These terms govern your use of paulcahill.ca. Please read them before relying on anything published here. The most important points are that nothing on this website is legal advice, and that using the site does not make me your lawyer.
By accessing or using paulcahill.ca, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not accept them, please do not use the website. These terms apply to every page of the site, including the blog, case comments, practice area pages and any forms or contact features.
This website is published by Paul Cahill, a lawyer and partner at Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP, a civil litigation firm with offices in Toronto, Huntsville and Bowmanville. References to "I", "me" and "my" mean Paul Cahill. References to "the firm" mean Davidson Cahill Morrison LLP.
I am licensed by the Law Society of Ontario and hold its Certified Specialist designation in Civil Litigation. Content on this site is subject to the Law Society of Ontario's rules governing lawyer marketing.
Everything on this website is general information, not legal advice. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer who knows the facts of your situation, and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision or any step in a legal proceeding.
Case comments, practice area pages and articles describe the law as I understand it at the time of writing. The law changes. Decisions are appealed, statutes are amended, and a case that appears to support a position may be distinguishable on facts you have not told me. Content is not updated on any fixed schedule and may be out of date by the time you read it.
Where a page discusses a medical topic or a standard of care, that discussion is background only. In litigation the applicable standard of care is a matter of expert evidence, and nothing described here is a substitute for it.
Using this website does not make me your lawyer. Reading a page, submitting a form, sending an email or speaking with me about a possible claim does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
A solicitor-client relationship is created only when the firm and you have both signed a written retainer agreement, and not before.
Until a retainer is signed, I have no obligation to advance, protect or preserve your legal position. In particular, I am not responsible for monitoring or protecting any limitation period that may apply to your potential claim. Limitation periods can extinguish an otherwise valid claim, and they continue to run whether or not you have contacted me. You can read more about how they operate on the limitation periods page.
Please do not send confidential or sensitive information through this website, by email or by voicemail until a retainer has been signed and I have confirmed that I am able to act for you.
Information you send before that point is not protected by solicitor-client privilege, and I cannot guarantee that it will be treated as confidential. There is also a practical risk: I may already act for, or may in future be asked to act for, another party involved in your matter. Receiving your information could create a conflict that prevents me from acting for you, or that requires me to decline your matter entirely.
An initial enquiry describing your situation in general terms is welcome and is how most matters begin. Detailed records, medical charts and privileged documents should wait until we have spoken.
This website refers to verdicts, settlements and other outcomes in matters I have handled, and it publishes commentary on decided cases. It may also include client reviews or testimonials.
Past results do not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other matter. Every case turns on its own facts, its own evidence and its own expert opinion. Settlement amounts and awards described here should not be read as an indication of what any other claim is worth.
Some outcomes are subject to confidentiality terms, so descriptions may be general or may omit identifying details. Where a case comment discusses a reported decision, it is a commentary on the published reasons and does not indicate that I acted in that matter unless the page says so.
I am licensed to practise law in Ontario only. Content on this site addresses Ontario law and Canadian common law. Where a page discusses a decision from another province or another country, it is identified as such and is persuasive rather than binding in Ontario.
Nothing on this website is an offer to provide legal services in any jurisdiction where I am not licensed, and this site is not directed at residents of any such jurisdiction.
The text, design, layout, graphics and other material on this website are owned by me or used under licence, and are protected by copyright. You may read, print and share pages for your own personal or non-commercial use, and you may quote briefly from a page provided you attribute it to paulcahill.ca and link to the original.
You may not republish substantial portions of the content, present it as your own, use it for commercial purposes, or use it to train or fine-tune a machine learning model, without my prior written consent. Trademarks appearing on this site that are not mine are acknowledged as belonging to their respective owners.
I take care to be accurate, and I do not knowingly publish anything I believe to be wrong. I do not, however, warrant that the content of this website is accurate, complete or current, and I do not warrant that the site will be available without interruption or free of errors.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, I am not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or reliance on, this website or its content, including any decision taken or not taken on the basis of something published here. Your use of this website is at your own risk. Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law.
This website links to external sources, including court and tribunal decisions, regulators and news coverage. Those links are provided for convenience and reference. I do not control those sites, I am not responsible for their content or availability, and a link does not imply endorsement. External sites are governed by their own terms and privacy practices.
When using this website, you agree not to:
I may restrict or block access to the website where I consider it necessary to protect the site, its users or the firm.
Information collected through this website is handled in accordance with the privacy policy, which forms part of these terms. Please read it alongside this page. Separately from the privacy policy, personal health information provided to the firm in the course of a retained matter is subject to the professional obligations of confidentiality that govern a lawyer's handling of client information.
These terms may be amended from time to time without notice. The version published on this page is the version in force, and the date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Your continued use of the website after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the amended terms.
These terms, and any dispute arising out of your use of this website, are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in Ontario. You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario in respect of any such dispute.
You are welcome to ask about these terms, or about how they apply to something you have read on the site. If you are considering a claim, an initial enquiry in general terms is the right place to start.