♫ It’s coming down, it’s coming down, it’s coming down
These clouds could never hope to save us…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Thrice.

On Nov. 17, 2014 Jack Newton posted on Slaw: “Did the LSBC Just Kill Cloud Computing for Lawyers in BC?”

To set the record straight, the death of cloud computing for BC lawyers has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Cloud computing for BC lawyers is alive and well. What the Benchers have recently done is adopt rule changes based on the report and recommendations of the Cloud . . . [more]

I am horribly embarrassed for my neighbours (in the broad sense) in the federal Yellowhead riding. CBC News reported:

Voter turnout in the federal by-election could near a historic low, with CBC estimating that fewer than one in five eligible voters making the trip to the polls.

A sad tone for democracy when less than one in five people feels engaged enough to vote in a federal by-election. This phenomenon isn’t new; the June 30, 2014 by-election for Macleod saw ~18% voter turnout. On the plus side, there were no lines at the polling station.

The tone for Provincial politics . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Technology

Passphrases Can Help You Remember Complex Passwords*
Dan Pinnington

Creating a long, unique, complex (letters in upper and lower case, numbers and symbols) and random password for every service you use is the best practice standard when it comes to using secure and strong passwords. If you follow this advice however, your passwords will be an unreadable mix of letters, numbers and characters….

Research

Fast, Convenient and Mobile
Shaunna . . . [more]

I can’t stop thinking about the law society decisions on Trinity Western University (TWU). Part of the reason for that is the complexity and difficulty of the substantive issue raised by TWU’s proposed law school: the proper resolution of an irreducible conflict between equality rights and freedom of religion (I discuss that here). But as I spent the last few weeks teaching administrative law procedural fairness, I realized that the other thing bothering me about the law society decisions is the process used to reach them.

As far as I can tell, each law society that has independently considered . . . [more]

In a very brief decision, Justice Lemon of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice cut right to the point when he asked for cost submissions of no more than three pages and ended up with much more from both sides.

Justice Lemon stated that neither costs

“submission is of assistance to me. When I ask for no more than three pages, I expect to get no more than three pages. When I ask for costs submissions, I expect to get a Bill of Costs in readable form. I do not expect to get a badly copied, small print version . . . [more]

The British Columbia branch of the Canadian Bar Association’s annual conference is an excellent way to earn CPD while connecting with friends in the BC legal profession. Attendees enjoy a well hosted slate of speakers, great company, and time away from the usual hustle, plus it’s usually held somewhere much warmer than BC. Normally this temperature difference is climate-related—although this year in Phoenix, during the final seconds of Jack Newton’s session on cloud computing, the mercury in the room rose a little higher than even the Valley of the Sun could take credit for.

Jack, a fellow SLAW contributor and . . . [more]

The recent revisions to Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct do not contain the words ‘computer’, ‘information technology’, or ‘electronic’, except in the latter case for a reference to the electronic registration of real estate transfers.

Is this a desirable demonstration of technology neutrality or a missed opportunity to give useful direction to the profession on an increasingly important aspect of the practice of law?

Monica Goyal, who makes her living in the law-and-technology world, suggests in her recent column for the Law Times that the rules should give some guidance.

Do you agree?

If not, have you read the long . . . [more]

As a frequent public speaker, I’ve seldom found myself speechless on stage, however, last week I stood in front of an audience of over 200 lawyers in stunned silence for the first time in recent memory. I did so after the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) President, Jan Lindsay, boldly pronounced that, in no uncertain terms, BC lawyers are prohibited from using US-based cloud computing providers.

To set the stage, let me rewind to Friday, November 14. I was invited to talk at the CBABC Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ. My topic, “The Security and Ethics of Cloud Computing,” . . . [more]

Like many areas of practice, family law is going through a period of change. Both clients and their lawyers are questioning traditional modes of practice. Economic woes both cause legal problems, and leave clients with limited resources with which to resolve them. Stress – for both families in crisis and for their lawyers – is a constant reality. Still, within this challenging climate, family lawyers are expected to work diligently and professionally in the service of their clients’ interests.

To understand how the bar is coping with the demands of modern family law practice, we invited a sampling of lawyers . . . [more]

Here at the CBA Legal Futures Initiative, we’ve sought to demonstrate to the Canadian legal profession that great opportunities await those who embrace change; opportunities to put clients at the centre of our work, to better serve Canadians, to provide new kinds of services, to open up new models of legal service delivery, to work in conjunction with others, and most importantly, to creatively re-imagine what it means to “be a lawyer” in the future.

We launched our flagship report, Futures: Transforming the Delivery of Legal Services in Canada, in August of this year. Contained within the report are . . . [more]

“Disruption equals opportunity“–Robert Ambrogi

What’s that Chinese proverb? Oh yes, “In every crisis, there is opportunity.” That is Robert Ambrogi‘s position in this great post from last month, “Turning Challenges into Opportunities: New Directions for Legal Information Professionals.” . . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from sixty 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. Michael Geist 2. Youth and Work 3. Blogue du CRL 4. Library Boy 5. Barry Sookman

Michael Geist
Why Does the Ontario Provincial Police Still Not Know What is in the Lawful Access Bill?

Earlier this week, I posted on Ontario Provincial Police comments at the Standing Senate Committee . . . [more]