The Canadian Association of Law Libraries has long had an annual award for excellent legal publishing. Some years ago, we renamed the award we present after Queens University Professor Hugh Lawford (1933-2009) to recognize his contributions to legal publishing in Canada. As a group of legal information specialists, our work depends on being able to access and share high-quality legal knowledge. We value innovation and the award is open to all information formats. Slaw.ca was recognized with this award in 2009.

The CALL/ACBD is accepting nominations for the 2021 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing.

This award . . . [more]

As we embrace technology in our courtrooms, meetings, and classrooms, it is time we do the same with delivery of legal information. The law’s track record on disability within the profession is mixed, at best. While some universities and employers have an excellent track record with students and lawyers with disabilities or learning difficulties, others do not. Law, and wider society, also tend to ignore less visible or invisible disabilities. Those among us who have difficulty with traditional learning methods often struggle with the barriers created by traditional learning. There is a gap in access to legal information for people . . . [more]

I might have titled this post “pandemic pleasures” or some other alliterative title that made it clear that ONLY in 2020 would some opportunities be available.

This year I had the benefit and pleasure of attending a conference that I have longed to go to – Law Via the Internet. LVI 2020 was originally intended to be in the UK. The conference is almost always overseas. Slawyers know that in-person conferences and travelling are not possible. Slawyers should also know by now that many, many things are now feasible like attending a global conference of interest but perceived as not . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries / Association canadienne des bibliotheques de droit (CALL/ACBD) is pleased to announce that LGBTQ2+ Law: Practice Issues and Analysis, Joanna Radbord, General Editor, is the winner of the 2020 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing!

Members of the LGBTQ2+ community face unique hurdles, especially in areas of family, immigration, estates, and criminal law. LGBTQ2+ Law: Practice Issues and Analysis takes a practical approach to identifying and analyzing key LGBTQ2+ issues that arise in these various legal contexts. The first text of its kind, it draws on the expertise and . . . [more]

May is typically the beginning of the season for conferences that law librarians attend, kicking off with the CALL/ACBD conference. This year, we are attending virtually, and you are invited to our events!

You may consider yourself a law librarian, knowledge manager, legal researcher, legal information provider, legal technology developer, legal information specialist or user, or not – it doesn’t matter to us – you are welcome to join in. You may be a member of CALL or a member of a law library sister association, or not – regardless of whether you paid your modest CALL/ACBD membership fee for . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2020 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing. I am sharing this message on behalf of award committee Chair and Past President of the Association, Ann Marie Melvie.

This award honours Hugh Lawford (1933-2009), Professor of Law at Queens’ University and founder of Quicklaw. It is awarded to 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.

After reviewing a number

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]

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]

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 

Can you give one day to your writing? If so, there is a treat coming to Toronto just for you.

Each year, at law schools all across the United States, the Legal Writing Institute sponsors a One-Day Workshop, which establishes 10-12 satellite forums to discuss the study, teaching, and practice of professional legal writing.

This year, for the very first time outside the US, Osgoode Hall Law School and the U of T Faculty of Law will jointly host a One-Day Legal Writing Institute Workshop entitled “Research and Writing in the Experiential Learning Context.”

The Osgoode and U of T

1. Review your multi-year accessibility plans by January 1, 2020

On January 1, 2014, section 4(1) of the Integrated Accessibility Standards, Ontario Regulation 191/11 under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) required the Government of Ontario, Legislative Assembly, designated public sector organizations and large organizations (50 plus employees) to have multi-year accessibility plans in place and posted on their websites (if any), and to provide the plan in an accessible format upon request.

The multi-year accessibility plan must inform and outline the organization’s strategy for preventing and removing barriers faced by persons with disabilities and also for meeting . . . [more]