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18.04.2012 23:52
The Supreme Court today released its decisions in the van Breda , Banro and Black cases. It dismissed all three appeals. I want to look in particular at van Breda , which deals at length with jurisdiction simpliciter and with forum non con veniens, with a discussion of real and substantial connection and a sideways glace at enforcement of foreign judgments (not yet at issue in this case, of course.) The Court, per Justice Lebel, sets out the principles of private international law. In particular the Court upholds the Ontario Court of Appeal's refinement of the factors that indicate a … [more]
18.04.2012 21:30
The College of Law Practice Management has just launched the 2012 InnovAction Awards . The COLPM is looking for lawyers, law firms, and other deliverers of legal services who are engaged in some extraordinary innovative efforts. Would your firm qualify or do you know of another firm or person that would deserve this prestigious award and the recognition it brings? Here are the Judging Criteria: Disruption : does this entry change an important element of the legal services process for the better, and marketplace expectations along with it? Value… [more] : is the client and/or legal industry better off because of
18.04.2012 15:34
From Gov't of Canada Publications: "… the decision has been made to completely transition all publications published by the Publishing Program and publications provided by departments to the Depository Services Program from traditional print to exclusively electronic publication in two years. " My first question is, does this include primary materials such as bills, gazettes and acts? While we may have been expecting this transition to occur in the future, the question was always when does that future become the present? For now, that time looks like it is 2014, the question being is this the right time to make … [more]
18.04.2012 14:00
This is another in a series of columns about developing a law library collection development policy for the new, digital information environment. In my last column , I looked at journals – what they are, how they’re produced and their respective markets. In this second part, I’ll look at how journals are used in legal research today in both practice and in law schools, their place in a contemporary law library collection, and possible policies for collecting them. Journals vs Books Journals are used differently than books. A legal treatise examines the many aspects of a single, relatively broad topic … [more]
17.04.2012 19:36
I spent a portion of last week viewing things through 3D glasses. Today, I saw an article from the Daily Commercial News titled Loughborough University researchers in England work on 3-D printing app . It’s not really printing, of course. But it works somewhat like the inkjet printers used in many homes and offices. In an inkjet, the printhead, containing black and coloured inks, moves back and forth across a sheet of paper. As it moves, tiny nozzles spray droplets of ink, forming printed words and pictures. But it turns out that the “ink” can be many things. There have … [more]
17.04.2012 19:18
Do the wills you are drafting for your clients deal with their digital assets? Does your will deal with your digital assets (personally and for your practice)? I’m guessing that your answers to both these questions is “No.” My good friend Sharon Nelson did an excellent post on this hot topic on the Ride The Lightning blog. Until recently, lawyers just didn’t think about digital assets. This needs to change as lawyers and clients alike all have significant and growing online presences. It can be very difficult and time consuming for family members and estate trustees to deal with digital … [more]
17.04.2012 14:00
The last time you purchased insurance or made a contribution to your RRSP, did you think about how long you might live? According to recent statistics, Canadian men live just over 78 years on average, while women live about 83 years. Men are expected to spend 88.8% (68.3 years) of their life in good health, compared to 86.3% (70.8 years) for women. Most people know that how long we can expect to live depends heavily on genetics, weight, smoking status, lifestyle choices and luck, but you may be surprised to know that where you live can also be a contributing … [more]
16.04.2012 21:50
Today is Observe National Stress Awareness Day . As lawyers, we know stress all too well. Ehow.com has a list of five things you can do to reduce stress in your day-to-day life. 1. Prioritize your life. Our lives are stressful because each day is jam-packed with things to do. The list of things to do never seems to end and only carries over to the next day. People tend to do the least important things on the list first and then feel as if they haven't accomplished enough in their day. 2. Don't worry if you don't get through … [more]
16.04.2012 20:05
Last week The Delimiter ran a story about the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) criticizing Australian organizations for their preference to host cloud data within Australia's borders: A number of US companies had expressed concerns that various departments in the Australian Government, namely, the Department of Defence, The National Archives of Australia, the Department of Finance and Deregulation, the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) and the State of Victoria’s Privacy Commissioner had been sending negative messages about cloud providers based outside the country, implying that “hosting data overseas, including in the United States, by definition entails greater risk and unduly exposes consumers … [more]
16.04.2012 19:32
Should you put a disclaimer on your re-tweets (or on your Twitter profile) that your retweeting does not necessarily mean your endorsement of the content of the message so distributed? Here is an article suggesting that disclaimers are not a bad idea. Associated Press has recently warned its journalists about this, and suggested that a mere disclaimer may not be enough. The article goes into blogger endorsements under the recent FTC policy on that topic too. Can readers of your retweet figure out when your ‘no comment’ is an ironic dismissal of the content, rather than a neutral retransmission? Would … [more]
16.04.2012 19:20
CALL/ACBD's 50th annual conference is only weeks away. The CPC, our volunteers and the CALL Executive are looking forward to welcoming you to Toronto's Royal York Hotel, and to the many events we have planned. I've already raved about the program and the social events. This conference also offers a few innovations which I hope you will enjoy. CALL/ACBD launched a new website earlier this year, and the 2012 CPC was the first group to use the new conference templates. Feedback on its usability and structure would be very welcome, and will go into our report to the Executive and the 2013 … [more]
16.04.2012 14:00
To have a country governed by the rule of law and not the rule of man requires that the law be known. As few communication networks are as efficient for disseminating information as social media networks, it should not be that surprising that Twitter, Facebook and other networks can very effectively serve that objective. Twitter and Facebook will not and should not supplant the role of government and the courts to make the law known, but even the law makers themselves can and are making increasing use of social media to augment their efforts. #TellVicEverything Before adopting too pious a … [more]
16.04.2012 13:30
#law #copyright
15.04.2012 23:06
We may not be the most wealthy nation in the world, or have the most powerful military. But when it comes to the legal influence of our constitution on other countries, it seems that Canada tops the list. This Tuesday we celebrate the Charter's 30th anniversary, and there is plenty to rejoice about. The New York University Law Review is publishing an article in their upcoming June issue which mathematically calculates the relative global influence of the constitutions of different countries, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms surpasses even our American neighbours. The finding is so surprising in some … [more]
14.04.2012 01:37
Seems the US DoJ thinks so . If you've ever wondered how publishers can charge more for an ebook that for a print version, this is part of the answer. Here is a good roundup of recent coverage. With three of five defendants already having settled, the interest seems to have turned from the question of whether there is price fixing, to the rationale: what strategies are open to publishers in the face of Amazon's stranglehold on distribution? The obvious answer, as an alternative to breaking the law, is to abandon print-based business models, and pull a Louis CK .… [more]
13.04.2012 20:50
This weekend near midnight on Saturday, will mark 100 years since the unsinkable ocean liner hit an iceburg on its maiden voyage and sank; which around these parts is a big deal . The magnitude of the event was so great that it resonates 100 years later. This event has entered our popular conciousness as it is common to hear of something that did not go well, that it was a disaster of "titanic proportions"; in a way the sinking of the Titanic has become the standard by which disasters are measured. Have you ever felt that you were "arranging … [more]
