The Supreme Court of Canada this morning released its reasons for judgment in BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, 2008 SCC 69. Oddly, this doesn’t yet appear to have received much coverage in the news sites. Perhaps we’re all eager to get home early and shovel our driveways?

Having not yet finished digesting the decision, I can’t say much. There’s a wealth of interesting and essential material here: a restatement of the directors’ fiduciary duty to the corporation, and the extent to which consideration of other stakeholders’ interests may enter into that duty; the “business judgment” rule; the obligation . . . [more]

A snow day across much of the country today, a day at any event for taking it easy as the holidays approach. So nothing of any moment in the fillip today. In fact today it’s a Friday Flip.

Flip is a game devised to show some of the things that can be done with Adobe Air. But for us, today, it’s simply a game. You can play it online, or you can download it to run on your desktop, if you have Air installed. The idea is simply to cause tiles to flip so that three of a kind lie . . . [more]

♫ Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way…♫

Words and music by James Lord Pierpont.

At this time of the year I would like to wish each and everyone the Best of the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year. This upcoming year will be a challenging one and as such I hope for Peace, Hope and Happiness for all.

As has become my tradition, at this time as my gift to you I offer a few minutes of reflection. I hope this slide show and music . . . [more]

HeinOnline seems to be gaining market share in Canada, so I thought I’d point out that they have just released a recap of all of their search tips, which is really well-organised for long-term keeping.

Question: how many of you are subscribed? Is HeinOnline becoming a “must-have” for firms, or is it a tool better suited to academe? . . . [more]

This is a midweek meander, taking us away from law, and that’s okay, I hope. What’s around this particular bend are the 1,500 photographs that the New York Public Library has selected from the 640,000 photos of its Digital Gallery for tagging and inclusion in the Flickr Commons. These represent, we’re told, a sort of “appetizer course” for the larger transfers to come. Images in Flickr Commons are by and large available for use free of encumbering copyright restrictions.

I’ve quickly run through all of the NYPL additions and can tell you that there’s a wide range of interesting . . . [more]

That’s the title of my Free Press column for this week. I thought perhaps the tech savy Slaw audience might appreciate this, and we can all use something a little lighter to read.

It starts off by saying: Struggling with ideas for Christmas gifts for those into gadgets or technology? Here are some suggestions.

My agreement with the newspaper prohibits me from reproducing it here this soon after it was published, but you can read it on my blog, on the Free Press site, or on the Canoe tech site. . . . [more]

The latest issue of LAWPRO Magazine just hit the streets, and we focused on helping lawyers get through difficult economic times.

Our cover story, Surviving the slide: What Firms Should (And Shouldn’t) Do To Ride Out The Economic Storm, is a roundtable discussion with four of the world’s top experts on law firm management and operations (Gerry Riskin, Merrilyn Tarlton, Ed Flitton, and Karen MacKay). In this discussion they share their insights and tips on leadership, marketing, client relationships, law firm finances and technology in tough times. It is an amazing discussion (we actually . . . [more]

Today saw the release of an Ipsos Reid survey on the legal problems faced by low-income British Columbians. More than 80 per cent have faced problems since 2005 that have been serious and difficult to resolve. The poll was commissioned by the province’s legal aid program.

Consumer, money, and housing issues topped the list of legal problems with employment and family relations following close behind.

“The high incidence of legal problems is troubling,” said Mark Benton, QC, Executive Director of the Legal Services Society, the organization that provides legal aid in BC. “This survey, along with other research . . . [more]

I came across the following enthusiastic review of a new book on the law of Bail:

Faris on Bail is the most extensive and insightful book written on the law and practice of bail in Victoria. It is clearly written and structured and includes a reference and link to every relevant case on the topic. It provides lawyers and judges with a complete resource on the relevant law and is one of the few legal publications that provides an exhaustive treatment of a subject matter.

Well what’s unusual about that, you might ask.

Legal publishing in jurisdictions like Victoria – . . . [more]

Canadian citizen Omar Khadr is the only Western national left in Guantánamo Bay. Khadr and fellow detainee Mohammed Jawad are believed to be the first child combatants ever to face prosecution of alleged “war crimes”. Khadr was only 15 years old when he was captured by US forces in Afghanistan and later transported to the infamous US detention centre where he has now spent more than a quarter of his life. Khadr faces trial by US military commission. The military commissions fall so far short of international human rights standards that it is impossible for Khadr to receive a fair

I guess I don’t know how to set up delayed posts yet very well… Anyhow, my Friday post is now visible further down the page… and at: https://www.slaw.ca/2008/12/12/the-british-colonist/ . . . [more]

An arbitrator under the WIPO domain name dispute resolution policy has held that Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay for ten years, has no remedy against someone who registered several domain names relating to a possible attempt by Ms Whitman to run for governor of California in 2010. The report on OutLaw.com has a link to the decision itself.

Some of the domains were megwhitmanforgovernor.com and meg2010.com.

The essence of the decision is that Ms Whitman did not have a custom of commercial use of her name and thus had not established a ‘common law trademark’ in it. Mere fame was . . . [more]