Many readers will already know that Toronto is hosting the annual conference and general meeting of CALL/ACBD in May. This gathering is a high point in the association’s calendar, and this year is even more special, as we are marking the start of our 50^th anniversary.

The program is relevant to a wide audience – no matter your level of experience or expertise, you should find something to pique your interest. The exhibit hall will offer opportunities to learn about new developments in legal information, and the social program will give you a chance to meet new colleagues, catch . . . [more]

The Association for Chinese Canadian Lawyers in Ontario (ACCLO) hosted a CLE session on September 17, 2011, on “Tips and Tricks from the Trade,” featuring Sean Zhang of Blakes, Jeffrey Lem of Davies, Roslyn Tsao of Epstein Cole LLP, and Madam Justice W. Low of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Notes from the sessions follow. . . . [more]

This weekend I stopped by the Vegetarian Food Festival in Toronto to try out some new food products. The last thing I expected to see was a lawyer group. But there, prominently situated between food sample tables and advocacy groups was the Lawyers for Animal Welfare  booth.

University of Toronto law student Camille Labchuk and lawyer Nick Wright were staffing the booth, making members of the public aware of the group and a number of law-related animal welfare issues. I learned that Lawyers for Animal Welfare (LAW) is a registered charity dedicated to advancing public knowledge of animal practices and . . . [more]

I just received this information from the CALL webinar committee, and thought the SLAW community would be interested. I work with Rick – he has incredible knowledge of legislation and a wicked sense of humour. Caroline is not unknown to the CALL community – she has spoken at annual conferences before, and has always impressed me with her skill as a speaker and her encyclopedic knowledge.

This is a session not to be missed!

Thursday September 15, 2011
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT 

Join two legislation experts in the first of a series of webinars that will share tips

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My sense is the the inaugural New Law Librarians’ Institute last week in London, Ontario, sponsored by the Canadian Association of Law Libraries/L’Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit (CALL/ACBD), was very successful.

It was a 5-day event, with sessions on substantive law led by various University of Western Ontario law professors, combined with sessions by various law librarians, including me.

Sessions included, for example, a Thursday morning session by Professor Sam Trosow on property law for law librarians (including a session on copyright law), followed by a session by UWO Law Librarian John Sadler on researching secondary legal literature. There . . . [more]

Nineteen people graduated today in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the Special Library Association (SLA) with a Certificate in Copyright Management (CCM). The graduates included one Canadian, some rights managers in publishing positions, and many librarians in a variety of positions from pharmaceutical and engineering companies to law firms and financial institutions and academic institutions. One thing all had in common was a desire to understand domestic and international copyright issues, Web 2.0 and other digital copyright issues, special library provisions and fair use/dealing, as well as educating others about copyright and licensing. Canadians in the program are required . . . [more]

The number of Canadian law firms delivering CPD courses expanded today with the launch of Gowlings U.

Full disclosure that Gowlings is a client of ours at Stem, but the general trend of law firms teaching their expertise to other lawyers, corporate counsel, notaries and other professionals seems worth noting. That a number of these courses also comply with law society requirements for CPD credit is also significant.

It’s a role that I’ve long thought that law firms could fill. Especially when firms are widely recognized to have strength in certain practice areas, or regional knowledge that other firms . . . [more]

A good part of Slaw is playing hookey today, visiting the ABA TECHSHOW at the Chicago Hilton. It’s the 25th Anniversary show, so we are having fun looking forward and back – and seeing how far we’ve come since the days of DOS and 20 MB hard drives.

Last night, we were entertained by an IgniteLaw session in which twelve speakers gave provocative and creative talks about legal technology and the future of law practice. . . . [more]

I attended a Women’s Law Association of Ontario dinner recently where Chief Justice Winkler provided the following tips on how to succeed in law:

1. Law is a helping profession. Help others without looking for anything in return.

2. People want to help you. Graciously give them the opportunity do so.

3. Respect your elders. Respect those younger than you. Respect those the same age. Respect those in lesser positions than yours. Respect others.

4. Be loyal. Loyalty begets loyalty.

5. Do not exaggerate. Don’t mislead the court. Don’t take advantage of anyone.

6. Get a mentor or several mentors.Don’t

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 Canadians have long had a hand in Techshow - there have been at least 4 Canadian lawyers who have chaired ABA TECHSHOW and many many more have been speakers and Techshow planning board members.  By my count, there are at least 5 Canadian speakers at the 2011 conference.

I read with great interest a recent article by Chris Anderson in Wired Features how video on YouTube is having the unexpected effect of allowing people to learn–and innovate–at an accelerated rate. He gives the example of people learning from one another how to dance, developing skills previously unheard of. Take for example the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers:

According to Anderson, many of these dancers were self-taught through Internet video, bringing together tricks and moves previously unknown in dance. Part of this is accelerated learning and innovation, he says, comes from people sharing what they know, so that others who . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries/Association Canadienne de Bibliothèques de Droit has launched upon its first distance learning initiative, with two more webinars coming up shortly.

Joan Rataic-Lang will be presenting a session on November 23 which I’m sure will resonate with many of us. Her talk, Cost-Saving Measures in the Library, promises to cover not only how to select the cuts and economies, but to lead change and communicate effectively the messages to your stakeholders. For those of you who may not know Joan, she’s a witty and engaging speaker, and I think you’ll enjoy the session.

December 7 . . . [more]