13.04.2012 16:00
I'm having that deja blog feeling, but even if this app has been featured on Slaw before, it can't hurt to bring it around again. I'm talking about a simple little time waster called Kick Ass . It exists as an iOS app , but you might find it more useful in its bookmarklet form, because the simple point of the "game" is to destroy websites, element by element. You find yourself on a website that needs some… adjustment. Perhaps it's an ad, perhaps it's an irritating blog post or — hard to imagine — a headshot that just doesn't … [more]
13.04.2012 14:00
This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc. Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like. The Guardian – Tom Waits: 'I look like hell but I'm going to see where it … [more]
With the acquisition of Canada Law Book, Carswell has acquired a handful of publications that are similar to its own publications and that have been marketed as alternatives to each other. A few of them are best sellers and significantly strengthen Carswell's overall position in the market for legal information. However, some of them could become a future concern for Carswell if they continue to be published and marketed as they have been in the past. Competition between two of them, Martin's Criminal Code and Tremeear's Criminal Code , has led them to become virtual clones of each other. How … [more]
13.04.2012 00:17
The Australian Attorney General has recently published a discussion document "to explore the scope for reforming Australian contract law". The document asks for comments on whether and how contract law impairs economic activity within Australia and separately for international economic activity. Australia's contract law is basically the English Sale of Goods Act and common law, of course with legislative changes and the contributions of Australian courts. Australia is a member state of the Convention on the International Sale of Goods. The consultation document starts off well, in my view, with this statement: "Our legal system is a form of infrastructure … [more]
12.04.2012 19:00
I hate puppets and you should too. Here’s why: Puppets are silly. Puppets are trivial little distractions, designed to amuse. In short, puppets are for child’s play. Nothing terribly vile there, but such things are the antithesis of what our legal system is about – important, frequently life-altering matters as well as critical issues of public policy. And because the legal system lags behind the public’s expectation of transparency, puppets are now being used to showcase the law. I kid you not. The case that gives rise to my screed originates out of Ohio. According to a recent Wall Street … [more]
12.04.2012 17:34
I was involved with managing a litigation file not too long ago. The client had a budget that required its large law firm to be tightly controlled and had asked me to assist in this regard. Things went off the rails very quickly when the lawyer in charge became angered by the client’s desire to control how he ran the file. “I’ve heard about you,” he said to me. “And I’ve read some of your stuff. You have a low opinion of lawyers.” It was clear that he was taking the client’s attempt to decide how the file would be … [more]
12.04.2012 17:14
Canada Post has begun legal proceedings against Geolytica Inc. (carrying on business as Geocoder.ca ), a small Ottawa business that offers a mix of free and commercial geocoding services. The claim is that Geolytica has infringed Canada Post's copyright in the postal code dataset by offering it for sale. (The full statement of claim is available here , as published on the defendant's website .) Geolytica, by way of response, asserts on its website that: Since 2004 we have crowdsourced* the generation of the "Canadian Postal Code Geocoded Database." When you make a query to geocoder containing for example this … [more]
12.04.2012 16:03
Slaw is proud to let you know that Mitch Kowalski has joined our already great roster of regular bloggers. Mitch is a lawyer, a writer and an entrepreneur. He is the author of Avoiding Extinction: Reimagining Law for the 21st Century just published by the American Bar Association, and holds a LL.B. and a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario as well as a LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School. For much of his 20-year legal career, he practiced law with the Toronto office of Baker & McKenzie, before moving to Aylesworth LLP, which later became … [more]
12.04.2012 16:00
Currently, the Canadian Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on a person’s sex and sexual orientation, among other grounds. However, the prohibited ground of sex and sexual orientation is considered by advocacy groups as inadequate to clearly inform the public at large that unreasonable discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression is prohibited; hence, the creation of Bill C-279.
12.04.2012 14:00
In part one of this article series I posed the question of whether clinical legal education can provide the solution to two difficulties facing the legal profession in Canada today. These two issues include a call from the legal profession for students that are better prepared in their academic training to take on the rigours of practice and a call from the community at large for the cost effective delivery of legal services. In part one I maintained that clinical legal education could play a valuable role in preparing students for practice by providing upper level students the opportunity to … [more]
11.04.2012 23:59
We have seen a few published cases where a court will order the service of a document by way of a defendant's social media account. I had the occasion today to talk to a couple of lawyers who do collection work. Anecdotally at least, the actual practice seems to vary by province and location. That is not surprising considering how new the concept is, how traditionally lawyers and judges tend to think, and how rules of practice differ. A lawyer from Alberta mentioned how they routinely obtain orders to serve documents by facebook. He commented that it is acknowledged that … [more]
11.04.2012 23:15
Like most law librarians I've been a strong advocate of the use of journal indexes in research. While full-text searching on Hein, Lexis and Westlaw is the fastest and preferred way of finding journal literature, especially if you know exactly what you are looking for, I think there is still a place for indexes such as the Index to Canadian Legal Literature and LegalTrac with their controlled vocabularies and their source neutral approach. Given this, the announcement a while ago from Sweet and Maxwell that their UK based service Current Legal Information (CLI) will be discontinued on April 30 comes as a disappointment if … [more]
11.04.2012 15:54
Here are the three most-consulted English-language cases on CanLII for the week of April 1 – 10. ♨ 1. Wynn Las Vegas, LLC v. Teng 2012 ONSC 1927 [1] The Defendant Teng resides in Ontario. The Plaintiff operates a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Teng applied for and was granted a line of credit from the casino totalling $300,000. In June and July of 2010 Teng drew on this line of credit for the full amount of $300,000 and signed two markers in the form of cheques for that amount. When Teng checked out of the Plaintiff’s hotel … [more]
11.04.2012 14:00
At a recent gathering of the profession, while bemoaning the lack of demand for legal services, the pathetic state of the economy and begrudging the increasing power of clients, one discussion centered around metrics – financial and performance-oriented measures. While we are all familiar with the usual billable hour, collections, matter profitability, and so forth, this discussion provoked me to think about some of the more unfamiliar and unorthodox, but vital metrics that I believe law firm management should be looking at. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that the late father of modern management, Peter Drucker, reminded us … [more]
11.04.2012 05:46
A Globe and Mail article by Adriana Barton, reporting on a study featured in the Economist , discusses how physical looks might actually be a liability for female job-seekers. And this, despite the numerous studies that have shown that attractiveness aids in job advancement. The researchers sent out fake resumes with a photo attached to 2,500 vacancies; those with pictures of beautiful women were less likely to get an interview. Those with pictures of handsome men were, in contrast, more likely to get an interview. These researchers came to the conclusion that this turn of events was in large part due to the fact … [more]
10.04.2012 14:39
My family and I are very busy riding roller coasters this week. We got on a plane very early last Friday. Due to some unfortunate loss of power to the jetway, our flight was delayed leaving Edmonton for over an hour. Of course this meant a missed connection to our second leg of the journey. Delay is a concept that comes up in litigation. Parties argue that a delay prejudices their client or that a delay is necessary to promote fair adjudication of a matter. I was reminded that delay can sometimes mean an unexpectedly good time in a city … [more]
