New Titles From the Canadian Legal Publishers

A number of new titles have caught my eye as useful additions or updates to Canadian legal literature.

In no particular order:

• Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Canadian Precedents of Pleadings + CD (Carswell): This new title is a Canadian version of the UK classic litigation precedent service, now in its 16th edition from Sweet & Maxwell. In the absence of a Canadian edition, many lawyers here would consult the UK title. However, over time, the UK title increasingly referenced UK legislation, which made the UK service less useful. I have not seen the new Canadian version yet but look forward to using it. However, my request of Carswell is this: no more CD-ROMs! No one wants CD-ROMs. Make it available online. Unclear to me is whether Carswell would make this available on Westlaw Canada as part of its Litigator service (or otherwise). Competing products/content include Williston & Rolls Court Forms and McLachlin & Taylor British Columbia Court Forms, 2d ed from LexisNexis Canada and the O’Brien’s Ontario-Court Forms from Canada Law Book.

• Aviation Liability Law (LexisNexis Canada): This new loose-leaf by Paul S. Dempsey, Director of the Institute and Centre of Air and Space Law at McGill University, should provide good coverage for a difficult-to-research topic that includes aspects of international law, product liability law, negligence law and conflicts of law.

• Canadian Trademark Law (LexisNexis Canada): I have found the scholarship of Professor Teresa Scassa to be useful in some of the research I do so am looking forward to her new treatise on trademark law (shouldn’t that be “trade-mark” law (with a hyphen) since the Act uses a hyphen?).

• Canadian Law of Competitive Bidding and Procurement (Canada Law Book): This title should prove popular with those lawyers involved on large construction or P3 (public-private-partnerships) projects. The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Tercon Contractors Ltd v British Columbia (Transportation and Highways), 2010 SCC 4 is an example of bidding situations that can raise difficult questions.

• Religious Institutions and the Law in Canada, 3d ed (Irwin Law): Professor Ogilvie has updated her 2003 text that provides an excellent overview of the fairly discrete topic of religion and the law.

• Lawyer’s Weekly Digital Edition (LexisNexis Canada): It appears that LexisNexis Canada is more formally promoting the digital subscription version of its weekly newspaper. Although it will continue to be published in print, one wonders to what extent lawyers will be willing to give up the comfort of the print version for a digital version. I don’t miss the print version of the Ontario Reports so am looking forward to experimenting with receiving the digital subscription version. Less clear is the extent to how Carswell will market The Law Times – the main rival newspaper – that Carswell acquired when it took over Canada Law Book. Until now, The Lawyer’s Weekly had the advantage of having an online archival version on Quicklaw (from November 1990 to current). It would be nice if Carswell would make archival content of The Law Times available as well.