Over the past year, I have written a series of articles on the theme of (re)building a law library. Obviously, I attach great value to the concept of library as place: my previous column was on that very topic. For me, the expression “virtual library” is somewhat of a misnomer, for a library cannot be virtual if it exists in space and that space has a function. I much prefer the expression “digital library” to describe the non-physical aspect of the library collection, not the library itself, though the two are related and must be integrated in a . . . [more]

The British newspaper The Guardian has compiled data on who is being arrested for the recent riots in the United Kingdom.

It makes for a fascinating story:

In an indication of the tough justice being meted out to people accused of offences related to this week’s riots, a Guardian analysis of more than 120 cases before magistrates courts so far has found the majority of defendants being remanded in custody – even when they have pleaded guilty to relatively minor offences.

As hundreds of cases fly through specially-convened night sittings of magistrates courts, the Guardian is embarking on a project

. . . [more]

Those of us Canadians who live in Toronto or Vancouver know not to be smug about England’s riots; we’ve been there recently, albeit on a smaller scale, thankfully. We might, however, be in a good position to reflect on the question of why people riot, or, to put it impersonally, because a mob does seem to deprive its members of effective personhood, what makes a riot. On a personal note, I can attest to this mob mentality, having been in a riot in my youth — one, I might add, that had absolutely no good pretext and was formed entirely . . . [more]

Fastcase has just announced the Fastcase 50, the “fifty most interesting, provocative, and courageous leaders in the world of law, scholarship, and legal technology”. The entire list is interesting but let’s mention 5 friends who may be familiar to Slaw readers.

Congratulations to each of them:

David Whelan
David Whelan is a lawyer, librarian, and technologist who has truly seen it all. He currently serves as the Manager of Legal Information for the Law Society of Upper Canada (as head librarian of the Great Library, the job is often referred to as “the Great Librarian”). David previously served as . . . [more]

The issue of succession for small firms and solo practitioners has received a significant amount of attention of late in Canada. The attention stems from a demographic reality that sees the majority of lawyers in many provinces in the country in excess of 50 years old and a general recognition that a substantial amount of these lawyers have not adequately planned for succession. Concerns regarding succession are especially poignant for small firms and solo practitioners who often suffer from a lack of resources to address succession issues but who are the most at risk for negative consequences due to an . . . [more]

These are notes are from a panel discussion session at the American Bar Association 2011 conference in Toronto last Friday, one of the Solo Day 2011 talks. Panelists included Charley Moore, founder of RocketLawyer, San Francisco, CA; Carolyn Elefant, solo practitioner and blogger (see MyShingle.com), Washington, DC , and Jay S. Fleischman, consumer bankruptcy lawyer at Shaev & Fleischman (see NewYorkBankruptcyHelp.com and BankruptcyLawNetwork.com) and online legal marketing consultant at www.LegalPracticePro.com . Note: these are my selected notes from this session; any inaccuracies or omissions are my own. I welcome your comments and follow-up thoughts! . . . [more]

The Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner recently confirmed that Alberta Health Services (AHS) breached the rights of one of its employees by intentionally using information from his addiction counselling against him during a human resources investigation. The breach of the employee’s personal health information clearly contravened the Health Information Act (HIA).

Those of us who need to know such things know that the SCC granted leave to appeal in Clements v Clements 2011 CanLII 36004 (from 2010 BCCA 581) where the issue will be the meaning of the Canadian material-contribution doctrine (and maybe some other things about proof of causation in Canadian tort law should the Court deign to go there.)

In the meantime, a judge of the New South Wales, Australia, Court of Appeal has, conveniently, written a primer on the subject: Evans v Queanbeyan City Council [2011] NSWCA 230. . . . [more]

When did you last review your website profile? Can’t remember? Then it’s out of date and not working for you. 

Lawyer profiles are the most-read section on law firm websites. They are also the most readily adapted law firm marketing materials, so there’s no excuse for letting them languish. If you’re submitting a proposal to, or meeting with, a prospective new client, you can tailor your profile to suit that client’s needs. A profile is a work in progress, like a will.

Like any other piece of good writing, your profile should keep the reader in mind. There’s a very . . . [more]

Apparently some of the British rioters have been communicating using Blackberrys. Which resulted in a suggestion that Blackberry should suspend its instant messaging service until things quiet down.

That kind of reaction never ceases to amaze me. 

As if when that was shut down, the riots and destruction would stop because the malfeasants couldn’t communicate any more. And of course consider the effect on the average Blackberry user who is without service as a result. Attempts to shut the entire internet have not stopped people from doing what they are doing, let alone 1 mode of communication. That’s no different . . . [more]

When you teach at law school, as I have, you become familiar with a variety of reasons as to why students choose to study law—perhaps there’s a history of lawyers in the family; or their parents want them to do something, anything professional; or they want to right wrongs, get that BMW, enter politics, point damning fingers at witnesses… Even with those students who wound up in law school with apparently only a shrug for a reason, some explanation eventually surfaced.

Now there is a novel explanation—at least for a small portion of the student body. Two recent studies have . . . [more]

In early July, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the constitutionality of Bill 30, An Act respecting bargaining units in the social affairs sector and amending the Act respecting the process of negotiation of the collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors. The bill was originally declared unconstitional by the Superior Court of Quebec in 2007.

In coming to its decision, the Court of Appeal relied primarily on two Supreme Court decisions: 2007’s Health Services and Support – Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia and Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser, decided in April of this . . . [more]