10.04.2012 14:00
The debate over the merits of facilitative vs. evaluative mediation never seems to end, but is it an artificial distinction in the mediation of commercial disputes? A recent article in the Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal suggests that it is. The author, Troy Peisley, a mediator and arbitrator with more than 20 years experience in commercial litigation and forensic accounting, argues in favour of “blended mediation”, which combines the facilitative and evaluative models and employs a “mediation matrix” to evaluate both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the dispute. It’s an interesting model and seems equally relevant to the realities of … [more]
09.04.2012 23:42
How do you assess how you are really doing? You need to look at much more than just billable hours. The key is cash flow management: You must understand what monies are coming into your practice, and where money is flowing out. Most modern law office accounting systems can give you reports that will give you a much better understanding of the cash flow of your practice. On a monthly basis, you should review the following ten reports from your accounting system: #1 – Overall and projected monthly billings: What are your overall monthly billings, measured against your projected billings? … [more]
09.04.2012 21:51
Click on image to enlarge Today the Google Doodle celebrates Eadweard Muybridge, the British photographer who: is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion in 1877 and 1878, which used multiple cameras to capture motion in stop-action photographs, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip. He went on to make many studies of animals and humans in motion, capturing what the human eye could not break down as separate movements. Wikipedia So head on over to Google and put the horse through its paces.… [more]
09.04.2012 20:48
"[To compete with Bloomberg Law’s BNA coverage and now Lexis’ Law360 coverage, Thomson Reuters] will have to do better than its [current legal news website, newsletters, and blogs] to ratchet up the synergy between legal current awareness and legal research." Hodnicki, It’s Official, LexisNexis Has Acquired Law360 (March 20, 2012). To believe the Crowd , the legal publishing giants are in a race, chasing after all the undulating streams of current legal reporting and writing either through acquisition or search enhancements . I suppose it is vital for them to be focused in this way, as current conventional wisdom is … [more]
09.04.2012 19:00
Over two years ago I wrote the following: Being backlisted in the legal publishing business isn't a goal. Legal publishers like "new" and "updated." Being current is relevant. Being old, isn't. And currency motivates attorneys to purchase titles, that's why legal publishers sell supplements, pocket parts, etc. If you don't know or understand what is happening right now , you've already lost. After all, selling on fear is a staple of law content advertising. No, you want to update, update, update, and be frontlisted every year. But like trade, the backlist in legal publishing is important, just for a different … [more]
09.04.2012 17:55
The OBA Civil Litigation section is putting on a session bearing this title on 30 April. Here is how the topic is being described: The legal marketplace is changing. Lawyers and law firms face increasing pressure to control costs in litigation and must adapt to provide superior results for a lower price. Learn about the trends, tools and techniques that will help you meet client expectations, deliver extra value, minimize overhead and maximize your bottom line. Topics to be covered are : unbundling, outsourcing, advocacy referral and methods of using technology to do more with less. New ethical quagmires and … [more]
09.04.2012 17:42
reduce paper, getting organized
09.04.2012 14:00
Would the public tolerate giving judges discretion in the sentencing of murderers? Are online child pornography offenders likely to commit offences involving sexual contact with children? Are job training programs for people leaving prison useful? These — and another four — interesting questions get addressed summarily in the current issue [PDF] of Criminological Highlights , a publication of the University of Toronto's Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies. Although criminal law is a specialty practised by relatively few lawyers, given the present federal government's interest in crime, it might not be a bad idea if more of us educated ourselves … [more]
The world has always had innovators and inventors. According to Wikipedia the oldest known tools used by humans are 2.5 to 2.6 million years old. In the late 1800’s Benz and then Daimler produced vehicles with an engine. Henry Ford manufactured cars in the United States and his fortunes really took off when he started producing black Model T’s on an assembly line. General Motors started offering colour choice and an annual model change, which forced Ford to change. And so on. From earliest times there have always been those who have had new, interesting, innovative ideas. Where do those … [more]
08.04.2012 21:34
The inaugural UCLA Cyber Crimes Moot concluded today, with participants from across the U.S. and an international judging panel. Yes, my participation in the preliminary and final rounds of the event is what qualified the event as internationally judged. The winners this year were from GW School of Law, and their coach was none other than Orin Kerr . The competition focused on a fact pattern based on the 2010 case of United States v. Warshak , dealing with the unconstitutional search and seizure of e-mails under the Stored Communications Act , and whether they should be excluded as evidence … [more]
08.04.2012 03:04
The Law Society of Upper Canada publishes Practice Management Guidelines that include advice on the use of technology. Section 5.8.4 of the Guidelines say that the following practice is "not compatible with the public interest, the best interests of the profession or the administration of justice": advertisement of professional services using electronic media where the advertisement is directly and indiscriminately distributed to a substantial number of newsgroups or electronic email addresses. This is clearly aimed at spam. However, a recent overview of technology and legal ethics* said that lawyers should also consider whether the circulation of links via mechanisms such … [more]
06.04.2012 14:00
There are five nationwide holidays in this country: Canada Day (July 1), Labour Day (1st Monday in September), Christmas Day (December 25), New Year's Day (January 1)—and Good Friday, today (which is two days prior to Easter, which in turn falls, roughly speaking, on the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the 21st of March). There will likely be no new entries on Slaw today. See you all on Monday—which is not a statutory holiday in any province or territory and not a holiday within the Canada Labour Code . . . though many federal government offices will … [more]
06.04.2012 00:14
Again this year, the always exciting 60 Sites in 60 Minutes plenary session concluded ABA TECHSHOW 2012. Presenters Natalie Kelly , Dan Pinnington , Catherine Sanders Reach and TECHSHOW Chair Reid Trautz shared variety of serious and funs sites with the packed room. It was a lot of fun to do 60 Sites. For those who could not make it, here is a full list of the sites we presented: Sites to help you do your job ABA Preview of Supreme Court Cases… [more] : Everything you want or need to know about what is happening at the Supreme Court, past,
05.04.2012 20:13
David posted yesterday about Google's project glass . Sounds pretty cool, and I'll probably try it at some point. However, I do have to wonder what optometrists think when they see this? Most of us already face excessive amounts of screen time in our working lives. Will we now face never-ending screen time? And what's the impact of constantly forcing our eyes to re-adjust their focal distance? I did some sleuthing and I found very little in terms of outraged optometrists. Perhaps it's too early. There were a couple of blog posts, and I also found this fox news story … [more]
05.04.2012 16:20
The august Royal Canadian Mint , birthplace of the lovely golden loonie ( but not the snappy new plastic bills) and soon to be the graveyard for the penny, is moving to take metal out of the coin equation altogether. They're now promoting a plan to implement the MintChip , a system for exchanging value via electronic devices with ease and security: MintChip brings all the benefits of cash into the digital age. Instant, private and secure, MintChip value can be stored and moved quickly and easily over email, software applications, or by physically tapping devices together. Wisely, perhaps, the … [more]
05.04.2012 16:00
On March 26, 2012, the Attorney General of British Columbia announced that special prosecutor lawyer Peter Wilson has been given expanded powers to lay charges against polygamists in the province.
