Diamond Jubilee talk was nearly inescapable about a week ago, the Queen of Canada has been on throne for 60 years. This got me ta thinkin’ about Canada in 1952 and more specifically (because this is a law blog) about our legal institutions and specifically the Supreme Court of Canada 60 years ago.

In 1952 the SCC was adapting to recent changes as the court and indeed the nation entered a new phase of maturity as appeals to the Privy Council had been abolished in 1949 by 13 Geo IV c 37, whereby the SCC became the final court of . . . [more]

No matter how many tens—nay, hundreds—of thousands of words we have in English, we still feel the need to take a thought from column A and apply it against something in Column B, or C, or D. At its purest, this is metaphor: x is y goes the assertion that no one believes but almost everyone understands. And appreciates. Much of the time, rather than a crisp and literary metaphor, it’s a whole expression that’s ported from one trade to another, or just into common parlance. Thus, something can be “all Greek to you” even if Η γλώσσα δεν είναι . . . [more]

This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc.

Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like.

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Assume there are 2 lawyers with similar incomes, dependents, savings and debts. The only significant difference between them is their overall health and lifestyle choices.

Lawyer A is a male, 35 years old, exercises every day and plays soccer in the summer, hockey in the winter. His blood pressure, cholesterol and Body Mass Index score are excellent. He’s never smoked, drinks in moderation and looks 10 years younger than his actual age. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this guy’s health is better than average.

Lawyer B is also 35 years old. He wants to exercise, but never finds . . . [more]

As traditional computers and laptops increasingly compete against mobile devices like Apple’s iPads and iPhones, every business that operates online will be forced to reevaluate the effectiveness of their delivery. Asking questions like, “How well have we replicated our web experience on mobile devices?” Or, in cases where the mobile interface has been completely re-engineered, “What’s missing when comparing the two experiences?”

Admittedly, the necessity for this kind of comparison is still in its infancy in the legal market. But probably not for much longer; higher percentages of mobile visitors may be here in as little as 12 to 18 . . . [more]

Statistics Canada has published an article in its Juristat publication on Police-reported clearance rates in Canada, 2010.

The article shows that police are solving more crimes than in the past.

Among the highlights:

• In 2010, three-quarters of homicides were solved by police.
• In 2010, almost three-quarters of violent crimes were solved by police compared with about one-quarter of property crimes.
• Police solved just over 8 in 10 aggravated assault and aggravated sexual assault incidents in 2010, among the highest clearance rates for violent offences.
• About 4 in 10 robberies were solved by police, the lowest of any violent offence.

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There is so much talk these days about the business of law: rainmaking, marketing, business development, etc. All of this in pursuit of landing “clients”. Truth be told, it is actually quite easy to land a client. Many lawyers find to their surprise months or even years later that some casual encounter is actually deemed to constitute a “solicitor-client relationship” or at least the makings of one.

This has huge ramifications for a lawyer in terms of the law of conflicts of interest, the ethical duty of confidentiality and the client’s substantive right of solicitor-client privilege. It can also be . . . [more]

This year, at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12), the International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR)s will be renegotiated. The ITRs are set of regulations set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations entity tasked with overseeing, well, international telecommunications standards. It has been widely rumored for some time now that the upcoming WCIT-12 will see a vote to amend the ITRs to expand their scope so as to more clearly include matters of Internet governance. An amendment of this nature would potentially create a new venue for international Internet law — one that operates very differently from existing . . . [more]

There was a time when the career path of a lawyer was straighter than an arrow.

You went to law school, articled with a firm that hired you as an associate. You worked hard, made partner, at some point took part in management, then retired.

Or perhaps you shifted your practice to one other firm, but essentially the road in front of you was well-worn and clear.

Yes, I’m talking about life before 1990.

Now the road is strewn with rocks and pebbles, and juts around landslides.

The career path of lawyers is less linear.

As a result, an interesting . . . [more]

According to a recent study conducted by the Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Quebec's Human Rights Commission), equally skilled and qualified candidates are 60 percent more likely to be invited to a job interview when their family name is of "Québécois origin" (as stated in the study) than if it sounds like a name of African, Arab or Latin-American origin.

It was just about 50 years ago that Arthur C. Clarke wrote Profiles of the future: an inquiry into the limits of the possible (New York: Harper & Row, 1962) [Amicus No. 10912514]. On page 19, he wrote:

Suppose you went to any scientist up to the late nineteenth century and told him: "Here are two pieces of a substance called uranium 235. If you hold them apart, nothing will happen. But if you bring them together suddenly, you will liberate as much energy as you could obtain from burning ten thousand tons of coal." No matter how

. . . [more]

Further to the post earlier today about passwords at LinkedIn being hacked, LinkedIn has issued the following update:

Our security team continues to investigate this morning’s reports of stolen passwords. At this time, we’re still unable to confirm that any security breach has occurred. You can stay informed of our progress by following us on Twitter @LinkedIn and @LinkedInNews.

While our investigation continues, we thought it would be a good idea to remind our members that one of the best ways to protect your privacy and security online is to craft a strong password, to change it frequently (at . . . [more]