What to do with print now that so much is online, and discussions of what’s the point of print are taking place well beyond the posts on Slaw. Working in a Legal Deposit library means I have had to take a step back, look at the issues, and accept a much more conservative approach than I might have done otherwise.

Before I start on legal deposit, I know two good reasons why print is important, and they are both to do with personal experience. Firstly, when there is an electricity blackout you cannot access the internet. Mostly this is not . . . [more]

Intriguing news from the ABA’s 2010 Legal Technology Survey Report: 14% of lawyers reported that they ran a virtual law office, working with clients over the Net and rarely meeting them in person. We thought that statistic was fairly amazing.

Though the term virtual law office (VLO) has been around for a while, the definition has been morphing. In fact, as we went to research the definition, we found a wide range of definitions many of them at odds with one another.

After comparing what we found, we settled on a definition proffered by virtual lawyer Stephanie Kimbro, who . . . [more]

In these past months I’ve been very busy facilitating the strategic planning process for a number of major firms. In every instance the firm has selected a number of well-intentioned partners to serve on their Strategic Planning Committee. And in nearly every instance I have witnessed these Committees, at some point in the process, being inflicted with one of a number of disabling symptoms of what I have come to label as ‘strategy viruses.’ Here are six of the most common:

Inside In. 

This is the tendency to focus on ‘what we do’ and not on ‘what the client . . . [more]

Let me expand on this idea: people will continue to do business with people they like. 

Seems like a pretty simple concept, doesn’t it? Yet so many people miss out on business opportunities simply because they do not come across as likeable. I’m not here to tell you to become best friends with everyone you meet, but if you present yourself as a likable person it will go along way to getting more business.

Everyday we interact with all different kinds of people from the coffee barista, to your boss or your clients. Unless you are a hobbit, you will . . . [more]

In mid-June Irwin Law held a book launch to celebrate the publication of The Lunatic and the Lords by Hon. Richard Schneider. Justice Schneider, as some readers will be aware, presides over the mental health court at Old City Hall in Toronto. His book is an account of the 1843 trial of Daniel M’Naughten for the murder of Edward Drummond, secretary to Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. The verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity was so controversial that Queen Victoria ordered the House of Lords to review the verdict. The result of this review was the ‘M’Naughten Rules’ . . . [more]

The Canadian Charter tells us (s.24) that if we think our rights have been violated, we can apply for ‘such remedy as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances.’ Does ‘just’ add anything to ‘appropriate’? Or is it, like ‘cease and desist’, only a bit of legal belt-and-braces?

Sometimes we do think of justice as mere propriety. For something to be unjust is for it to be out of kilter, morally speaking. On this way of looking at things, we can say that destroying the environment, abusing children, breaking promises, and torturing people are all unjust. They are . . . [more]

A January article in Boing Boing talked about loose-leaf publications, marveling about their existence in the same way that the average marine biologist once marveled about the continuing existence of the coelacanth. I’m so used to having loose-leafs in a law firm library that I hadn’t considered that they might be considered a novelty elsewhere, but it started me wondering: are loose-leafs going to become the legal library equivalent of the coelacanth? Legal loose-leaf publishing has been around at least since 1915. These early loose-leaf services allowed legal publishers to produce up-to-date consolidations of legislation without having to reprint . . . [more]

I enjoy the regular updates on interesting work environments posted by LifeHacker.com, where you can see all manner of screen and desk layouts, often with multiple monitors (even 6!) for enhanced productivity. We are not all going to have multiple monitors, and perhaps shouldn’t even if we can in light of concerns about multi-tasking and how terrible we really are at it. We may not even be able to choose an alternative to the dominant law office operating system, Microsoft Windows. But whether you have more than one monitor or not, here are a couple . . . [more]

I was talking with a friend recently about legendary basketball coach John Wooden, who passed away at the age of 99 this month. My friend worked in close proximity to Wooden in the early 70s, when UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) was unquestionably the best college basketball team in the world, completing an unprecedented and unequaled streak of seven consecutive (US) national championships.

He told me a couple of stories that bear on project management.

Building From the Ground Up, Starting With the Socks

He said Coach Wooden spent the first five minutes of the first practice each year . . . [more]

I was in Whistler, British Columbia, for a law firm retreat and stayed at one of the best hotels – you know, one of those places with the ultra plush bedding, towels that stack high and spa-inspired toiletries that smell good enough to taste. 

About a month before my stay, this hotel started a pilot program to accept dogs. So, not only did my family join me, so did our beloved Golden Retriever. After two nights in the palace, complete with The Dog, I spent the better part of an hour filling out their dog service survey. I used every . . . [more]

Many of you are likely already familiar with the alleged facts in the disturbing and complicated case of Captain Robert Semrau. For those who are not, here’s a quick refresher. 

Capt. Semrau was serving a tour of duty with the Canadian military in Afghanistan. He was assigned to a small Operational Mentor and Liason Team (OMLT) tasked with working hand-in-hand with a larger force of Afghani military assisting them in becoming a self-sufficient fighting force capable of challenging the Taliban militia on their own when Canada’s mission comes to a close. On Oct. 19, 2008 his orders were to troll . . . [more]

Law is a vocation where every word counts; each word has a meaning. However, in almost all correspondence with lawyers, the words “without prejudice” or “confidential and legally privileged” are present. With the ever-growing use of email, it has become standard to include a confidentiality notice at the end of your message, just below the signature. Do we really know the meaning of the words we use though?

“Without prejudice” has been used by British courts for over 100 years. According to an article by Ronald D. Manes, Solicitor/Client Privilege, it originates from the solicitor-and-client privilege which was “established by . . . [more]