05.04.2012 14:06
… [more]
05.04.2012 14:00
I have been thinking lately that there is a certain similarity between how I observed the Crown operating in the lower courts in the 1970s and how I have observed the Crown working at the highest levels more recently. Let me explain and offer some brief biographical account. I first started to do a certain kind of paralegal work – what would later be called “Native Courtwork” – making a connection between a Native person accused of an offense and a lawyer willing to represent the accused (and often doing much of the factual research) at Akwesasne, the Mohawk community … [more]
04.04.2012 20:29
Google just officially announced that they are working on Project Glass - think of it as augmented reality heads up display glasses that works like a smartphone. This concept has been bandied about for a long time, but may be closer than we think. I'm sure it will take a while before the mainstream legal software vendors will provide compatible software. And for those of us who have avoided glasses through contacts or laser surgery, the thought of wearing glasses again is not compelling. But the contact lens version might take a while longer. But think of the possibilities. Face … [more]
04.04.2012 19:00
In my last column, I talked about “working the room”. Attending events is an important part of for business development for lawyers. I focused on how to open conversations, rather like delivering your opening line in a play. But opening the conversation is only half of the skill needed for working a room; the other half is closing a conversation gracefully so that you can move on. Let’s revisit the reason why you’re attending such an event. Working a room is work: y ou’re there to develop business. But business development is a process; don’t expect to walk away with … [more]
04.04.2012 17:54
The Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII — has just introduced a refinement to its search and citation tools where legislation is concerned. Now, in the case of legislation for which CanLII provides a table of contents, when you consider a specific section or subsection, you'll see a link to a popup that will offer you a link to cases citing that specific provision and a further link to a perfectly formed citation for that specific provision. As you'll see in the graphic below (click on it to enlarge it), the number of citing cases is given in the popup, … [more]
04.04.2012 17:14
A friend sent me an ad from an airlines magazine, promoting Toronto as a place to visit. In tiny print (white on gray background) at the bottom, it says 'Toronto is a trademark of the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association." Can this be? Can none of us use the name of the city without the say-so of the Association? Can no one else advertise the many attractions of Toronto without its approval? So far as I can see from the official trade marks register , the Association does not own "Toronto". It owns a few marks that involve a design … [more]
04.04.2012 14:00
A service level agreement (SLA) is a critical part of any outsourcing contract. SLA defines the boundaries of outsourcing project in terms of the functions and services that the service provider will deliver and identifies the service standards that the service provider must meet. A well-drafted SLA accurately sets expectations for both parties and provides guidance for measuring performance to the defined targets. Although there is no hard and fast rule governing how many measurements the parties should include in each SLA, it only makes sense to measure what matters to customer. Customer may tend to think that the more … [more]
04.04.2012 03:40
In my new role as in-house counsel for a business with operations across Canada (and as a Quebecker), I've been doing a lot of explaining about la belle Province . My American colleagues are used to dealing with a Federal version of our provincial labour codes that applies (generally) in a uniform manner across all of the United States. In Canada, as we know, labour relations are provincially regulated and accordingly, differ from one province to another (save for federally regulated employees). However, the laws of Quebec are different from other provinces and allow for easier access to unionization and … [more]
03.04.2012 19:39
♬ I want a new drug One that does what it should…♬ Lyrics, music and recorded by Huey Lewis . On Monday April 2, 2012, Dr. Frank Fowlie , the Internet Ombudsman, Kari Boyle of MediateBC and your humble scribe did a presentation for the University of British Columbia law school . It was entitled: ODR Around the World and was meant to be an introduction into the emerging field of Online Dispute Resolution and how it is changing the way that people could resolve their disputes using internet technology. During the presentation, I asked the students to reflect on the … [more]
03.04.2012 17:58
Our primary goal when we started posting bad cheque fraud warnings was the protection of LAWPRO-insured lawyers, most of whom reside in Ontario. An unexpected result has been the huge response from lawyers outside Ontario. Of the nearly 2,300 emails we've received from targeted lawyers since January 2011, almost half have come from outside Ontario. We have had reports of fraud attempts from every province and territory in Canada and almost every U.S. state. In addition, we have had reports from more than twenty countries, including: Mexico, Argentina, the UK, Germany, Turkey and Australia. We keep track of the location … [more]
03.04.2012 17:23
Legal argumentation is — or can be seen as — a branch of the age-old discipline of rhetoric, latterly " informal logic ." After all, people have been trying to persuade each other forever, whether in connection with rules or not. Though most lawyers rely on law school training, the discipline of actual practice and intuition as the instruments to guide and hone their rhetorical skills, some might wish to think directly about the art of persuasion itself. In which case, the new Rhetoric & Communication Research Network (RCRN) within SSRN's Humanities Network should prove useful. Law is more directly … [more]
03.04.2012 14:30
Greg Lambert crafted a well written and thought provoking piece at 3 Geeks and a Law Blog yesterday titled " The 3 Foot Radius of the Law Library ". Greg inspired my reflection on the law library as a place vs. the law library as a service. After thinking about it, I believe that in my organization, the library has always been about service from the librarian perspective, but may have been about place from the lawyer perspective. My team and I regularly deliver "service bubbles" in many ways:… [more] print based current awareness – compiled by others email based current
03.04.2012 14:00
This column is already dated. Why? Because privacy – or the lack thereof – is daily news. Facebook just announced their privacy policy would be called a “ data use policy ”. Before that it was Google’s announcement that they would be combining all the data collected by their individual web properties (YouTube, Gmail, Blogger, Google, etc.) about you into one single place, covered by one single “privacy” policy . Security has always been in opposition with ease of use . The conflict between wanting the convenience and interaction of the free web and trading privacy for the privilege is … [more]
03.04.2012 06:09
Jim Calloway on the Future of #Law Practice
02.04.2012 19:00
A rural property owner faces gun charges after firing warning shots over the heads of a group of thieves making off with his ATV. A goofy misfit faces three years in jail after posing for a Facebook photo holding a loaded gun in his hand. A father gets arrested and strip-searched after his kindergarten daughter draws a blocky picture of him shooting “monsters and bad guys”. These three men are all victims of one-size-fits-all justice. Whether it’s a “zero tolerance” approach to gun crimes or domestic assault, mandatory minimum sentences being applied to virtually everything, or blanket policies that demand … [more]
02.04.2012 18:56
