We have talked a number of times on Slaw about projects funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario. Even here at Slaw our re-development over the past several months has been assisted by a grant from the LFO. What impresses me with the LFO is that they put funding into projects that are of the interest of the public. One such effort is the Connecting Legal Interpretation Network.

Based on the June 2010 Access to Sign-Language Interpretation in Community Legal Settings: Report to the Law Foundation of Ontario [pdf] (“Sign Language Report”) and the earlier Connecting Report . . . [more]

And by Nkasi Adams

[Here at the University of Saskatchewan I have the pleasure of supervising graduate students working in the areas of Canadian Aboriginal law and international Indigenous rights. Last year Nkasi Adams, the first Indigenous woman to graduate from law school in Guyana, joined us at the University of Saskatchewan to pursue an LL.M. focussing on the tensions between Indigenous peoples’ rights and international measures to deal with climate change. I’m happy to have her provide most of the ideas and information for this month’s column. It’s something we don’t know enough about here in the north. . . . [more]

There are times when, in this age of rapid technological change, I’m tempted to think that Slaw’s five and a half years of life make it a veteran. Some research I’m doing has led me back to one of my root interests in poverty law and to a true legal veteran on the web, PovNet. This anti-poverty group gives legal advocacy a central role, which should make it of interest to Slaw readers. From their website:

PovNet began in 1997 with a meeting attended by community representatives from all over British Columbia. Not a computer in sight. Advocates talked

. . . [more]

I first posted this as a comment but it is better front and centre.

Hmmm…. unless I missed something – ok, missed something else – nobody has pointed out why SLAW didn’t get a CLawBies and why the overall award now has the name it does. They’re related.

Without more setup, then, the explanation from CLawbies. 

You’ll notice a couple of changes in our lineup from previous years. We’ve renamed our top award — “Best Canadian Law Blog or Blogger” — in honour of Professor Simon Fodden, one of the founders and the driving force behind Slaw, which is

. . . [more]

On January 13, 2011 I participated in a webinar by Finis Price, iPhone and iPad for Lawyers: Apps You Need to be Using. Price is a personal injury lawyer in Kentucky who blogs on TechnoEsq.

Price started by dispelling some misconceptions about the iPad, which is not just a bigger iPod Touch. Despite having the same screen type and operating system, the larger screen allows much more functionality than smaller mobile devices.

An iPad can help efficiency and lighten loads when traveling out of the office or going to court. Price accesses nearly anything in his office . . . [more]

Ontario LCBO to sell beer deemed illegal in several jurisdictions.

As an active participant in the eLawyering task force of the American Bar Association, I have volunteered to compile a list of the types of regulations that inhibit the growth of virtual law practice. In a world plagued by access to justice issues, these regulations add to the cost of operating a virtual law practice and can make it economically unfeasible to do so, particularly for solos. I am not advocating the wholesale demolition of ethical rules but I would like to point out areas of regulation that need to be rethought in the modern context, as they are impeding . . . [more]

Today I offer simply a video that is one of the quickest 4 minutes and 48 seconds you’ll likely experience. Statistician Hans Rosing, whom we’ve talked about before on Slaw, takes 200 countries on a dynamic and audacious gallop across 200 years, to show us how the world’s health and wealth have changed. He is, as usual, engaging, enthusiastic, and informative. And I really like his accent.

Watch it below, or on YouTube in somewhat less constrained dimensions.

. . . [more]

There’s an interesting post over at Language Log, “Language skills and the law” by Mark Liberman, that sets a conundrum a bit like those strange criminal law exam questions profs are supposed to love. In this case, set out by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the issue involves a person arrested for smuggling a large quantity of drugs from Mexico into the United States as a “mule” for a well-known gang. The problem with what would otherwise be a sad but routine matter is that the defendant has minimal language skills: he is profoundly hearing impaired and seems never . . . [more]

So, congratulations on the merger and keeping a lid on the news until recently. I didn’t see one leak of this news. It’s quite a feat keeping the media at bay. I know; I’ve worked on two mergers. They get one whiff of merger negotiations and they pounce on your most vulnerable chatterbox. I would bet you had plenty of partners who were DY-ING to tell the story. Those of us on the marketing side of law… well, we like a little drama and plus, we can be controlling too.

Media can be relentless. They try all points of entry . . . [more]

Writers from Canadian Lawyer and Law Times magazines have co-launched the Legal Feeds Blog. And with close to 40 posts in their first four weeks, it’s great to see such strong early volume and blogging enthusiasm! [and yes Gail, I was hoping a Clawbies mention would inspire everyone to keep up the early pace!]

One attribute that really stands out for me, and it’s really more about editorial approach than anything, is the mixed delivery styles for their blog content. Whether it’s an early preview to the day’s story, a roundup of newspaper headlines, or a short opinion . . . [more]

In the wake of last weekend’s mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, I thought it might be useful to see what kinds of gun control laws exist in that state.

According to a number of sources, in the state of Arizona, pretty much anyone can buy pretty much anything that shoots. No questions asked.

The Legal Community Against Violence is a California-based public interest law centre dedicated to preventing gun violence. Last July, it published Gun Laws Matter: A Comparison of State Firearms Laws and Statistics. All 50 states were ranked according to 25 different polices. Arizona came last: . . . [more]