I’ve been following the career of singer, songwriter, producer and entrepreneur extraordinaire Pharrell Williams for a while. Sometimes I’ll take a break from my work, find a video of people around the world dancing to his hit “Happy” and feel instantly energized (if not verklempt). And then I go back to my desk, review some of the latest online legal media and wonder where all the misery is coming from.

Are there any happy lawyers or legal professionals to be found online? Maybe social media isn’t the place for expressing career satisfaction. Maybe blogs are a place for giving advice, . . . [more]

From April to June 2014, the Ontario Ministry of Labour is conducting an employment standards inspection blitz targeting organizations that employ unpaid interns. The goal is to ensure worker rights are protected and enhance employers’ awareness of their responsibilities. . . . [more]

On March 13, 2014, the Law Society of England and Wales announced that it had released guidelines to help solicitors in the United Kingdom apply Sharia law succession rules. Specifically, the guide deals with drafting wills, trust issues and disputes over estates, and explains in detail how to write wills that respect Islamic traditions while complying with UK law. . . . [more]

Press Release from London this morning

London, United Kingdom: 1 April 2014 – Janders Dean is pleased to announce the launch of the ShockLaw© wearable time management technology solution for law firms and lawyers – featuring the Bill-IT© bracelet with LawyerShock© vibration technology, the ShockLaw© Server, and associated mobile device monitoring apps.

In an age when the ‘Internet of everything’ is dominating technology development, Janders Dean is leading the market with the introduction of the ShockLaw© wearable platform – and showing true thought leadership with the product’s integration both across the lawyer’s workplace surroundings, and also across software applications being . . . [more]

Albert Einstein once said that politics was more difficult than physics. His comment arose in the context of why humans could discover atomic power but could not properly find the means to control it.

Control in politics is illusory. And sometimes when things get out of control the disputes end up in courts.

The Premier of Ontario threatened legal action today against Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak for his statements over the gas plant scandal. The comments are apparently repeated on the party’s website and campaign materials, outside of the legislature where they would normally be protected by privilege. . . . [more]

We note the death of Canadian author, Heather Robertson, last Wednesday. She published her first book, Reservations are for Indians, in 1970, and her last book, Walking into Wilderness, four years ago. She was a founding member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Professional Writers Association of Canada.

For the Slaw community she is best known for being the representative plaintiff in the action by freelancers to be paid royalties for electronic and digital access to their work. Robertson v. Thomson Corporation is the seminal case on copyright in a digital environment as it affects freelancers . . . [more]

A colleague of mine at First Reference, Adam Gorley, wrote an article about the Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s study on sexual harassment in Federal workplaces. I thought I would share this very interesting article here on Slaw. . . . [more]

We all know that brand logos and names can be valuable assets and powerful promotional tools. Research has shown that children as young as 2 years old can recognize certain logos.

Some are created by company founders on their own, and some are the result of intensive work by advertising agencies. Pepsi spent a million dollars on its latest logo redesign. Nike paid a graphic design student $35 for its swoosh design.

These, and other interesting facts on designs are on this infographic published by FinancesOnline.com.

Prepared by financesonline.com | Author: Alex Hillsberg | See our Facebook . . . [more]

. . . which might have made an excellent Friday Fillip if I’d remembered in time. But here are a couple of things even so to brighten your Friday and bring the week full circle.

First up, a great series of columns on the elements of mathematics by Steven Strogatz from the pages of the New York Times back in 2010, making the bugbear quite cute and approachable. And one of those elements, of course, is Π, that mysterious fruit of circles. Strogatz explores an aspect of that in this column on infinity and calculus.

Then, if you’re intrigued, you . . . [more]

When the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council/Standards Development Committee was formed in 2013, one of its first orders of business was to review the Customer Service Standard as required under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). The AODA requires that each accessibility standard be reviewed five years after it becomes law to determine whether the standard is working as intended and to allow for adjustments to be made as required. The council has proposed several changes to the Customer Service Standard and is asking interested stakeholders for feedback. . . . [more]

One of my correspondents is a law firm with three offices across the Ukraine.

They posted this open letter this morning:

Dear friends, colleagues and partners,

Herewith we would like to draw your attention to the current political crisis between Ukraine and Russian Federation and the current situation in the Crimea. Being a Ukrainian company we are concerned a lot about the future of our State. We kindly ask you to spare 5 minutes of your time for the issue, which is incredibly important to every person in the world, and read this message to the end.

All the politicians . . . [more]

On March 6, 2014, several legal organizations are coming together to host a charity event, Flip Your Wig for Justice, to support of access to justice.

The seven organizations behind the event include:

• Association in the Defense of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC)
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)
• Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
• The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC)
• Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN)
• Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO)
• Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC)

Participants will raise funds by wearing a wacky wig or a judicial wig. I signed up today and I hope I . . . [more]