One needs to do little else than glance at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012 conference schedule and exhibitor list to get a sense of how quickly and dramatically cloud computing is reshaping the legal technology industry. Four years ago at my first ABA TECHSHOW, there was one or two companies doing what we today call "cloud computing" on the exhibit hall floor (I remember this fondly because this is where we launched Clio). This year I count over 30 companies on the exhibit floor that either provide cloud-based software or cloud-enabled applications. In 2008 there were no conference tracks on the cloud, … [more]
02.04.2012 14:00
Spring is “conference season,” when a lot of business and law-related conferences take place. To maximize your conference experience, apply my “ Before, During and After” strategy ; instead of only focusing on the conference once you actually get there, begin your planning ahead of time and implement an after-conference strategy to make sure you get the most bang for your conference buck. Before the conference The first step is to identify your goals or purpose for attending the conference in advance. This will help you plan your overall approach. You may have several goals, but don’t try to do … [more]
01.04.2012 14:20
We tend to focus a lot on Google on Slaw, and for good reason – it's still the main search engine that people use to find information, including information relating to law and lawyers. The Advanced Search function is indispensable in refining searches, especially if you're looking for things like results from a specific date range, a different language, results on a particular website, and a certain file type. In late 2011 Google removed Advanced Search from the main search page, though it was still available through the gears tab or by direct link. Jim Calloway lamented the move on … [more]
31.03.2012 01:49
I too am at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012 in Chicago organized by the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section . This has been my first time at this conference. A few things struck me immediately: this is a very different law conference; and everyone is extremely friendly. I arrived on Wednesday evening during a reception before the LexThink.1 event that Jason Wilson wrote up for us yesterday. I noticed that there was a group of people huddled around an easel and announcements about making guesses about the weight of a food truck. Huh? What were they doing? What I walked … [more]
30.03.2012 20:25
Here is a nice, printable , breakdown of fallacies commonly deployed in argument. Helpfully, the authors have also provided an example of analysis , applying the typology to a published opinion on same-sex marriage penned by Cardinal O'Brien, Britain's foremost catholic cleric.… [more]
30.03.2012 17:33
A Committee of UK Members of Parliament has recommended that search engines should have to remove material from search results that infringe privacy. Here is a news report on the committee’s recommendations. Here is The Committee's document . It looks as if they are talking about material that has been found by a court to be an invasion of privacy, rather than having to make that initial decision. But once a court has found a story or a picture to offend privacy interests, the search engines should have to develop a method of hunting down that story or picture and … [more]
30.03.2012 16:00
Dan Pinnington / Excerpted from LAWPRO Magazine, Student Issue #1, 2012 With over 120 million users in more than 200 countries (including at least a million lawyers) and web traffic that ranks it as the 13 th most visited site on the planet, LinkedIn is the social networking tool of choice for professionals. LinkedIn can also be useful to law students in a number of ways. First, it can help with your job search. A LinkedIn network can be helpful for finding people you (or your contacts) know at law firms you are interested in. Second, it gives you some … [more]
30.03.2012 15:58
The other day I chanced again on one of the great comedy sketches of all time: Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks . (If you haven't seen it, may I recommend you have a look. Sorry about the laugh track: that's the way things were back then.) Part of John Cleese's stride — how does he do that?! — put me in mind of a soldier's exaggerated parade step, so I thought I'd see what "silly walks" I could find among the armies of the world. As ever, the internet provided. What follow are videos about which I have little … [more]
30.03.2012 15:00
by Marie Maron* [This article was first published in the Canadian Lawyer and is reprinted here with their permission and the permission of the author.] There are three types of lawyers at a firm: the finders, the minders, and the grinders. The finders bring in the clients, the minders manage them, and the grinders, well, they carry out the time-consuming, sometimes tedious, and often thankless, tasks for the rest of the group. Who ends up as those poor worker bees? The junior staffers, naturally; students and junior associates. But, hey, they don’t cost as much as senior lawyers. And they … [more]
30.03.2012 14:00
It's been a bit of a up-and-down month in the world of legal publishing and I could choose to write yet another piece on the expected demise of LexisNexis or those lawyers taking Westlaw to court but we all know that those records are getting a bit worn. But…… thinking about this issue and the amount of articles that have appeared on both these subjects since the new year has made me realize that in the past decade of publishing my pdf newsletter "Law Librarians News" and then subsequently my House of Butter blog ,we've all made huge leaps when … [more]
This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc. Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like. Toronto Standard – Pimp Your Bike – Síle Cleary – It's that time of year when … [more]
by Kaitlin Bradley [footnotes omitted; available on request] Solicitor-client privilege must yield to prevention of economic harm. Law society rules should provide the option to breach solicitor-client privilege in cases of impending fraud. It appears that there are three main arguments supporting a position against allowing an economic harm exception: that it is not the lawyer’s responsibility; that interference with solicitor-client privilege would irreparably harm solicitor-client relationships; and finally that economic harm is “a risk you take” when investing. This paper will begin with a brief overview of the movement in the legal profession to recognize an economic harm exception, … [more]
29.03.2012 22:47
Dealing with difficult clients is one of the most challenging parts of practising law. Difficult clients can be very hard to satisfy, and they can be frustrating, demanding and even upsetting. They often ignore your advice. They sometimes treat you badly, or (even worse) treat your staff badly. Lastly, they can be unhappy with the progress of the case, no matter how hard you have worked or how good the results are. In her paper, Dealing with the Difficult Client , Justice Carole Curtis passes on some very practical tips and advice on how you can better deal with clients. … [more]
29.03.2012 16:51
Last night was Day .5 of the ABA Tech Show, and I have to give it up to Matt Homann , et al. for putting on a great show at the newly branded Lexthink.1 . The billing for this event is twenty slides, six minutes, one topic, all on the future of law practice. Sure, the set up is no Battledecks , but it isn't a cakewalk either. Even with all the preparation the format isn't as easy as you might think, particularly when that slide changes and you aren't ready to move on just yet. It's designed to push … [more]
29.03.2012 16:11
I thought Slaw readers might be interested in the actual text of the Florida legislation that, in theory at least, governs the Trayvon Martin case. Title XLVI, Chapter 776 .012 governs "Use of force in defense of person": A person is justified in using force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if: … [more]
29.03.2012 16:00
After almost two years, the National Assembly’s Select Committee on Dying with Dignity tabled its 180-page report in legislature, on March 22, 2012. Titled Dying With Dignity, the report proposes “medical aid to die” and 23 other recommendations.
May El-Abdallah / Excerpted from LAWPRO Magazine, Student Issue #1, 2012 Law school can be a steep learning curve, and stepping into the world of practice can seem even more daunting. One of the most common complaints I hear from recent graduates is that they feel under-prepared to deal with the day-to-day realities of practice that they are confronting as articling students or recent calls. While there may never be a substitute for hands-on learning, here are a few lessons my colleagues and I wish we had learned in law school to make the transition into the world of ‘lawyering’ … [more]
29.03.2012 14:00
by Jenna Marie Pilon [footnotes omitted; available on request] Introduction A Canadian lawyer must respect the requirements of human rights laws and not deny services to persons by discriminating on the ground of sex. However, lawyers may refuse services to clients who cannot pay. This lawful principle, when combined with the cost of civil litigation and the demographic reality that it is predominantly women who experience poverty and sexual assault, results in adverse discrimination that prevents this group from accessing civil justice. What is the Access to Justice Problem? Currently, there are approximately 90,000 lawyers in Canada. Despite this growing … [more]
A conversation I often have with partners (both male and female) goes like this. The partner tells me, “We bend over backwards to help our women associates by accommodating lengthy maternity leaves; putting on programs to help them develop business; holding events for potential female clients and allow some women to work reduced hours. But it makes no difference – the women lawyers still leave.” These partners are correct. Despite these programs, the women lawyers still leave. They leave because these programs do not address the deeper reasons why women leave private practice either voluntarily or are dismissed by firms … [more]
28.03.2012 23:28
A couple of weeks ago the University of Toronto Faculty of Law hosted the Grafstein Annual Lecture in Communications. This year, Robert Darnton, the University Librarian at Harvard, spoke on " Books, Libraries & the Digital Future ". A webcast of the talk is available via the UofT's Information Commons website. I know a number of law librarians were disappointed to miss the talk as it was not publicised widely outside the University community. As it turned out Professor Darnton spoke to a packed house. His talk picked up on the themes in his widely read New York Review of … [more]
28.03.2012 23:00
The following article by Nora Spinks, president of Work-Life Harmony Enterprises appeared in the Winter 2008 edition of LAWPRO Magazine . The original article also features sidebar interviews with law firms that are making great efforts to address the issue of changing demographics in the workplace. They, them, those … each generation assessing the others. Generational diversity is quickly becoming one of the top stressors in organizations. With five distinct generational characteristics mixed with other elements of diversity including gender, culture, ethnicity, language, experience etc., the complexity of our workforce has never been greater. Historically, there were three distinct generational … [more]
28.03.2012 17:14
Here are the three most-consulted English-language cases on CanLII for the week of March 20 – 27.. ♨ 1. Romspen Investment Corp. v. 6176666 Canada Ltée. 2012 ONSC 1727 [2] Let me tell a little story. It is not an unusual story. Indeed, it is a common story in this court. But the story illustrates an important point, a point which judges, as the ultimate stewards of the health of our system of justice, must be vigilant in keeping on the radar screens of those who hold the purse strings of this Court’s administration system. ♨ 2. Doré v. Barreau … [more]
28.03.2012 16:00
Excerpted from LAWPRO Magazine, Student Issue #1, 2012 What is professional liability insurance? Professional liability insurance is designed to indemnify lawyers against the consequences of a lawyer’s liability for a client’s loss. For this reason, only lawyers in private practice are subject to the mandatory insurance requirement. What is private practice? Private practice, for the purpose of LAWPRO’s insurance program, is the delivery of professional services (including advice) to anybody who is not the lawyer’s employer. . . . What kinds of lawyers are exempt from the mandatory insurance requirement? In general, lawyers working as in-house counsel, who are employed by the government, … [more]
28.03.2012 15:44
One of the puzzling things I have noticed about new lawyers is that they tend to come out of law school thinking like 50 year old lawyers – and not like the digital natives they are. In general they don't seem to think like their peers who have pursued callings other than law. And that's not a good thing. That seems strange to a digital immigrant like myself, who embraces things like a paperless practice and social media. We sometimes wonder why law students are not pushing us into this world and demanding new and innovative approaches, rather than the … [more]
28.03.2012 14:00
by Mona Zarbafian Chicago lawyer Corri Fetman’s “ Life’s short. Get a divorce ” marketing campaign is a combination of sexualized images and suggestive slogans that influence a greater market than solely potential divorce-seeking couples. In her quest to deviate from the stereotypical image of legal advertising, Fetman has linked the legal profession to the sex industry; furthermore, she has implemented a marketing strategy that violates ethical codes of conduct, encourages litigation, and diminishes confidence in the legal profession. Although these violations have resulted in individual gains for Fetman, broader collective ramifications for the legal profession are at stake. There … [more]
by Lesley Jacobs* In all the extensive commentary on the release of the Drummond Commission Report last month, virtually no attention has been paid to the implications for Ontario’s justice system. The Justice system accounts for about 5% of total public sector spending by the Government of Ontario, making it the fourth biggest sector after health, education, and social services. From the perspective of trying to rein in public spending, neglect of the justice system is especially surprising because, as the Report notes, in the past year it has seen the biggest sector increase in spending, almost 11.5%. The central … [more]
27.03.2012 23:19
The following article appeared in the December 2009 edition of LAWPRO Magazine . Although social media sites offer lawyers many interesting new ways to interact with people in both personal and work spheres, there are some risks associated with using them. Some of these risks are obvious, some are not. Before they venture into social networking, lawyers should consider Section 5.5 of the Law Society’s Practice Management Guideline on Technology (“Technology Guideline”). It states, “Lawyers should have a reasonable understanding of the technologies used in their practice or should have access to someone who has such understanding.” This article will … [more]
27.03.2012 18:39
In honour of law student week I am sharing some advice for students on the differences between writing in law school and writing at a law firm. First let me remind you that I am not a lawyer. My experience in this area comes from being surrounded by legal writing – in the sources that I am responsible for evaluating and collecting in my library, in work product I assist with, read, and have responsibility for retaining for future use, in my email, on the web. I also have responsibility for training articling students in legal research and writing. There … [more]
27.03.2012 17:40
The Ontario Court of Appeal released its much anticipated judgment on the legality of Canada's prostitution laws yesterday in the decision of R. v. Bedford . Predicated on the rights of sex workers to ply their trade in an environment that does not jeopardize their constitutional right to security of the person, the case succeeded in overturning two of the three central pillars of the Criminal Code's anti-prostitution sections. Provisions prohibiting "common bawdy houses" (what non-lawyers might more commonly refer to politely as brothels) have been declared unconstitutional with the government being granted a one-year reprieve to try its hand … [more]
27.03.2012 16:00
