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Canada

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CANADABreaches and incidents

McCarthy Tétrault hit by data breach exposing client files

McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada's largest corporate law firms, said an unauthorized third party gained access to certain files, including client information, in a cybersecurity incident it identified late on October 22. The firm said it is working with a cybersecurity firm, contacted affected parties on October 25, and notified law enforcement and professional regulators. The Globe and Mail, which first reported the breach, later said Davies was also hit and thousands of files in total were compromised.

Report (The Globe and Mail) → · McCarthy Tétrault
CANADABreaches and incidents

Davies confirms cyberattack as Canada's Cyber Centre warns of vishing campaign against law firms

Toronto-based Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg said an October 23 cyberattack compromised information from one account, making it the second Bay Street firm to confirm a breach this month. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security warned on October 28 of an ongoing campaign in which callers pose as internal IT support to steal credentials, with October activity concentrated on the legal sector.

Report (The Globe and Mail) → · Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
U.S. FEDProduct launches

Clio merges its products into one AI platform and adds agentic workflows

Clio said at ClioCon 2026 in Boston on October 26, 2026, that it is consolidating Clio Grow, Clio Manage and Clio Work into a single interface with one login, starting in November. The company also introduced a platform-wide AI assistant, agentic workflows that carry out multistep legal tasks, a built-in phone system, a document management system and an automatic timekeeping beta.

Announcement (Legaltech News) → · LawSites
CANADAFunding

Dunton Rainville enters Granby, Quebec, through merger with Ménard Notaires

Quebec law and notarial firm Dunton Rainville has merged with notary David F. Ménard's practice in Granby, entering the Haute-Yamaska market. Ménard, Aurélie Tessier and their team will operate under the Dunton Rainville name; terms and headcount were not disclosed. Granby gives the firm eight Quebec markets, following its acquisition of Hackett Campbell Bouchard in 2024 and its combination with Monty Sylvestre in 2025.

Announcement (Droit-inc) → · Canadian Lawyer
CANADAFunding

Clio acquires AI regulatory monitoring platform Page

Clio has acquired Page, a Kitchener-Waterloo startup whose AI monitors bills, regulations and government hearings, and will build its horizon-scanning technology into the Vincent legal research platform over the coming months. Clio announced the deal at the opening keynote of ClioCon 2026 in Boston on October 26, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed. It is Clio's ninth acquisition, and Page's 12-person team is joining the company.

Announcement (BetaKit) → · Legaltech News, LawSites
CANADA · S.C.C.Court order

Split Supreme Court of Canada upholds $12 million award against anesthesiologist, clarifies remoteness test

A divided Supreme Court of Canada in Hemmings v. Padmore dismissed both appeals, leaving anesthesiologist Dr. Neil Jamensky solely liable for $12 million after Sophia Hemmings suffered permanent brain damage during an emergency C-section. The majority clarified that causation in law is a remoteness inquiry, separate from factual causation, asking whether injury was a reasonably foreseeable consequence, not a mere possibility.

Order (Canadian Lawyer) → · Law360 Canada
CANADARegulation

Canadian Judicial Council updates AI guidelines for judges and issues deepfake evidence guidance

The Canadian Judicial Council on October 20, 2026, released a second edition of its guidelines on judges' use of artificial intelligence and new guidance on evaluating digital media evidence that may be AI-fabricated or altered. The 2026 guidelines replace the 2024 edition, shift from flagging risks to encouraging AI use within guardrails, and list appropriate, high-risk and inappropriate uses.

Text (Canadian Lawyer) → · Canadian Judicial Council

Rulings this week

All court orders

U.S. FEDProduct launches

Legora adds Blue J tax research to its platform through MCP integration

Legora and Toronto-based tax research company Blue J on October 19, 2026, launched an integration that lets customers who subscribe to both products query Blue J from inside Legora and get answers with inline citations to Blue J sources. Built on the Model Context Protocol, it opens first to selected joint customers in early access, with general availability planned for November. Legora said it is not moving into tax.

Announcement (Artificial Lawyer) → · LawSites
CANADA · S.C.C.Court order

SCC: rape-shield limits do not categorically bar sex-work history in trafficking and sexual-services trials

The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously held on October 16, 2026, in R. v. A.M., that Criminal Code section 276 does not categorically apply to human-trafficking and sexual-services offenses, so commercial evidence of a complainant's prior sex work may be admissible. The Court dismissed the Crown appeal and upheld new trials on the sexual-services counts, Canadian Lawyer reported.

