Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 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. BC Injury Law and ICBC Claims Blog  2. Excess Copyright 3. Legal Sourcery  4. Library Boy  5. Cowling Legal

BC Injury Law and ICBC Claims Blog
Limitation Period Not Postponed Where “Injuries Prove to be More Severe Than Initially Believed”

Today the BC Court of Appeal published . . . [more]

The perception of lawyers among the general public is a concern that often emerges among those in leadership positions in the profession.

Granted, some of that negative reputation may be warranted, and there are lawyers who put their own self-interests before their clients, or who behave aggressively and inappropriately with other parties. But these lawyers are still the exception, even in an era of controversy over civility.

Those of us in the field usually know and appreciate that lawyers are the fabric of civilized society, and we ensure that fairness and justice permeate every aspect of society where we are . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Reconnu coupable de voies de fait simples dans une affaire où il a appliqué la technique de contrôle articulaire, l’appelant, un policier dont la défense reposait sur l’article 25 C.Cr., échoue dans tous ses moyens d’appel.

Intitulé : Paul c. R., 2017 QCCA 245
Juridiction : Cour . . . [more]

The telephone is old technology. Recent reports have shown that speaking by phone may be on the way out. However, the telephone is still an important part of the toolkit for tribunals in ensuring access to justice. Videoconferencing is the (relatively) new flavour in administrative justice, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the telephone as an accessible and technologically easier tool.

A recent Ontario Divisional Court decision has highlighted the advantages of teleconference hearings: “[a teleconference hearing] can be a useful tool for Tribunals to have to hold hearings fairly and expeditiously, especially given the size of this Province”. . . . [more]

A recent Supreme Court of British Columbia decision reveals that an award for aggravated and/or punitive damages is not automatic where termination for cause is not justified and upheld by the court. . . . [more]

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Canada published a statistical overview of its work for the decade from 2006 to 2016.

It provides data on the following:

• “Cases Filed”
• “Applications for Leave Submitted”
• “Appeals Heard”: by category of law, by regional origin, as of right/by leave
• “Appeal Judgments”: the number of judgments rendered each year, how many were unanimous, how many were delivered from the bench/reserved
• “Average Time Lapses”

I was recently honoured with an invitation from Dave Bilinsky and Tom Spraggs to present at the Law Firm Knowledge Management webcast as part of the recent CLE TV Solo and Small Firm Seminar Series hosted by CLEBC. Having moved from running the Knowledge Management program at one of BC’s largest firms to practising law at an IP boutique this year, I possibly had a unique perspective to bring to the table.

I started the webcast with Lew Platt’s famous lament while CEO of Hewlett Packard, which is a kind of touchstone in Knowledge Management, and one I often hear . . . [more]

Privacy breaches and complaints can often be resolved cooperatively. We usually hear about the large, dramatic, far reaching breaches more so than the smaller ones that get resolved.

The privacy commissioner just released some examples.

In one example, a malfeasant social engineered some information from customer service representatives that enabled the malfeasant to contact customers and try to obtain more information that could be used for fraud. The business investigated, contacted the individuals who may have been compromised, and took steps to reduce the chances of it happening again.

In another situation, a rogue employee took customer information . . . [more]

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. R. v. Clifford, 2016 BCCA 336

[19] In this case, there was no “independent” or “other” evidence of fabrication that would bring the appellant’s statements into the exception to the general rule that a disbelieved alibi cannot be used to support an inference of guilt. Although my colleague takes the view that the appellant’s response to the RCMP that he did . . . [more]

The transition from a world of legal documents on paper to one of electronic documents still encounters difficulties after all these years. One of the main ones seems to be the nature of the electronic signature. I recently described the focus on e-signatures as a “fetish” for its ability to distract analysis from the real issues or to create them when none really exist.

Much of the early law that intended to remove legal barriers to electronic commerce required that valid electronic signatures needed to be as reliable as appropriate in the circumstances. This requirement is misguided. It leaves the . . . [more]

Algorithms are behind the most sophisticated kidney exchange programs in the world. In Canada, the Canadian Blood Services has built a national Living Donor Paired Exchange Registry. The Registry helps incompatible living donors receive a kidney transplant.

Pairs are matched by comparing the medical information from all pairs in the database and by identifying pairs that might be able to exchange donors. The Registry may also identify a series of pairs that could exchange kidneys in a chain like fashion. For example, your mother is willing to donate a kidney to you but you are incompatible with her. But another  . . . [more]