by Wendy L. Werner / Excerpted from LAWPRO Magazine, Student Issue #1, 2012 On the face of it, interviewing should not be all that difficult – particularly for lawyers. As members of a profession who primarily make their living either writing or speaking, the idea that having a conversation about your interests and abilities in your own profession sounds both logical and easy. But throw the words “job interview” into the mix and a whole new paradigm emerges. With seemingly so much at stake, job interviews take on a new meaning for people who ordinarily would not shy away from … [more]
27.03.2012 14:47
Back in January, I wrote about a class action that had been filed in New York by former law students claiming they had, in a sense, been duped with regard to post-graduation job prospects (see here ). These law students sought over $200 million in damages. Last week, the New York Supreme Court dismissed the action (see here ). Justice Schweitzer wrote that students considering going to law school are "a sophisticated subset of education consumers, capable of sifting through data and weighing alternatives before making a decision regarding their postcollege options.” Moreover, Justice Schweitzer recognized that times were tough; however, the realities of the … [more]
27.03.2012 14:00
by Marlon Simmons On the night of August 21st 1931, the town of Maycomb stood still. In the segregated court of the small Alabama town, an all white male jury tried an African-American man by the name of Tom Robinson. Represented by a white lawyer Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson was found guilty of raping a white woman and was later shot to death after he allegedly attempted to flee. The trial unfolded in a gripping way in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. The film gives us an epoch entrenched in bigotry and institutionalized racism. At the surface level the … [more]
The web makes so much information available that we sometimes forget that there are still many hidden archives and collections that are not immediately accessible by way of a simple Google search. One example is the pages created by government departments that house reports, policy papers and the gamut of related materials that are collected by the departments to keep the public informed, and which are often commissioned to inform the government of issues and concerns that may form part of policy. One of our academics was concerned recently when she went to the Department of Justice website to locate … [more]
27.03.2012 02:58
I'm working on the road most of this week, and am currently in Sudbury . I had the good fortune last night of seeing Dr. Jane Goodall at Laurentian University . She presented her 2010 documentary Jane's Journey and then answered questions from the audience (you can see the trailer here ). I have always thought of Dr. Goodall in terms of her work studying chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. However, there is so much more to her work. As the documentary explains, at a certain point she realized the chimpanzees she was studying were declining in … [more]
27.03.2012 01:39
Given that it is Law Student Week at SLAW, I thought it appropriate to dedicate this post to the OBA's recent recommendations to the LSUC Task Force on the future of articling. Scrutiny of all professional entry-to-practice criteria by the Competition Bureau and Ontario’s Fairness Commissioner requires the legal profession, and all other self-regulating professions, to carefully analyze their criteria and eliminate any elements that do not play a legitimate role in protecting the public. In response to this scrutiny Convocation approved the establishment of the Articling Task Force to address concerns about the articling program, relating in particular to … [more]
27.03.2012 01:21
The rule of law requires that laws be widely known. Few would dispute that Twitter can be quite useful at making things widely known. I have been preoccupied with this idea for a little while now. Last month I wrote a piece on it for publication on Slaw (watch for it on 16 April 2012). The explosion of Twitter activity surrounding the Ontario Court of Appeal release today in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186 confirms my belief that Twitter provides an excellent outlet for lawyers, other legal professionals and the public itself to augment the work of … [more]
26.03.2012 22:55
There is a lot to think about beyond substantive law when you are starting a law practice. With that in mind, under the practicePRO banner LAWPRO has created the New Lawyer Resource page containing what we feel are the best resources we have to offer to new and soon-to-be-lawyers. The page has two aims: 1) to help newly minted lawyers understand more about things like managing a practice, client relations, practice finances, marketing, and legal technology; and 2) its an introduction to the risk and practice management articles, precedents, checklists and other materials practicePRO offers to lawyers. From a claims … [more]
26.03.2012 16:00
Excerpted from LAWPRO Magazine, Student Issue #1, 2012 There isn't a simple magic formula for mapping out a career in law. You will make some decisions on where you would like to go, but there are many things outside your control which will impact on where you will end up. Factors such as economic conditions, personal circumstances, where you articled and even a bit of luck will affect the career path you will follow. This article outlines some tips and self-assessment questions that will help you find your way to a satisfying and successful legal career. 1. Ask yourself what … [more]
26.03.2012 14:00
by Vanessa Mui According to the Chief Justice of Ontario’s Advisory Committee on Professionalism , the building blocks of professionalism include scholarship, integrity, honour, leadership, independence, pride, spirit and enthusiasm, collegiality, service, and balanced commercialism. “Spirit and enthusiasm” (S&E) is undervalued in ethical rules that regulate and inspire lawyers. What constitutes “spirit and enthusiasm”? The term “spirit” is mentioned in the Federation of Law Societies Model Code of Conduct but the rules are of no help in explaining how lawyers should exemplify spirit in their daily work. A word search in the Rules for “enthusiasm” turned up nothing. Additionally, “spirit” … [more]
Notwithstanding the fact that, as we mentioned in a previous column , it remains difficult to find a business model that could ensure the availability of a fair and accessible online dispute resolution service, ODR has come a long way. When we first launched the CyberTribunal, back in 1996, and tried to convey our objectives at various conferences on information technology law (thus before audiences that could be considered informed), many legal practitioners questioned the possibility of modeling mediation and arbitration procedures. They cited legal reasons, which were quickly swept away through examination of relevant texts, as well as the … [more]
26.03.2012 13:00
I have been privileged to teach legal ethics at the University of Ottawa and before that at Osgoode Hall and U of T. I love teaching legal ethics because students have fresh and valuable perspectives on so many important issues in the legal profession. Legal ethics is a branch of "professional ethics", special ethical rules that apply to members of a profession. What we think it means to be "a good lawyer" , "a good soldier" or "a good doctor" may differ from society's general understanding of what it means to be "a good citizen". In legal ethics we struggle … [more]
25.03.2012 22:46
This past week Dr. Michael Rachlis launched Doctors for Fair Taxation , calling for the top wealth earners in Canada to be taxed even further. Given that physicians are often prominent members of this tax bracket, the initiative attracted lots of attention. Rachlis suggested to Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom that this could inspire a "Lawyers for Fair Taxation." Walkom responded with skepticism , which to me was incredibly telling of the way that lawyers continue to be perceived in society. The rationale behind Rachlis' group is that income inequalities lead to poorer health indicators, and that the decline of … [more]
25.03.2012 21:03
