American lawyers should be aware of the differences between the legal systems in Canada and the U.S.—they can cause significant problems in a case with cross-border elements.  

As a general proposition, Canadian laws and legal systems are similar to those in the United States. There is much in Canadian law and legal institutions that is familiar to a lawyer trained in the US. However, they are most assuredly not the same, and the devil is in the details. There are differences that can cause significant problems for an unwary American lawyer with a case with cross-border elements. In this article, we describe some of the more common problem areas that arise, both because of the differences between the Canadian and American legal systems and because of internal differences among the Canadian systems themselves.

Reprinted with permission from the November 2008 issue of the Lexpert Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada. 

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