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Archive for December, 2018

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 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. Timely Disclosure 2. Official Clio Blog 3. Susan On The Soapbox 4. Global Workplace Insider 5. Canadian Class Actions Monitor

Timely Disclosure
The Big MAC: Affirmed

Days ago, the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware issued an order succinctly affirming the Delaware Court of Chancery’s judgment 

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

The Big 3 Legal Issues for 2019

There are lots of legal topics that will likely make headlines in 2019, but here are my top 3 pick for hot or important legal issues in the new year:

  1. Cannabis-related litigation will abound.The much anticipated legislation for marijuana legalization was already delayed by punting back and forth by the Senate. Implementation in Ontario was further hampered by restrictions on sales and distribution issues due to the postal strike. Most cannabis in Ontario is currently still sourced illegally.
    There have been plenty of conversations about the potential implications of marijuana legalization in Canada, spanning everything from its use in the
. . . [more]
Posted in: Justice Issues

Summaries Sunday: OnPoint Legal Research

One Sunday each month OnPoint Legal Research provides Slaw with an extended summary of, and counsel’s commentary on, an important case from the British Columbia, Alberta, or Ontario court of appeal.

Clancy v. Clancy, 2018 BCCA 448

AREAS OF LAW: Summary judgment; Family law; Formal order; Want of jurisdiction

~The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal in which the appellant takes no issue with the order made in the court below, but contends that it should have been granted for reasons other than those expressed in the judgment.~

BACKGROUND

The Appellant, John Clancy, . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

A Good Way to End the Year

The Washington Post reported on 19 December that justice was the word of the year 2018, based on data about searches on the online dictionary Merriam-Webster. Interesting. It seems there was a constant need for this word. The writer of the piece adds: “[w]hat we saw with justice in 2018 was more like a continuous sequence of bumps in the data rather than a single outstanding spike.”

A movement is under way. No, not populism or Islamic extremism. A movement to get justice systems to produce better value. To be more precise: to get ministries of justice, bar associations, . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law

Lessons From Cannabis Law

Cannabis law is taking the legal profession by storm. Look at the websites of top national firms, of mid-size firms, of small boutiques and of sole practitioners. It seems everyone is practicing cannabis law. Or at least claiming to.

This development has not been evolutionary; it has been revolutionary. Five years ago, cannabis law was the domain of a few criminal defence lawyers, some activist lawyers and the bold willing to do work for clients in the small medical marijuana field.

Cannabis law reflects the dramatic shift to a now partially legal activity. That change has come about quickly and . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Education

Book Review: Responding to Human Trafficking: Dispossession, Colonial Violence, and Resistance Among Indigenous and Racialized Women

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Responding to Human Trafficking: Dispossession, Colonial Violence, and Resistance among Indigenous and Racialized Women. By Julie Kaye. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017. xxii, 279 p. Includes appendices, endnotes, bibliographic references, and index. ISBN 978-1-4875-2161-5 (softcover) $29.95.

Reviewed by Angela Gibson
Library Support Assistant
Bora Laskin Law Library, University of . . . [more]

Posted in: Book Reviews

Law, Norms and Moral Authority

Taking a break from the merry of merry Christmas and thinking about the last year, I can’t help focusing on the extent to which law, norms and moral authority have been diminished in Ontario since June 2018 and the beginning of the Ford government. We often refer to governments or administrations by the name of the premier or prime minister (or presidents), but in this case, from all accounts, the term seems particularly apropos: this is a government run from the centre at the diktat of the premier. Nothing on the face of it makes this clear than the continued . . . [more]

Posted in: Justice Issues

Tips Tuesday

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

Build a Business Development System
Sandra Bekhor

The last thing any busy lawyer wants to add to their already overflowing plate is business development. Scratch that. The last thing any busy lawyer wants is the pressure to come up with a ‘winning’ new idea for business development and then to work on implementing that idea on an urgent basis. Here’s the problem. While you may be too busy . . . [more]

Posted in: Tips Tuesday

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 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. Legal Post Blog 2. Susan On The Soapbox 3. Municipal Matters 4. DroitDu.Net OK 5. Michael Geist

Legal Post Blog
The key players in Bernie Madoff’s orbit: Ten years later, what’s become of them?

It was great being in Bernie Madoff’s orbit, until it wasn’t. For decades,

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

A Place Apart, Yet in the Community

The process of judicial appointments is probably one of the most important ways that the political branch of government affects the judicial branch. In their selection of candidates, a lawyer’s experiences and community involvement certainly should be considered in conjunction with their professional achievements.

The changes to the appointment process, introduced on Oct. 20, 2016, have improved considerably the selection and diversity of these candidates, especially as compared to the track record of the previous government, whose appointments appeared to be primarily based on political patronage and factors related to false estimations of prestige. As a result, 98% of these . . . [more]

Posted in: Justice Issues, Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions

Summaries Sunday: Supreme Advocacy

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all appeals as well as leaves to appeal granted so you will know what the SCC will soon be dealing with (November 16 to December 21, 2018 inclusive).

Oral Judgments

Criminal Law: DUI (Boats); Hospital Records
R. v. Culotta, 2018 ONCA 665; 2018 SCC 57(38213)

Moldaver J.: “A majority of the Court would dismiss . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

Summaries Sunday: SOQUIJ

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.

PROCÉDURE CIVILE : Il convient d’autoriser l’appel proposé par la requérante puisque le jugement entrepris, décidant de moyens préliminaires, a tranché en partie l’action collective qu’elle souhaite intenter contre Amazon.com.

Intitulé : Gagnon c. Amazon.com, Inc., 2018 QCCA 2053
Juridiction : Cour d’appel (C.A.), Montréal, 500-09-027829-183
Décision de : Juge . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday