“Ask the question.” That was a phrase often heard at morning leadership meetings (AKA coffee with my admin colleagues) at my former law firm. Asking the question was intended to mean that we shouldn’t assume that others in the firm noticed the same problems that we did. It is a call to collaborate, ideate, and create solutions as a team. On February 19 at 1 PM EST the @CALLACBD Executive Board will be asking the question, quite a few questions actually, using a Twitter Chat with the hashtag #CALLACBDCHAT.

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries is using a Twitter . . . [more]

The Alberta Fair Registration Practices Act is proclaimed in force on March 1, 2020, to speed up the process of newcomers getting their credentials recognized so they can work in the careers they trained for, and remove unfair barriers. . . . [more]

There is, as yet, no official consolidation of the current Divorce Act and Bill C-78 as passed by Parliament, and I understand that one isn’t likely to be coming soon. This isn’t a problem for many, but it is a problem for me and for anyone else who produces public and professional legal education materials.

Since the changes are coming into effect on 1 July 2020, just five short months from the date of writing, I’m taking the opportunity the amendments suggest and rewriting the Clicklaw wikibook JP Boyd on Family Law from stem to stern, and, well, a consolidation . . . [more]

We are very excited – and this is a word we don’t use lightly here at CanLII – to present two improvements to the search experience on CanLII.org.

Legal research generally involves (1) understanding what a case is about, and (2) analysing how a case had been considered in subsequent cases.

To help out, we’ve come up with a few features for conducting efficient legal research.

1) Decision highlights and paragraph-level note-ups: A faster way to understand what a case is about.

Decisions are getting longer, at least according to some people (ahem), and this can make it more . . . [more]

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.

Enforcing Exclusion: Precarious Migrants and the Law in Canada. By Sarah Grayce Marsden. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2018. 237 p. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 978-0-7748-3774-3 (softcover) $32.95.

Reviewed by Andrea Black
Dentons Canada LLP, Montreal
In CLLR 44:4

Enforcing Exclusion should be on every immigration lawyer’s bookshelf. It is . . . [more]

In my last post, I discussed the benefits of publishing with CanLII. Today, I’d like to dive into some of the options on how you can get your work onto the largest legal information resource in Canada. 

Publish With Publishers Who Share Their Content on CanLII

CanLII’s commentary collection has prospered thanks to the incredible group of publishers, law firms, law centres, and other institutions that have partnered with us. A great way to share your work on CanLII is to publish with one these content providers. Check out this Twitter list or browse our commentary collection to learn . . . [more]

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.

Prosecuting and Defending Offences against Children: A Practitioner’s Handbook. By Lisa Joyal et al. Toronto: Emond, 2019. 573 p. ISBN 978-1-77255-263-8 (softcover) $129.00; ISBN 978-1-77255-264-5 (eBook) $115.00.

Reviewed by Jenny Thornhill, MSC, MLIS, MSL
Law Librarian
Law Society of Newfoundland & Labrador Law Library
In CLLR 44:3

Prosecuting and Defending Offences . . . [more]

I was recently invited to a lunch where we were invited to consider both the end of the year and the end of the decade. This came as a surprise as I hadn’t thought about that simple matter of the two digits turning over this year. Since then, I was reminded that because there was no “zero” year, the end of the decade will actually not be for another year, but we all know that’s not the usual way of counting these things.

The end of the year means that we have reached the time when we like to look . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries / Association canadienne des bibliotheques de droit (CALL/ACBD) is accepting nominations for the 2020 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing. This award honours a publisher (whether for-profit or not-for profit, corporate or non-corporate) that has demonstrated excellence by publishing a work, series, website, or electronic product that makes a significant contribution to legal research and scholarship. Anyone is welcome to make nominations – you do not have to be a member of CALL/ACBD. Nominations from the author or publisher of a work are welcomed. Nominations can be submitted to Ann Marie . . . [more]

The Canadian Foundation for Legal Research announced the winner of the 2019 Walter Owen Book Prize this morning. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Jonathan Rudin, for his publication, Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System: A Practitioner’s Handbook (Emond Publishing).

“Founder and current Program Director of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, Mr. Rudin was selected from among 35 nominees to receive a $15,000 cash prize for his ground-breaking contribution to Canadian law literature.“

Finalists for this year’s award included:

• Robert J. Sharpe for Good Judgment: Making Judicial Decisions
• Philip Girard, Jim Phillips and R. Blake Brown for 

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.

Drug-Impaired Driving in Canada. By Nathan Baker. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2018. 243 p. Includes references. ISBN: 978-1-55221-492-3 (paperback) $60.00; ISBN 978-1-55221-493-0 (eBook) $60.00. Reviewed by Bobbie A. Walker Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Criminal Law St. Catharines, ON In CLLR 44:4 Drug-Impaired Driving in Canada tackles a . . . [more]

As it does every year, December 1st has snuck up us. The date arrives just as the holiday busy season is heating up, and folks are packing their days and evenings with holiday shopping, parties, card-writing and travel plans. In the midst of all this, we ask the Canadian legal community to add one more thing to their plate: participating in the Canadian Law Blog Awards, fondly known as the Clawbies, now in its 14th year. Thankfully, no one ever complains about this “one more thing”. In fact, many folks say they are grateful for the opportunity to reflect on . . . [more]