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Archive for February, 2022

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.

Research & Writing

Finding Older Newspaper Articles
Susannah Tredwell

While recent newspaper articles are reasonably easy to find (give or take a paywall), older newspaper articles can be a bit more challenging to locate. If a newspaper article you are looking for is not available through the paper’s website, the following resources may be useful in tracking articles down: … . . . [more]

Posted in: Tips Tuesday

Think Again – Managing Unhelpful Thinking

Jane is sitting with her partner at the dinner table, but her thoughts are miles away. She is thinking about an offhand comment she made to a client and worrying about how this could become a significant problem. Maybe he will complain and ask the partner to take her off the file. Perhaps the partner will complain to others and drop her from other files. Could she get fired?

Jane is so anxious she can’t get to sleep. She returns to work the next day expecting the worst, but nothing happens. There are no complaints. Later in the week, the . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law

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. Susan On The Soapbox 2. Pension & Benefits Law 3. Canadian Class Actions Monitor 4. Canadian Appeals Monitor 5. Risk Management & Crisis Response

Susan On The Soapbox
Quick comment on the Illegal Occupation & Blockades

Ms Soapbox is under the weather, as such there will be

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix

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.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : L’infraction d’avoir exercé des activités de lobbyisme sans être inscrit au registre des lobbyistes, en violation de l’article 25 de la Loi sur la transparence et l’éthique en matière de lobbyisme, constitue une infraction de responsabilité stricte dont l’actus reus fait appel au critère objectif . . . [more]

Posted in: Summaries Sunday

Friday Jobs Roundup

Each Friday, we share the latest job listings from Slaw Jobs, which features employment opportunities from across the country. Find out more about these positions by following the links below, or learn how you can use Slaw Jobs to gain valuable exposure for your job ads, while supporting the great Canadian legal commentary at Slaw.ca.

Current postings on Slaw Jobs:

. . . [more]
Posted in: Friday Jobs Roundup

Employer Fulfills Duty to Accommodate Despite Resignation

Written by Lewis Waring, Paralegal, Student-at-Law (3rd year), Editor, First Reference Inc.

In Benson v Central Health Authority, an employer fulfilled its duty to accommodate despite the negotiated resignation of its employee with a disability. Although the employee’s disability made continued employment impossible, the employer’s reliance upon a well-crafted human rights policy allowed it to fulfill its duty regardless. The employer fulfilled its duty to accommodate ultimately by responding to its employee’s request for accommodation systematically and fairly. . . . [more]

Posted in: Case Comment, Substantive Law, Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions

Some Thoughts on Algorithmic and Data Literacy

Last year I was interviewed by Dominique Garingan for her dissertation on algorithmic literacy, and thought I would share my thoughts that arose in relation to that conversation with you here too. She also published an article about her dissertation findings in the most recent issue of Canadian Law Library Review: “Advanced Technologies and Algorithmic Literacy: Exploring Insights from the Legal Information Profession“.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “algorithm” as “a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end“. Algorithmic literacy, in turn, is the understanding of how computer systems apply algorithms so that users . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information, Legal Publishing, Legal Technology

Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII

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. Feltz Design Build Ltd. v. Larson et al., 2021 ONSC 2469 

[53] Consequently, on this record, LPPC breached the trust established by the Construction Act. Counsel for the defendant conceded that the trusts established by ss. 7(2) extend to all amounts received by the owner after the stipulated event has occurred, even if from sources entirely unrelated to the property . . . [more]

Posted in: Wednesday: What's Hot on CanLII

When Mediation and Arbitration Are Not Really Confidential or Private

In most cases, privacy and confidentiality are recognized as important benefits of mediation and arbitration, but they are not unconditional.

In a recent family law case, the Supreme Court of Canada has again reminded us that there are limitations to the confidential nature of mediation. In particular, mediation communications may be disclosed to prove the existence and terms of a mediated settlement.

Association de médiation familiale du Québec v. Bouvier, 2021 SCC 54, involved a dispute between former spouses over a number of separation, child custody and support issues. In Quebec, the provincial government makes mediation widely available . . . [more]

Posted in: Dispute Resolution

Using Vinyl & Spotify to Understand Legal Information Online

Most legal research is done online through a combination of open and subscription databases. Legal information is available at our fingertips through Justice Laws, LEGISinfo, CanLII, Westlaw, Lexis, ProView, SOQUIJ, [insert your preferred database here], and the list goes on. The availability of electronic resources has radically changed—and will continue to change—the way legal professionals conduct research. However, despite my enthusiasm for the improved accessibility and retrievability, I think the lack of engagement that new legal researchers have with print resources creates comprehension issues. The disconnect between a source’s print and electronic formats reduces their understanding of the process used . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information

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.

Research & Writing

Social Media
Neil Guthrie

Increasingly, I’m seeing this with a singular verb: Social media is …, Social media has … While the phrase can logically be regarded as a singular concept encompassing different components (LinkedIn, Twitter and their ilk), I still don’t like it. . . . [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. Great LEXpectations 2. Legal Feeds 3. Meurrens on Immigration 4. Employment & Human Rights Law in Canada 5. Vancouver Immigration Law Blog

Great LEXpectations
ONSC on service to Google

Google reviews – you either love ’em or hate ’em. Negative reviews can do unimaginable harm to your

. . . [more]
Posted in: Monday’s Mix