On January 28, 2010, the Law Commission of Ontario and IP Osgoode held a Symposium on electronic medical records. The Symposium brought together experts from law, academia, health and other areas as part of the consultation that Professor Pina D’Agostino is carrying out in her project on the intersection of IP, ethics and privacy issues arising from electronic medical records. Professor D’Agostino is an Osgoode LCO Scholar in Residence and she is carrying out her project in association with the LCO. All these issues were discussed, with some passion in some cases, but so was a more fundamental question about . . . [more]

Interested in tax law developments? Davies has put out a clear and easy to understand publication “US and Canada Tax Law: What to Watch for in 2010.”

It reviews tax developments in the US and Canada from the past year, and it also provides perspectives on the key developments impacting the US and Canadian taxation of international companies and investors in 2010. . . . [more]

I understand from various sources that preparations are well advanced for the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries. Among other things, the meeting offers an invaluable platform for legal publishers and law librarians to share information with each other.

A key element of the preparation for the meeting is the annual request for information on the anticipated price increases that the library community can expect in the coming year. The issue of price increases is a critical element in planning and budgeting and gives the library purchaser a useful guideline for use in budget presentations and in . . . [more]

I’m not sure whether it was the interception Peyton Manning threw last night, or my work earlier in the day trying to get my notebook to talk to my new router, but this week started looking like it was all about failed connections:

Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs), pharmaceutical companies and government payors have all expressed a shared goal: getting “the right treatment, to the right patient, the first time.” Doing so would improve care (personalized medicine) and decrease costs (c0mparative effectiveness). However, as industry players try to connect their employees, patients and customers with personalized treatments, they will . . . [more]

Nada Khirdaji has an interesting piece on her transition from legal research skills in law school to research skills in practice in CCH’s law student monthly,

Law school helped me to think like a lawyer, but it was only in practice that I began to appreciate the essential role of legal research. In fact, much to my chagrin, I remember derisively dismissing an optional course in advanced legal research on the assumption that it would be of little use to me.

I am now a research lawyer. Everything that I know about legal research I learned in practice. I

I don’t think we’ve yet pointed you on Slaw to the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School. Among its various functions is the provision of legal resources “such as international laws, domestic laws, articles and reports on gender-based violence.

You’ll find the relevant documents from the United Nations, as well as those from the various and lesser-known (here) regional organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African States and the South Asian Association for Regional Co-Operation.

The Center also offers student research assistance to judges confronting issues of gender-based violence, though whether the . . . [more]

If one has a weak password for one’s web-based personal information, is it reasonable to conclude that one has a reduced expectation of privacy with respect to that information?

(Here’s an English list (from 2006) of the 10 most common password and a list of the 500 worst ones, from the point of view of security.)

If someone uses “password” as his or her password, should he or she really be able to claim some privacy interest in the information behind it?

What about file sharing? If one has files or folders or most of one’s computer accessible to . . . [more]

In a February 4, 2010, article in the Toronto Globe and Mail about what is going to be a “high-profile” trial for murder, under the headline

 A shocking school slaying rendered sterile in court

Christie Blatchford, who should know better, complained that the Crown’s opening statement “managed to render murder dull.” She wrote:

This is modern Canadian justice, where even such a shocking killing is rendered sterile, the poor victim barely given a nod, all in the name, presumably, of a prosecution so measured that no one will ever again be wrongfully convicted – or at least not because a

Jurriaan de Reu recently mentioned the implications of Google Social Search for SEO. The new Google feature will provide higher results based on the reviews and commentary of your friends on various social media platforms.

Essentially this is the same concept as the traditional word-of-mouth marketing, but conducted online instead. When someone mentions their experience with a specific product, brand or service (including lawyers) on a social media platform, their contacts will get those informal reviews at the top of their searches when looking for similar topics.

A video of how it works can be found here.

The feature . . . [more]

Two weeks ago, while watching the NFL playoffs, I upgraded the OS on my home laptop (a Lenovo T60p) to Windows 7 Professional from Vista Business. 

The upgrade went quickly, smoothly, and without a hitch. I haven’t had a problem since. The screen image from the instructional video – which I have yet to need – was captured with the Windows 7 native screen capture tool, called the “Snipping Tool”. It’s very easy to use.

When will I recommend that move at the office, where all of our machines run on Windows XP? Where the common core of all of . . . [more]

Those who aren’t Apple iPad “icolytes” will enjoy this YouTube video and probably agree with this article. Those who are the former should, too, even if they don’t agree.

Ahem, Steve: the idea is to go smaller, not bigger. You can call me when you develop a folding iPad, like this or better, like this.

My view, for now? The iPad is too big to play “closies” with, even if I could find another adult who remembers how to play the game. And a paper matches book is a cheaper and better . . . [more]

♫ Everytime I turn around
Something don’t feel right
Just might be paranoid..♫

Lyrics and music by: Nicholas Jerry Jonas, Joseph Adam Jonas, Paul Kevin Jonas II, Cathy Dennis, John Fields, recorded by The Jonas Brothers.

I guess it was just a matter of time. IT World posted an article today by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (sjvn@vna1.com) entitled: “Can you trust Chinese computer equipment?”

While this may seem like the musings of a hyper-active Homeland Security Department, it is based on MI5’s report in The Times Online “China bugs and burgles Britain” . . . [more]