Order (Canadian Lawyer) → · Supreme Court of Canada
U.S. FEDProduct launches

Thomson Reuters adds Multinational Profile to CoCounsel Legal for cross-border research

Thomson Reuters introduced a Multinational Profile for CoCounsel Legal that pulls legal and regulatory content from more than 100 countries and territories into one research workflow, LegalTech.ca reported October 14, 2026. The company said users can compare requirements across markets, flag issues needing local counsel and inspect underlying sources. Broader next-generation CoCounsel Legal availability is planned across more markets through late October 2026.

Announcement (LegalTech.ca) → · TechNode Global
CANADAPeople moves

Dentons Canada adds 10-lawyer employment and labor team from Norton Rose Fulbright in Toronto

Dentons Canada hired a 10-lawyer employment and labor team from Norton Rose Fulbright's Toronto office, led by partners Richard J. Charney, John Mastoras and Daniel McDonald, Law.com reported October 13, 2026. The group advises unionized and federally regulated employers on collective bargaining, labor arbitration, human rights litigation and workplace safety.

Announcement (Law.com International) → · Law Times, International Employment Lawyer
U.S. FEDProduct launches

Wordsmith partners with Goodlawyer to equip embedded counsel with legal AI

Legal AI platform Wordsmith has partnered with Calgary-based Goodlawyer so the network’s embedded and fractional in-house lawyers can use Wordsmith for intake, playbook contract review, drafting and research, with matters requiring judgment escalated to counsel. Wordsmith says it serves more than 500 in-house teams; Goodlawyer’s network supports legal teams including Uber, Cohere and Ferrero.

Announcement (LegalTech.ca) → · Artificial Lawyer
CAL.Funding

Clio acquires Learned Hand to enter the judicial AI market

Clio acquired Learned Hand, a startup building AI tools for judges and court staff, on September 30, 2026, LawSites, Legal IT Insider, Legaltech News, and Business Insider reported. Terms were not disclosed. Learned Hand’s judicial AI workspace connects to court case-management systems and is already used by U.S. courts including Los Angeles Superior Court; Clio said it will anchor the vendor’s new judiciary business.

Announcement (PR Newswire / Clio) → · LawSites, Legal IT Insider, Business Insider +1
CANADAFunding

Ontario Teachers’ invests $50M in Harvey, extending round to $600M

Teachers’ Venture Growth of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan invested US$50 million in legal AI company Harvey on September 24, 2026, The Globe and Mail and Canadian Lawyer reported. The tranche extends Harvey’s Diffusion and Lightspeed round from US$550 million to US$600 million at the prior US$15.5 billion valuation. Harvey said it works with more than 100 Canadian law firms and legal teams and will grow its Toronto staff.

Announcement (CNW/PR Newswire) → · Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Lawyer +1
CANADAPeople moves

Spellbook names Meltem Kuran-Berkowitz its first chief marketing officer

Legal contract AI vendor Spellbook appointed Meltem Kuran-Berkowitz as its first chief marketing officer on September 23, 2026, Business Insider and Legal IT Insider reported, after she led marketing on an interim basis. She previously spent five and a half years as head of growth at Deel as that company scaled past $1 billion in ARR, and will lead growth and marketing as Spellbook expands Autonomous Contract Management and Review for in-house teams.

Announcement (Business Insider) → · Business Wire via Financial Post, Legal IT Insider
N.D. CAL.Litigation

British Columbia and school board sue OpenAI over failure to report school-shooting threats

The Province of British Columbia and School District 59 sued OpenAI and Chief Executive Sam Altman in California federal court on Monday, alleging the company failed to alert police to ChatGPT conversations planning a February 2026 school shooting. The complaint asserts OpenAI identified the user as an imminent threat in June 2025 but deactivated the account without notifying Canadian authorities. British Columbia seeks reimbursement for reconstructing Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, psychiatric services, punitive damages, and injunctive safety mandates.

Filing (BC Gov News) → · CityNews Kitchener, Reuters, BBC News
S.C.Breaches and incidents

Thomson Reuters C-Track breach exposes court files across U.S. and Canadian systems

West Publishing's C-Track notified the public on September 2, 2026 that an unauthorized party obtained court-management files after activity discovered on June 30, 2026, with files obtained in March. The notice lists appellate and other courts in multiple U.S. states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and three Ontario courts. Confidential, redacted or sealed information may have been impacted at some courts; South Carolina's preliminary review found no PII so far in 2020-and-earlier appellate backups.

Report (C-Track) → · Supreme Court of South Carolina, The Record, Help Net Security