carpenter LLP offers are explained here.

The lawyers of Robson Carpenter write a group blog, the Condo Development Blog, and Adam Zasada authors the Ontario Construction Law and Litigation Blog, which won a Clawbie for Best New Law Blog in 2012.

 

Connect with Robson Carpenter LLP on Twitter (@RC_LLP) and LinkedIn.

 About Robson Carpenter LLP: A boutique law firm serving clients across Ontario, Robson Carpenter LLP was established by Craig Robson and Greg Carpenter in 2006. The firm’s six lawyers advise and represent clients – most of whom are involved in real estate, construction, or insurance – in matters within the firm’s chosen areas of practice: condominium and subdivision development, construction law and litigation, insurance law, condominium corporation advice, and litigation and dispute resolution.  Robson Carpenter LLP’s offices are based in Ayr, Ontario, but the firm assists clients located throughout the Province of Ontario.

 About Stem Legal Web Enterprises: Stem Legal helps law firms build online profile and increase web-driven business. Tactics range from law firm SEO and link building campaigns, to audience profiling and content development strategies. Stem also helps firms leverage the social web by using law blogs and social networking, developing content syndication strategies, and participating in business market conversations.

For more information, please contact Steve Matthews at 604.826.8072, or by email at steve@stemlegal.com.

Stem client Clio has just returned from another successful year at ABA TECHSHOW, where they announced a pair of new integrations with their cloud-based law practice management software.

Clio users are invited to sign up to beta test integrations with cloud-based document management service NetDocuments and cloud-based accounting service Xero. General availability for both integrations is planned for May 2013.

See Clio’s press releases for more information:

• Clio and NetDocuments partner to offer secure cloud-based document management and collaboration for small and mid-sized law firms
• Clio adds full banking and accounting functionality to its practice management platform through syncing with cloud-based accounting leader Xero

Congratulations, Clio!

Stem client Hissey Kientz recently launched a microsite to help people suffering from injuries related to BioMet M2A Magnum hip replacements.

The microsite, available at www.biomethiplawyers.com, explains that despite widespread reports of problems related to the hip implants, the FDA has not yet issued a recall. However, the FDA has issued recalls for DePuy ASR, Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II hip implant systems, which are similar in structure to BioMet’s metal-on-metal design.

Consumers have reported side effects of the BioMet hip replacements such as severe pain, swelling and difficulty walking, and many have required hip revision surgery.  Problems stemming from the implant may include fretting and corrosion, loosening of the hip implant, metallosis (metal poisoning), osteolysis, bone deterioration, fractures, and dislocation.

The site also provides current news, and encourages anyone who has experienced side effects or required corrective surgery to resolve problems related to the BioMet M2A Magnum hip replacement to contact the firm.

Stem client Hissey Kientz LLP has launched a microsite detailing the problems faced by former patients who received a transvaginal mesh (“TVM”) patch during surgery to repair pelvic organ prolapse. The new site is located at TVMLawsuitHelp.com.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings regarding the use of transvaginal mesh, which can expose patients to a greater risk of complications than other methods of surgical vaginal repair. The FDA stated that patients undergoing mesh repair surgery could experience severe side effects such as vaginal mesh erosion and organ perforation.

This new site details information regarding the brands of varying surgical mesh devices, research findings, explanations of the potential complications, and information regarding TVM lawsuits.

For more information about the new Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits Help website, please visit the link above or contact Hissey Kientz’s lawyers directly.

Stem Legal congratulates our client Waterstone Law Group, a Fraser Valley-based law firm, on the launch of their second blog, the BC Family Lawyer Blog.

Written by Waterstone’s family law practice group, the blogs focuses on all aspects of family law, and aims to help people better understand the law and process related to issues including adoption, child and spousal support, divorce, custody, agreements, and tax issues. The blog also aims to dispel many of the myths and common misconceptions regarding family law matters.

The lawyers of Waterstone’s family law practice group are compassionate and experienced negotiators who understand how stressful and emotionally challenging family law matters can be. Their goal is to provide clients with timely and sensitive service whether through legal agreements, court applications, or at trial. The firm also offers family mediation and collaborative family law services.

About Waterstone Law Group: Waterstone is a full service law firm serving the Fraser Valley through offices in Chilliwack and Langley, BC.  In addition to family law, the firm offers services in personal injury and ICBC claims, wills & estates, employment, corporate commercial, banking and civil litigation. Firmly committed to local business and community, Waterstone also has experience with farm transactions and equine issues. The firm’s first blog is the BC Injury Lawyers Blog.

About Stem Legal Web Enterprises: Stem Legal helps law firms build online profile and increase web-driven business. Tactics range from law firm SEO and link building campaigns, to audience profiling and content development strategies. Stem also helps firms leverage the social web by using law blogs and social networking, developing content syndication strategies, and participating in business market conversations.

For more information, please contact Steve Matthews at 604.826.8072, or by email at steve@stemlegal.com.

Stem client Harrison Pensa of London, Ontario, recently announced that Senator Roméo Dallaire is the featured speaker at this year’s Claude & Elaine Pensa Lecture in Human Rights.

“We are thrilled to bring Senator Dallaire to our community to share his experience, insights and wisdom as one of Canada’s greatest advocates for peace and social justice”, says Claude Pensa, Senior Counsel at Harrison Pensa.

Senator Dallaire, a retired Lieutenant-General in the Canadian military, is a devoted humanitarian, president of the Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire Foundation, founder of the Child Soldiers Initiative, an outspoken advocate for human rights, and the best-selling author of Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, takes place on Friday, March 23 at 12:30 p.m. in Room. 38 at the Faculty of Law at Western University. For more details, please visit Harrison Pensa Events.

Stem client Gowlings has just published a new edition of their comprehensive business guide, Doing Business in Canada.

Doing Business in Canada was developed to give business executives, foreign counsel and investors an overview of the legal aspects of Canadian business operations. As one of Canada’s leading business law and intellectual property firms, Gowlings understands the challenges of establishing and conducting business in Canada, and provides clients with insightful business solutions to help them reach the full potential of the Canadian marketplace.

Each section of Doing Business in Canada focuses on a critical aspect of Canadian business law, starting with an introduction to the legal structure of Canada, which explains federal and provincial jurisdictions, branches of government, and common/civil law. 16 other essential areas of Canadian business are covered in depth:

• Business Structures
• Securities Law and Corporate Governance
• Secured Financing
• Taxation
• Canadian Employment Law
• Immigration and Work Permit Considerations
• Advertising and Marketing
• Competition and Antitrust Law
• Regulation of Foreign Investment in Canada
• International Trade
• Environmental Protection
• Real Estate and Urban Development
• Intellectual Property
• Privacy Law
• Bankruptcy and Restructuring in Canada
• Lobbying

The guide is available in its entirety in PDF, or may be downloaded in sections at the Doing Business in Canada page of the Gowlings website.