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Archive for March, 2011

…And Now for Something Completely Different

I normally try to avoid posting about items that have been discussed elsewhere but I believe this merits a Slaw post. I’m sure many of have seen what follows in other forums (it was brought to my attention by a colleague) but this causes you to think a bit differently and more of that is good on a Monday morning. Okay maybe it isn’t completely different but it takes something you know well and does it differently and makes you wonder about the future of publishing and just what an ebook is or more specifically what an ebook might be. . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information: Publishing, Miscellaneous, Reading: Recommended

Kicking Into (Over)drive

A storm broke on February 26th when word got out that publisher HarperCollins had unilaterally decided to limit the “shelf life” of its ebooks catalogue. Overdrive, a major distributor of ebooks in the public library world, found itself caught between the publishing powerhouse and a furious library community when it was announced that library loans of ebooks would be capped at 26. After that, the book will disappear from the library’s collection automatically. If the licensing library wished to keep the title, another virtual book would have to be purchased.

I was attending Podcamp Toronto at the time, so . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information

An Exciting Day at the Ontario Superior Court

By the judge’s own admission, February 24, 2011 was an exciting day at the Superior Court of Justice in St. Catherine’s, Ontario. J.W. Quinn J. stated in the costs decision released March 2, 2011 in Pirbhai v. Singh,

[1] This is an exciting day (and excitement does not often make it to my end of the courtroom). It marks the final chapter (at least at the trial stage) of the now-tiresome 12-year tale of what will be, by paragraph [134] of these Reasons, the most expensive Lexus motor vehicle in the world.

The costs decision deals with legal issues . . . [more]

Posted in: Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions

New Canadian Regulator for Immigration Consultants

This is a follow up on a previous blog post on Bill C-35, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to regulate immigration consultants. While Bill C-35 is not yet law (passed third reading in the House of Commons and on March 10, 2011 was at report presentation and debate stage in the Senate), the Governor in Council launched a public selection process which began in August 2010, to establish a new regulatory body for immigration consultants in Canada. On March 18, 2011, the Governor in Council announced that the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council . . . [more]

Posted in: Substantive Law, Substantive Law: Legislation

CRTC Usage Based Billing Timeline

The CRTC has released its timline for consultations on Usage-Based Billing (UBB). We’ve been following the story at Slaw here and here. A good source for updates on the issue is Lindsay Pinto’s blog at Open Media.ca, and of course Michael Geist is providing excellent commentary.

The whole issue is particularly interesting because of the strong reaction the proposal has provoked in Canadian consumers. If I had to guess, I’d say that UBB is irksome to Canadians mainly because of the unreasonable caps proposed, and the transparently anti-competitive character of the caps (and this on multiple fronts). . . . [more]

Posted in: Technology: Internet

The Friday Fillip

Deciding disputes is a big thing for human beings — as readers of this blog are bound to know. Sometimes we opt for a facsimile of reason, other times we court fate with chance, as when we toss a coin or throw a die. (We’ll leave aside the urge to cause harm in order to decide, with such lovelies as ducking, trial by battle, and peine forte et dure.) A variation on the theme of chance is the game of rock, paper, scissors. I say variation, because although the game is apparently unskilled, it involves two people in harmless contest . . . [more]

Posted in: Miscellaneous

‘In-House Counsel, They Have It So Easy’

Almost a year ago, I closed my private practice and accepted a position as in-house counsel. It was an intriguing challenge: I had acted as a kind of “outsourced” in-house counsel to a number of companies, and I now had the opportunity to do that work full time. I was swapping all of my clients for one, and giving up being my own boss in exchange for having one (accompanied by a regular paycheque and a number of extra benefits).

I don’t regret the decision at all. It’s been a fascinating challenge, and I’m relishing all of the new opportunities. . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law

Canada Beta Tests for NYTimes

The NYTimes is rolling out their digital subscriber plans starting on March 28th. Unless… you live north of the border!

Starting today, we Canadians have been designated the beta test country of choice:

Canada residents only: Please visit the order page to get unlimited access to NYTimes.com, plus the NYTimes app for your smartphone. Other subscription packages, which include our tablet apps, will be available on March 28, 2011.

Outside Canada: Digital subscription packages will be available for purchase on March 28, 2011.

The Times even felt compelled to give us FAQ#2 “Why are you launching in Canada

. . . [more]
Posted in: Miscellaneous

U.S. Law Librarians Release 19th Annual National Legal Research Teach-in Kit

The Research Instruction and Patron Services (RIPS) division of the American Association of Law Libraries has just released its 19th Annual National Legal Research Teach-In Kit.

Every year, RIPS gathers together PowerPoint presentations, research assignments, lesson plans, syllabi, and instructional handouts on a variety of topics. It is a great resource if you need inspiration for developing your own legal research material. There is also a list of kits from previous years on the RIPS website.

Canadian law librarians have also been sharing instructional materials thanks to the efforts of the Courthouse and Law Society Libraries Special Interest Group . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information: Libraries & Research

AODA Era Part II: What’s Up Next? the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation

People have not been paying much attention to the application of standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA); however, they are coming soon, are complex and require understanding and preparation. In the first part of this post, we discussed the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07). Now, will take a look at what’s coming next, the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation.
Posted in: Practice of Law, Substantive Law, Substantive Law: Legislation

Multi-Country Outsourcing Agreement

Multi-country outsourcing means customer engages supplier to deliver outsourcing services to its affiliated entities in various jurisdictions. Structuring and negotiating a long-lasting outsourcing relationship require the parties to effectively manage many risks. Multi-country outsourcing deals multiple the challenges.

There are different ways to structure a multi-country outsourcing relationship. The most commonly used approach is to have a framework agreement between the two principal entities and local agreement between local entities of the two organizations. The terms and conditions in the framework agreement will flow to the local entities except to the extent they have been modified in the local agreement. . . . [more]

Posted in: Outsourcing