The recent announcement of EY’s proposed acquisition of one hundred percent of the shares in Riverview Law (closing at the end of August, 2018) has elicited a number of different responses around the globe all speculating on what this transaction means for the future of legal services? Was this a lifeline to Riverview Law? Will clients really want legal and accounting to be done by the same firm? Aren’t the Big Four just marginally less clunky than Biglaw? Will BigLaw be worried? Some of those comments are here.

But like all fast-breaking stories, there is some fog. So it’s . . . [more]

In my defence, I had no idea what I was starting.

When I published a blog post recently about lawyers’ tendency to wear too many hats in law firms, I thought it would be amusing to name the post (and the tendency) after a quote from The Simpsons. Furthermore, when promoting the post on Twitter, I (perhaps rashly) called the quote “the greatest line in the show’s history.”

That assessment did not pass unchallenged. Canadian legal types Alison Crone, Colin Lachance, Ava Chisling, and Julie Sobowale all chimed in with their nominees. “Well,” I said carelessly, . . . [more]

Law societies shouldn’t accredit law schools that have discriminatory admissions policies. In my view, this statement has always been morally true. But we now know that this statement is legally true thanks to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in the two recent TWU cases (see, here and here).

The Court’s analysis in both cases purportedly proceeded under a “reasonableness” standard of review and, thus, professed not to speak directly to the ultimate correctness of the law societies’ refusals to accredit a proposed law school that, to use the Court’s words, “effectively bars many LGBTQ people from attending.” Viewed . . . [more]

Periodically on Thursdays, we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.

Grace and Wisdom: Patrick G. Kerwin, Chief Justice of Canada

ISBN: 9781927032978 (hardcover), 9781927032688 (softcover)
Page count: 340
Publication date: May 2018
Price: $36 (hardcover) or $24 (softcover), + $5 shipping
To purchase: visit www.chiefjusticekerwin.ca or Petra Books
Publisher: Petra Books
© Stephen G. McKenna 2018
Contact: contact@chiefjusticekerwin.ca

Excerpts from various chapters . . . [more]

In Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business, and the World, Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott discuss the potential for blockchain in changing our world. Blockchain is a list of records (blocks) that are linked using cryptography. The list of records are permanent, open, and time stamped. The records are linked using algorithms that are almost impossible to break.

Don and Alex Tapscott write that blockchain could be used to transform our judiciary. For example, they cite the concept of CrowdJury. “CrowdJury looks to transform the justice system by putting several judicial processes online, using both . . . [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. Price v. H. Lundbeck A/S, 2018 ONSC 4333 (CanLII)

Approximately three and a half years ago, pursuant to the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, [Plaintiff] commenced a proposed class action against H. Lundbeck A/S and Lundbeck Canada Inc. (collectively “Lundbeck”), which are pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the drug “citalopram,” under the brand name Celexa®.

[2] Citalopram is an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) indicated . . . [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 practice, research, writing and technology.

Practice

Think Twice About Free Services From Google
Andrea Cannavina

So I belong to this listserv of mostly attorneys and everyone is talking about how they use Google for this and Google for that and all I can think is … is it just me?! Why would anyone wish Google to be scanning and indexing their business records and documents – let alone a bunch of attorneys? …

Research . . . [more]

Precedent figures heavily in most law practises, so it’s understandable that lawyers would rely heavily on past experiences and belief systems in the running of their lives. Life experience can create wisdom. It can also lead to our greatest weak spots. In over twenty years of coaching lawyers, my primary goal has been to help them to identify and overcome old belief systems that are no longer working for them but that they continue to use to the detriment of their careers.

For example:

• A lawyer who is held back from partnership because of a lack of delegation, but can’t

Canada’s unique health care system, which is publicly funded but largely privately administered, is one of the most important political and public policy issues in our society.

Negotiations between physicians and the government in Ontario in past years has been strained, with the parties unable to achieve an agreement on Jan. 15, 2015. In the years that have followed, there has been greater scrutiny of these negotiations, especially by members of the public who are concerned about the effect on patient care. Ontario spends $11.6 billion on compensation to doctors, $7.9 billion of which is fee-for-service under the Ontario Health . . . [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.

LOUAGE DE CHOSES : Le recours en modification des conditions du bail en vertu de l’article 1947 C.C.Q. n’est pas le recours approprié lorsque la demande du locateur vise à sanctionner le comportement du locataire, en l’occurrence sa consommation de cannabis dans les lieux loués.

Intitulé : Cholette c. Cuellar, . . . [more]

Canada’s anti-spam law (CASL) addresses much more than unwanted commercial messages. CASL also prohibits, among other things, installation of software onto a person’s computer without consent. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) exercises enforcement powers in respect of the software provisions of CASL.

The CRTC reported on July 11, 2018 that their Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer has issued Notices of Violation to Datablocks and Sunlight Media for allegedly aiding in the installation of malicious computer programs through the distribution of online advertising. This is the first time the CRTC has taken action against the installation of malicious software . . . [more]