www.canadianlawyermag.com 31
Salvatore (Sam) Amelio, a partner at MLT
Aikins LLP in Edmonton. "Obviously, the
efficiencies it has allowed have increased
because I can meet with clients, wherever
they are in the world, to discuss their will or
estate. But my job still is not done because I
can write the best will ever, but I also have
a legal requirement to make sure that it is
properly executed."
He says his firm came up with some
creative solutions early on in the pandemic to
in-person witnessings, such as "drive-thru" or
in-person signings whereby the signature is
witnessed through a car, glass door or window.
Lori Duffy, a partner at WeirFoulds LLP in
Toronto, says, "challenging is the only word I
can use to describe what it's been like over the
past year." She adds that many of her clients
don't understand why they can't just sign their
documents, why two independent witnesses
are needed and why there is a requirement, at
least until relatively recently, for "wet" signa-
"I find the requirement that we
determine the person's capacity could be
a potential challenge if it is being done online."
Lori Duffy, WeirFoulds LLP
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tures on paper rather than electronic signa-
tures. One of Duffy's solutions in the early
days was to have her daughter filling in as one
of the required independent witnesses since
she was close at hand.
Ingrid Tsui, a partner at Alexander
Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP in Vancouver,
