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

5 Tips for Virtual Oral Argument
Caroline Mandell

Here are five tips for virtual oral argument, now that I’ve watched some Zoom appeals: 1. Stand, don’t sit. The neuroscience shows we literally think better on our feet, and it’s the way you’re accustomed to arguing. Invest in a desktop lectern to make it feel more authentic. …

Research & Writing

How to Find a UK Royal Proclamation
Susannah . . . [more]

On May 21, 2020, the Federal Court released a decision (2020 FC 629) strongly in favour of Justice Patrick Smith, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and highly critical of the Canadian Judicial Council. It is unfortunate that the decision is so one-sided. The CJC deserves some of the criticism. However, the position taken by the CJC is not as untenable as the court claims. More importantly, there is legitimate cause for concern about Justice Smith’s conduct.

This litigation arises from events in the spring of 2018 when Justice Smith accepted an appointment as the Interim Dean . . . [more]

The history of Black people in Canada cannot be excised from the history of Nova Scotia.

Until the Immigration Act, 1976, the immigration system in Canada was explicitly racist, intended to maintain homogeneity of the Canadian population. As a result, 37% of all Black Canadians prior to these reforms lived in Nova Scotia, largely due to centuries of settlement due to Black loyalists, refugees, and other immigrants, primarily from the U.S. and the Caribbean.

However, these Black Nova Scotians experienced horrific segregation and discrimination, the effects of which continue to this day. A recent decision by the Supreme . . . [more]

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 (July 11 – August 14, 2020 inclusive).

Appeals

Class Actions: Certification; Gaming
Atlantic Lottery Corp. Inc. v. Babstock, 2020 SCC 19 (38521)

“Waiver of tort” is confusing, and should be abandoned. Disgorgement for breach of . . . [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.

FAILLITE ET INSOLVABILITÉ : La Cour supérieure peut procéder à la nomination d’un séquestre conformément à l’article 243 (1) de la Loi sur la faillite et l’insolvabilité à la demande d’un créancier hypothécaire afin de vendre l’entreprise d’un débiteur insolvable en continuité d’affaires; cependant, les préavis et les délais afférents . . . [more]

Written by Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

In many cases, the choice of when to retire is based on a variety of factors, including lifestyle, priorities and other circumstances. Sometimes the decision to stop working is an easy one, while others prefer to continue working as long as possible. But what happens when an employee’s retirement is not a choice but is a requirement of his or her pension plan? Is it discriminatory? This issue came before the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta in Aziz v Calgary Firefighters Association, 2020 AHRC 40 when a firefighter nearing the . . . [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.

Seeking the Court’s Advice: The Politics of the Canadian Reference Power

Author: Kate Puddister

ISBN: 9780774861113
Publisher: UBC Press
Page Count: 290
Publication Date: November 15, 2019
Regular Price: $32.95 (paperback)

Excerpt: from the Introduction
[Footnotes omitted. They can be found in the original here]

The Canadian Case

The Canadian practice . . . [more]

Experience has taught me silence and like weapons can be effective. Here were five lessons for me, and perhaps for you.

1. As plaintiff counsel I met a potential new client, a woman who was catastrophically injured. Liability was a slam-dunk, damages were huge, and I was sure to improve my standard of living a thousand-fold when I was done with her file. An hour into the meeting she was hanging on to my every word. All that was left was to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. As I reached into my bag searching for my pen, a younger

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. Douez v. Facebook, Inc., 2018 BCCA 186 (CanLII)

[1] This is an appeal from an order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia certifying a claim as a class proceeding. The claim arises out of a practice undertaken by Facebook, under which advertisements displayed to a Facebook member’s “friends” could include a statement that the member “liked” the advertised product, service, or . . . [more]

There continues to be extensive discussion about artificial intelligence and law, and concerns are regularly raised about the ethical and moral issues this presents, so I was happy when Marcelo Rodríguez invited me to be on a panel at the American Association of Law Libraries Conference on “Legal Ethics in the Use of Artificial Intelligence” with Kristin Johnson, Steven Lastres, and with Kim Nayyer moderating this year. Here’s the session description:

There is a pressing need for both innovators creating the datasets as well as users such as law librarians and attorneys to be aware of the ethical implications of . . . [more]

I am a proponent of using charitable events as a way of getting people together to promote your firm. Internally these events can be great for employee engagement. Externally they are great brand building exercises. Individually they can be great business development opportunities. As we work through the global pandemic, many of these activities have been modified or cancelled all together.

Like many of you, I have certain causes that are close to me. For that past few years I have participated in the Northern Pass (#NorthernPass2020) which is a cycling event in Muskoka that raises money for Princess Margaret . . . [more]