EXHIBIT 5.1


                                                       Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
                                            Lawyers * Patent & Trade-Mark Agents
                                                          1200 Waterfront Centre
                                              200 Burrard Street, P.O. Box 48600
                                                Vancouver, B.C., Canada  V7X 1T2
                                        tel: (604) 687-5744  fax: (604) 687-1415
                                                               www.blgcanada.com
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July 20, 2000

Pivotal Corporation
300 - 224 West Esplanade
North Vancouver, B.C.
V7M 3M6

Dear Sirs/Mesdames:

     Pivotal Corporation Registration Statement on Form S-8

     We have acted as Canadian counsel to Pivotal Corporation (the "Company") in
connection  with the issue by the Company of up to 300,000  common shares of the
Company (the "Option Shares") pursuant to the Simba  Technologies Inc. Incentive
Stock Option Plan, as amended (the "Option Plan").

     We have also acted as Canadian  counsel to the Company in connection with a
Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the "Registration Statement") filed with the
United States Securities and Exchange  Commission by the Company relating to the
registration  of the Option  Shares under the United  States  Securities  Act of
1933, as amended (the "Act").

     We have examined originals or copies,  certified or otherwise identified to
our satisfaction,  of the Memorandum and Articles of the Company and resolutions
of the directors of the Company with respect to the matters  referred to herein.
We have also examined such  certificates  of public  officials,  officers of the
Company,  corporate records and other documents as we have deemed necessary as a
basis for the opinion expressed below. In our examination of such documents,  we
have  assumed the  authenticity  of all  documents  submitted to us as certified
copies or facsimiles  thereof.  We have also relied upon the  resolutions of the
board of  directors  of the  Company  as to the  adequacy  of the  consideration
received by the Company for the issue of the Shares.

     Our  opinions  herein are limited to the laws of British  Columbia  and the
federal laws of Canada applicable therein.

     Based upon and subject to the  foregoing,  we are of the opinion  that upon
the valid  exercise of options  duly issued under the Option Plan and receipt of
payment  in full for the Option  Shares in  respect of which such stock  options
have been  exercised,  the Option  Shares so paid for will be validly  issued as
fully paid and non-assessable shares in the capital of the Company.



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Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is an Ontario Limited Liability Partnership

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         Consent  is  hereby  given to the use of our  name in the  Registration
Statement and to the filing,  as an exhibit to the  Registration  Statement,  of
this opinion.  In giving such  consent,  we do not admit that we come within the
category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act.

                                  Yours truly,


                                  /s/ Borden Ladner Gervais LLP