I have a habit of kicking the hornets’ nest when it comes to airing my views on legal services and the legal profession.

So let me give it another go.

I believe that legal services can be delivered in a more efficient, convenient and cost-effective manner than they’re currently being delivered; not only for the benefit of the public but also for the benefit of lawyers.

I’m a practicing member of the legal profession and I know the profession can do much better. So, if my passion to reform the profession offends people, so be it.

The Rules of Professional . . . [more]

When was the last time you got a great deal for less than 25 cents? If you’re looking for excellent value for money, consider the work of law reform agencies.

Law reform publications are a great resource for legal research. Michel-Adrien Sheppard regularly posts updates on Slaw on the work of Canadian and international law reform agencies. Kim Nayyer has also highlighted the value of law reform publications in legal research.

Canadian law reform agencies produce a range of informative, well-researched publications every year. Although some international law reform agencies overseas now charge a fee for hard copy publications, most . . . [more]

The Law Society of Upper Canada (“LSUC”) held its annual general meeting last night. The meeting garnered more attention than it otherwise might have due to the mysterious last minute pulling of a motion that was received on March 28, 2013. This motion dealt with a study to enlarge the paralegal scope of practice. You can read the motion here.

There has not yet been an explanation behind the pulling of this motion–a motion that was proposed well in advance of the meeting.

So we are left to speculate.

It has never made any sense to me as to . . . [more]

Since 2009, and most recently last December at the United Nations Sixty-seventh General Assembly Plenary, various countries—particularly Iran and North Korea—have raised various challenges to Canada's human rights record. However, on April 30, 2013, it was reported that members of the United Nations Human Rights Council have formally challenged Canada's human rights record, with 83 countries making recommendations for enhanced rights protections. This challenge refutes Canada's status as a human rights leader and indicates that Canada must take immediate action on socio-economic disparities. . . . [more]

Stephen Abram recently posted this graphic on his blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse, in hopes of provoking a conversation. I thought I would climb onto my SLAW soapbox in reply, in hopes of continuing the conversation and to solicit the views of *this* community.

I’ve reposted the link to Stephen’s original source at the end of this entry. On the Cheezburger.com site, the graphic appears under the title “Which Are You?” I infer that one of these graphics is supposed to be the “good” model, and the other “bad”. 

In the first graphic, the Boss can be seen as a drag . . . [more]

In light of what's been happening to Canada's correctional system, it's disconcerting to listen to today's CBC Sunday Edition interview by Michael Enright of Marianne Vollan, who is the Director General of Correctional Services of Norway. Disconcerting because she lays out a theory of sentencing and imprisonment that is radically at odds with the one implemented here under the present federal government — and, to make it even more vexing for me, a theory that she says Norway borrowed from us back in the days when we were interested in evidence-based policies.

Here's that interview and a link to an . . . [more]

The office of the Chief Justice of Canada issued the following press release April 26, 2013:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Supreme Court of Canada conducted a thorough review of its records and it does not have any documents relevant to the alleged communications by former Chief Justice Bora Laskin and former Mr. Justice Willard Estey in relation to the patriation of the Constitution of Canada. This concludes the Court’s review.

===============================

POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE

La Cour suprême du Canada a complété un examen exhaustif de ses dossiers. Ceux-ci ne contiennent aucun document au sujet de communications que l’ancien juge en . . . [more]

We are always naming things – businesses, brands, trade-marks, domain names, and children. But what makes a good or valuable name? Naming anything can be a personal or emotional thing – but it is part science.

Take a brand name or trade-mark, for example. The first choice of many for their business or product name is one that describes their business or product. But that does nothing to distinguish that business or product from the competition. Much better to have one that is unique and memorable, rather than descriptive.

Over the past decade it has become more important to adopt names . . . [more]

Each year the ABA Techshow offers a fun feature that has the audience bombarded by the URLs of dozens and dozens of interesting sites delivered at a relentless rapid pace by a tag team of IT experts. You can access the YouTube video used in that presentation. But in case you find it hard to keep up, I'm offering below a simple list of all of the URLs mentioned this year. You'll discover, when you explore them, that they're a mix of the useful and the amusing, which is no bad thing.

My thanks to this year's four presenters, Britt . . . [more]

One thing I find consistent about privacy issues is an inconsistency in approach and viewpoint. What is and is not deemed acceptable seems to change dramatically based on several factors, including geographic location (which I suppose is really more of a cultural issue than a geographic one), whether it is about one's own information or you are doing something with someone else's information, and whether the party with the information is government or business.

Many times it comes down to issues of trust, understanding, surprise, and how public one wants their life to be.

An example is in this article . . . [more]

Some readers of Slaw will be saddened to hear that Ralph Scane has died. His death notice is in today's Globe & Mail.

I was a colleague of Ralph for some 20 years at U of T and I remember his kindness, integrity and wide and eclectic legal knowledge. He came to the Faculty from practice and brought with him a refreshing, real-world point of view. At the same time, he was a meticulous scholar and teacher. He was, I think, the first Associate Dean we had and clearly demonstrated his strong administrative abilities; he did much to make the . . . [more]

From an Access Copyright press release:

Monday, April 8, 2013: Canada's writers and publishers take a stand against damaging interpretations of fair dealing by the education sector.

Access Copyright is taking legal action—on three fronts. The actions focus on York University, ministries of education, school boards and post‐secondary institutions that copy—and promote the copying—of copyright‐protected materials without a licence.

Read the full press release here. . . . [more]