The highest of distinctions is service to others.

— King George VI

I’ve been fortunate to have been presented with a number of opportunities to volunteer and provide support to many worthwhile organizations and causes since I started practicing as a lawyer while I’ve actually never stopped to consider why I volunteer until now. When I did pause to contemplate my motivation I realized a number of things. My volunteer activities have ranged from volunteering at a music festival, and acting as a moot court judge for a law school, to being on the board of various volunteer organizations such . . . [more]

I’ve just returned from a couple of weeks in Halifax. But for Earl – which was downright scary – the sunshine and surf were A+. If I didn’t know that Nova Scotia has a six week window of post-fog/pre-cold pleasant weather in a year I’d suggest we start calling the place “Halifornia.” I love it there, but not for the weather.

As usual for us, Seanna and the kids flew and I drove back solo with Buffalo the cat. With tear-inducing traffic in Montreal it took 19 hours, which left lots of time for podcasts. Here’s a list of some . . . [more]

Many Ontarians cannot afford a lawyer. Chief Justice Winkler said that “an expanding group of Ontarians are finding that the system is often too expensive, too complicated and too slow in assisting them with their legal problems.” Chief Justice McLachlin has said the options for “average middle-class Canadians,” ineligible for legal aid, are “grim.”

In response to this, one initiative has involved the appointment of amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) in mental health appeals and family law disputes. In a decision called Bhajan v. Ontario (Children’s Lawyer), the Ontario Court of Appeal recently described . . . [more]

In Friday’s episode of Law Librarian Conversations podcast, we talked with two social media-savvy third year law school students to get a dose of reality on what they think about social networking, online communication, legal research and practice skills. Our guests were Laura Bergus from Iowa who runs a legal podcast called Legal Geekery and writes for Lawyerist.com and Huma Rashid from Chicago’s John Marshall Law School, who runs a personal blog called The Reasonably Prudent Law Student where she offers budget fashion tips and thoughts on being a law student. Both Laura and Huma participate in the Social . . . [more]

The wonderful folks at AustLII, that powerhouse in the legal information institute movement, have just launched their International Law Library on WorldLII. From the press release [PDF]:

The International Law Library contains over 80,000 searchable documents for free access. This includes over 25,000 decisions of International Courts and Tribunals, over 30,000 treaties and international agreements (including the League of Nations and UN Treaty Series), international law journals and law reform materials. These materials cannot be jointly searched elsewhere on the Internet. AustLII’s LawCite citator tracks where international cases, treaties and law journal articles have been cited.

(A cavil: . . . [more]

Our British cousins are having more fun than we are with Google today. They’ve been given a dynamic doodle to play around with: a logo made up of coloured dots that scatter and then reform as you stir around with your cursor.

I have no idea why this should be so. Doubtless September 7 will turn out to be the anniversary of “….”, important to Brits. Regardless, however, head on across the pond and bounce a few balls around for the fun of it. . . . [more]

A recent article in the Globe & Mail discussed the phenomenon of older students in university, driven in part by the recession,

Universities across Canada report a growing number of mature undergraduates – typically adults older than 25 who have taken more than a year off school – who are choosing to study full-time in order to find new careers or increase their competitive edge in a job market that is still reeling from the economic downturn…

A 2009 study by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada found that full-time enrolment for students of all ages had increased

On many occasions we’ve posted on the need to communicate effectively about the law to a general public in non-technical prose. (e.g. Èducaloi, Public Legal Ed in New Brunswick via Twitter, Legal Problems in Ontario? You’re Not Alone, Your Rights – Your Language)

Lawyers — and those who work routinely with lawyers — often don’t recognise how much the concepts and vocabulary of the law constitute an effective barrier to communication. Bentham made the point long before us.

So we’re particularly pleased to support an excellent 2 day conference next month in Montréal organised by Educaloi . . . [more]

Unless the technology makes buyers’ lives dramatically simpler, more convenient, more productive, less risky, or more fun and fashionable, it will not attract the masses no matter how many awards it wins…Value innovation is not the same as technology innovation.
–W.Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy, page 120.

This is a column about legal technology, but sometimes legal innovation involves creating new business models that have little to do with technology. One such business model is called Lawyers Real Estate.

Peter Mericka is a Melbourne-based lawyer who is revolutionizing the sale of real estate in Australia. . . . [more]

We’re very pleased to announce that Jack Newton is joining Slaw as a regular contributor.

Jack is the co-founder and President of Clio, an important provider of cloud-based practice management software. He writes and speaks frequently about the security, ethical, and practical aspects of cloud computing and how practice management systems can be used to help lawyers practice efficiently.

If you’d like to see Jack in action, take a look at a video of an interview he gave at the ABA TechShow in 2009, where Clio was awarded “Best in Show.” Or listen to him on a Legal IT . . . [more]

Monterey College of Law in California is partnering with BARBRI, a law exam review/prep provider, to bring iPads to students in their first year law program this season. Students in their law school program tend to be older (average age 38), and the iPad is meant to help them better keep up with readings and study for bar exams.

From the August 25/10 article in Campus Technology:

“Many of our law students work the equivalent of three jobs. Between law school, work, and family, it is a constant challenge for them to set aside enough time during the

Ontario Regulation 34/10 to the Insurance Act became effective on September 1, 2010, along with several other significant changes affecting personal injury and motor vehicle collision practice in Ontario.

The Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Bar Association hosted a session to discuss these changes, The New Auto Insurance Regime – Practical Strategies for Radical Change, with John A. McLeish and Dale V. Orlando of McLeish Orlando LLP. A paper provided by Patrick Brown and Rikin Morzaria, also of McLeish Orlando LLP, outlined the changes.

Roger G. Oatley and James L. Vigmond of Oatley, . . . [more]