I’m pleased indeed to tell you that Michael Fitzgibbon has joined Slaw as a regular contributor. You will doubtless know him because of his own blog, Thoughts from a Management Lawyer and because of his recent post on Slaw as part of the firm guest blogging by Borden Ladner Gervais, where Michael is a partner in the Toronto Office.

As the name of his blog suggests, Michael has experience advising employers in labour relations and other employment matters. He teaches labour and employment law at the University of Toronto’s Woodsworth College and has co-authored two books: Understanding Ontario’s . . . [more]

Have you ever had a moment in your career where you wanted to run screaming from the building? When you entered the office on a Monday took a look at the work piled on the table and shuddered? I know that all of us at times do work that at best we can tolerate and at worst we despise. While many of us have experienced these moments in our careers, when they become a daily occurrence it is crucial to recognise what they represent: Flashing red lights indicating that action is required to shift your professional practice into more satisfying . . . [more]

Simon posted US Homeland Security’s new rules on laptop searches for those crossing the border into the US. While there are some guidelines, they basically have the unfettered discretion to look at everything that is on one’s laptop.

Frankly, I don’t get it. It strikes me as a total waste of time and effort on their part. It inconveniences and intrudes on normal people crossing the border – with little chance of finding any terrorist or criminal information. And how are issues like trade-mark and copyright infringement relevant to crossing the border?

This strikes me as more security theatre.

The . . . [more]

This is a reminder that we should be brief in making our point.

We know this, but often can’t resist saying more than we should. Our tendency to ramble is partly a function of ego. We’re smart, we know things and we want others to know we know things whether helpful or not. It’s also a function of fear. When we don’t trust our argument we layer on lesser alternatives that can harm more than help. Finally, it can be because we’re lazy or time pressed. Long and rambling is easy while focused is hard.

The “case for short” is . . . [more]

I hate being reminded of the fallibility of technology. I love the confidence I feel from noting up a case using an electronic database; I hate it when I find that (contrary to the results of my electronic search) the case has in fact been overturned on appeal. I recently experienced a similar feeling when using the federal government’s laws website. 

Perhaps I’m spoiled by the ability in electronic database programs like QuickLaw and WestLaw to step from “hit” to “hit” in my search results. Or maybe I’m just lazy. When I am looking for something on a webpage . . . [more]

I just noticed an awesome improvement to CanLII’s RSS feeds for decisions! In my reader, CanLII’s feed now shows keywords for decisions from courts that I monitor.

Way to go CanLII for another great innovation. . . . [more]

The Toronto Star and Financial Post have reported on the latest news in beer branding wars. Brick Brewing has launched a new beer in time for the Labour Day weekend: RED BARON LIME. According to the article, Labatt and Anheuser-Busch are seeking an injunction in the Federal Court of Canada against Brick, as well as damages or an accounting of profits, on the basis of trade-mark and copyright violation. The packaging for RED BARON LIME beer displays images of limes and uses the colour green on its labels and packaging. The packaging for BUD LIGHT LIME also displays images of . . . [more]

I’ve been following the posts and comments about anonymous blogging and free speech rights with interest. It’s hard not to weigh in with a few additional comments (and here, as an academic at heart, I’ll mention a comment I wrote nearly 15 years ago for the University of New Brunswick Law Journal’s Forum on free speech as a previous example of “weighing in”). I don’t know where the parameters of free speech should be, I just know that we need to recognize that vital though it is, other values (equality, in particular, as well as people’s entitlement not to be . . . [more]

Since my clients and colleagues have been remarkably gracious about my attempts to vacation this week, I will keep this brief and return to my rest BEvERage novel kids. Here’s some of what has been going on in my absence:

• Some fairly significant deal activity, especially for the end of August. Biovail picked up product rights from Swiss company Santhera, and Cardiome decided to use $27.5 million to buy back shares instead of to perform R&D.
• Some further good vibes for biotech investing, with more industry journalists picking up the meme, and rumours of new IPOs.

WHEN? August 27, 2009

WHERE? Toronto, Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The proceedings were also webcast from the Copyright Consultation website. For video and upcoming transcripts of the Toronto Town Hall, see the website at: http://copyright.econsultation.ca.

WHO? Hosted by the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry. Dianne LeBreton acted as Facilitator. More than 650 Canadians participated in real time (in person and online). Pre-registration to attend the Town Hall was required. Participants who spoke included three representatives from Warner Music Canada (including President Steve Kane), and a representative from each of Sony Music Canada, Universal Music Canada, SOCAN, Writers Union . . . [more]

James Gannon, a newly-minted Toronto lawyer, has a newly-minted blog, IP, Innovation and Culture. Gannon, who has a background in system design engineering, has been blogging on his own site since late July. . . . [more]

It seems sensible to say a few words now about Angela Swan’s concern, expressed in a recent post, about “anonymous blogging” on Slaw.

Let me start by giving you some information, most of which is not news. Only members may post entries on Slaw; members are, of course, known, identified, and much valued, I might add. Commenting on posts is a bit more vexed. We do not moderate comments on Slaw in the sense that we do not preview them before their publication; we do, however, promptly delete those that we find to be objectionable in one way or . . . [more]