This week Slaw is going to feature a couple of entries each day by and about law students. Slaw contributor Adam Dodek has arranged with students from his courses on Professional Responsibility at Ottawa University Faculty of Law to let us publish five of their short essays. And Slawyer Dan Pinnington, whose day job has him, among other things, on the senior management team at LAWPRO Magazine, has kindly let us republish excerpts from the recent student edition of that publication. You'll easily recognize these special posts by the banner that will head them up: And because there are perhaps … [more]
23.03.2012 21:30
Some interesting data about law schools and the broader ecomony is collected in this Atlantic article . The main point is that while a slow job market has meant rising demand for education in the past, today's law school enrollment has fallen off along with the rise in unemployment numbers.… [more]
23.03.2012 15:31
I've never understood why the winners of spelling bees get lauded and labelled as smart or intelligent. That kind of skill is on a par with remembering the names and dates of all of Canada's prime ministers, though fractionally more useful I suppose. "Mackenzie Bowell," you announce. "December 21st, 1894 to April 27th, 1896." No one is going to marvel, "Mind like a razor." I guess I should disclose that I was a lousy speller and that Mrs. Hill, my grade 12 English teacher had to threaten me with failure if I didn't learn to spell. It only irritated her … [more]
23.03.2012 13:00
In her legal career Charlene had never encountered a challenge that stoic hard work and determination couldn’t beat. After severe abdominal pain forced her to the hospital’s emergency ward she returned to her office to finish an assignment despite the blindingly brutal pain. Months later she discovers that during this time the partner she reports to had found numerous flaws, typos and weaknesses in her work and had told her colleagues that she had grave concerns about Charlene’s legal abilities. Katherine’s legal career as a solicitor was in ascendency before her car accident. The head injury caused her some setbacks … [more]
This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc. Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like. HiLobrow – With the Night Mail (1) – Rudyard Kipling – HiLowbrow ("Middlebrow is not the … [more]
23.03.2012 10:33
The Government has recently announced its intention to focus on Bill C-12, the Safeguarding Canadians' Personal Information Act , its attempt to update PIPEDA in accordance with the statute's last 5 year review (which incidentally was conducted over 6 years ago). Bill C-12 is a lackluster piece of privacy protection that, in spite of its name, arguably does far more to erode privacy than it does to enhance it. One commentator even dubbed it's last incarnation the ' anti-privacy privacy bill '. As the legislation can be expected to reemerge as early as two weeks hence, a few of its … [more]
23.03.2012 00:27
JURIST , the legal news and commentary website based out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, needs money . Your money. The well-known, pioneering news site explains that it is "anticipating a significant reduction in funding (meaning several tens of thousands of dollars) from our primary benefactors". It needs funds to: Redesign the JURIST.org website Fully develop a mobile version of JURIST.org, as well as iPhone and Android apps Increase outreach efforts to JURIST's audience Develop new programming, including audio and video coverage, seminars and conferences that will directly benefit our community Cover costs associated with managing our … [more]
22.03.2012 20:53
On November 17, 2011, the federal government introduced Bill C-25, the proposed Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act and making related amendments to other Acts in Parliament as a first step to implement the federal portion of the Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) framework that will particularly be applicable to small businesses and self-employed persons across Canada. According to the government, just over 60 percent of Canadians do not have a workplace pension plan. That is a large chunk of workers who are left behind and who could face financial troubles in their retirement years. PRPPs will offer them a new, … [more]
22.03.2012 19:16
Site news for those who read Slaw only via RSS or email 1. Comment Watch: In the last week there were 50 comments. You might be particularly interested in these: the six comments on David Canton's post "Demanding Social Media Passwords From Job Seekers Is Wrong" the thoughtful comments on Jack Newton's post "Addressing the High Cost of Cloud Computing Due Diligence" the five comments on David Canton's post "Using QR Codes." You can subscribe to the comments on Slaw either as a separate matter ( RSS , email ) or as part of a subscription combining posts and comments … [more]
22.03.2012 18:00
The Centre de recherche en droit public (CRDP), the oldest research center of the University of Montreal, was established in 1962. To my knowledge the CRDP is also the oldest research center in law in Canada. Beyond its longevity, CRDP’s merits are numerous. I just want to mention here those which relate to legal information and legal informatics.… [more] In the sixties, the DATUM project was conducted at the Faculty of Law with researchers from the CRDP. DATUM researchers developed one of the first automated retrieval systems for legal information in Canada. Professor Ejan Mackaay’s name is associated to almost all
22.03.2012 15:21
One of the satisfying moments that recurred regularly in Star Trek, the Next Generation, was Captain Jean-Luc Picard's simple executive gesture and the words, "Make it so." A lot of magic thinking was bound up with that. The United States Supreme Court, however, has recently told attorneys that no such wishful assertion can be as effective, at least in the universe where human laws intersect with the laws of nature. Two days ago the court released the decision in Mayo Collaborative Services et al. v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. No. 10–1150 . The following is from the headnote: Although “laws of … [more]
22.03.2012 13:00
What constitutes alumni at a law firm? Does your firm have a program? Is it inclusive or exclusive? Should your firm develop an alumni program? This is one of the few area’s in the practice of law where when asked “what are other firms doing” there is very little consistency. Some firms offer use of office space, have on-line portals that include useful materials or simply offer an annual receptions. Others would prefer that their alumni never existed. There are a number of dividends to building an alumni program including: Goodwill.… [more] Those who have left will have another reason to
21.03.2012 15:14
The issue of corporate or government employers asking for social media login ID's and passwords for job seekers has reared its head again. See this CBC article entitled U.S. job seekers get asked for Facebook passwords . And see this article I wrote a year ago on the subject. This is wrong on so many levels that it is hard to believe anyone would ask for that. It is not unusual for employers to look at what job applicants are posting on publicly accessible areas of facebook and twitter. We can debate what influence that should have on the hiring decision, and … [more]
21.03.2012 13:00
Machine-Assisted Review Let’s start with a very hot if not very sexy topic. You may have heard of new technology called predictive coding or technology-assisted review. Recently, we’ve seen the phrase “machine-assisted” review a lot. They are all the same thing. A rose is a rose is a rose, but we have not yet settled on a name for this nascent technology. The way most lawyers engage in traditional keyword searches is, as others have suggested, the equivalent of “Go Fish.” The requesting lawyer makes his best guess about which keywords might produce relevant evidence without having much knowledge of … [more]
20.03.2012 23:44
Earlier this month, I published an article in the Montreal Gazette regarding my departure from private practice (at Norton Rose Canada) and my move to an in-house counsel position and the legal ramifications involved therewith. This post is an abridged (inproved?) version of the full article, which can be found here . As an employment and labour lawyer, I was very conscious of wanting to do the “right” and legal thing in accepting the offer from my new employer and letting my firm know that I was leaving. Legal issues aside, I loved where I worked and wanted to treat … [more]
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