Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from forty-one recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Doorey’s Law of Work  2. Official Clio Blog  3. Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style  4. Thoughtful Legal Management  5. Clicklaw Blog

Doorey’s Law of Work
Unpaid Intern Scams Continue to Flourish in Ontario. What Can be Done?
Almost every ‘unpaid internship’ that is not affiliated with an educational institution is unlawful in Ontario. That simple statement seems to baffle a lot of HRM folks and companies who use unpaid internships. I’m not sure why. We should assume that if people do work for a business, they should be paid for it. Yet there seems to be a belief that by calling someone an ‘intern’, an employer can magically avoid all of the employment laws put in place to protect workers under our laws. In our law, there is no such thing as an unpaid intern. Intern appears no where in the Employment Standards Act. It is a term made up by employers. You begin from the assumption that someone who comes to work, and performs work, is entitled to be paid for that work.

Official Clio Blog
Mobile Connectivity in the Workplace
One of my responsibilities at Clio is to manage the IT needs of this fast growing startup. We are always looking at ways to manage the technology coming into offices now. With the concept of the cloud and mobile connectivity, technology is racing ahead. I recently went to a seminar hosted by one of the larger Internet service providers in the area. They brought up some great statistics regarding mobile connectivity and devices in the workplace, including:
· 2/3 of the workforce will own smartphones by 2016 – Gartner
· 14 million Canadian workers will be fully mobile by 2015 – IDC
· 57% of workers use social media for business purpose at least once per week – IDC
· 50% of CIOs expect to operate applications via the cloud by 2015 – Gartner
· 3 of the top 10 CIO business priorities in 2013 are reducing costs, increasing growth and driving innovation – Gartner

Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style
Lax O’Sullivan Scott Lisus // Law firm website of the month
Although it’s almost a year old, the website for boutique firm Lax O’Sullivan Scott Lisus (LOSL) hasn’t lost its charm. The complex commercial litigation firm’s quirky website reflects a group of lawyers who take work seriously, but not themselves. Its highlights are a hilarious Christmas card collection that includes Trailer Park Boys and Elvis-themed seasons greetings, and a scrollable image of all 20 of the firm’s lawyers sitting on one digitally-elongated couch.

Thoughtful Legal Management
Protect Your Data (from Snoops and others…)
(This post was just posted to Slawtips.ca and I thought it fit here as well). Prism, the National Security Electronic Surveillance program operated by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) has caught a great deal of press lately. This surveillance program has raised questions as to how individuals can protect their data from being snooped upon. These revelations have led to discussions on ways that allow people to use encryption for protection. I have been advising lawyers to use encryption technology for some time. When contacted by a lawyer who has had a laptop stolen from a car or elsewhere my first question to them is: ”Did you have the laptop encrypted or just password protected?” I have yet to encounter a yes to encryption. Unfortunately it is all-too-easy to break a Windows password or otherwise gain access to the data on the laptop – for example, see: How to Break Into a Windows PC (and Prevent it from Happening to You).

Clicklaw Blog
National Aboriginal Day: Honoring Canada’s Diverse Culture
On June 21st provinces and territories across Canada will begin celebrations marking National Aboriginal Day. From coast to coast we will be able to catch a glimpse of festive performances, tune in to traditional story telling sessions and learn more about the vast contributions made by Canada’s First Nation’s, Inuit and Métis peoples. Did you know that almost every area of law, from consumer to family law, is affected by Aboriginal legal issues? One of Clicklaw’s Common Questions – Where can I find an overview of how the law is different for Aboriginal people? – offers links to resources with information on key differences in the law of Aboriginal people.
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*Randomness here is created by Random.org and its list randomizing function.