The results of a recent survey conducted by Leger Marketing for SAS, a business analytics software and services provider, on the use of social media by companies have been published today: only 1 in 5 Canadian companies post on social media networks and monitor social media conversations on a regular basis. These two actions are considered the fundamental pillars of effectively using social media.

A lack of resources and a view that it is a waste of time and energy are cited as explanations as to why companies choose not to use social media or not to monitor mentions of . . . [more]

Hi-hat, clash, crash, ride, sizzle—and a dozen more variations. These are cymbals, an instrument that dates back to the edge of antiquity but is as modern as a rock band drum kit. The best, I’m informed, are made in Turkey and likely by the venerable cymbal maker Zildjian, which has been making especially resonant cymbals ever since one Avedis, an Armenian alchemist in Constantinople, devised a particular mix of copper, tin, and traces of silver — a form of bronze — in the year 1618. The fame of his cymbals reached the Sultan, who took him into court to . . . [more]

Just a few days ago, we all missed the 30th Annual Intergovernmental Budget Conference, held August 22 – 23, 2011, Victoria. According Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat, it is an event open to the Federal-Provincial-Territorial, Deputy Ministers.

Who knows what goes on at these things. Epic snoozefest or hedonistic free for all… do we have any first-hand reports? It does sound like it has the potential to be a pivotal meeting, and it is remarkable how meager is its presence in google. . . . [more]

In the coming months, the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications will hold public hearings in 10 cities from October 6 to November 21, 2011, to collect feedback on regulating the media in Quebec by adopting a professional journalism accreditation and consolidating the Press Council.

Back in April, Apple filed suit in California against Samsung for patent violation, claiming that the latter’s Galaxy line of phones and tablets bore too much resemblance to its own iPhones and iPads. This is a tangled matter, as perhaps are most patent disputes among the biggies: for one thing, Apple is a large buyer of Samsung’s products, accounting for 4% of the the company’s revenue last year and likely more this year. At the moment, according to Foss Patents, where you’ll find a list, there are 19 ongoing lawsuits around the world between these two companies

Recently . . . [more]

It goes without saying that balancing family while working for a “big-law” firm can be a challenge. I am reminded of that on a weekly basis. Other jobs are just as demanding (if not more). It has become de rigueur for employers (especially law firms) to tout their approach to promise a positive work-life balance. However, there are few ways to confirm that an employer’s advertising confirms with their employees’ reality.

In response to this issue, the Quebec government has launched a unique program: a corporate certification regarding work-family balance. The certification is for all businesses, regardless of their size. . . . [more]

Herewith half a metric dozen sites that deal in words, those pesky bits we use to build and navigate our worlds. (FYI, in Japan sets of objects come in fives, which makes a whole lot more base ten sense, when you come to think of it, than our duodecimal dozen, even though the latter is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, and pretty much maps onto the lunar months and… Onward. Sorry about that.)

• Let’s start off easy, with a little quiz. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary is 100 years old this year and is throwing a

. . . [more]

The Federal Court of Canada announced yesterday that the Chief Justice, the Honourable Allan Lutfy, will be resigning effective Sept. 30, 2011.

Prior to his appointment to the Federal Court, he acted as counsel for the McDonald Commission, the Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (State of Competition in the Canadian Petroleum Industry) and the Dubin Commission. He was also counsel for the Security Intelligence Review Committee and the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery

He was appointed to the Federal Court Trial Division in 1996, and became the Chief Justice on July 2, 2003. . . . [more]

There has been a lot written lately about the disturbing trend towards becoming a surveillance society. And the equally disturbing trend for governments to try to interfere with various kinds of communications to squash activity. Mathew Ingram has a good article about that on gigaom.

There is a great hue and cry about this when it occurs in countries that we feel suppress their people – but we are also seeing the trend in North America and Britain – such as the recent British riots and San Fransico’s Bart transit system shutdown of cell service. 

And yet at the . . . [more]

At this year’s annual Canadian Bar Association meeting, two public figures in the Canadian legal world spoke out on a topic that is very oftendiscussed, but extremely difficult to assess whether any positive change is taking place: access to justice. Both the Governor-General of Canada and former dean of law at the University of Western Ontario, David Johnston and Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin spoke at this year’s annual CBA conference.

This past weekend, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin discussed Canada’s access to justice (see a Globe and mail article here): according to the World Justice Institute, Canada places 9^th . . . [more]

Okay, I admit, it is the dog days of August, so to speak. But it is a sunny Friday afternoon here in Halifax and that is a rare occurrence indeed lately and it does strange things to one’s mood. This news item caught my attention and stirred the things inside me that make me Canadian; it seems that there is internal strife brewing at our national institution Tim Horton’s. It is not good for the heart to see such strife within the family. But a lawsuit has been launched deriving from a decision made in the hierarchy of the company . . . [more]

These are notes from a talk by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr. trial judge of the Washington DC Superior Court, followed by a panel discussion at the American Bar Association 2011 conference in Toronto last Saturday. Panelists included Judge Dixon; the Honorable Bernice B. Donald, Western District of Tennessee; Cynthia Gray, Esq. of Chicago, Illinois who counsels judges; Marla N. Greenstein of Anchorage, Alaska, who is involved in judicial conduct regulation; and G. Michael Witte who is Indiana Disciplinary Commission Executive Secretary and a former judge. The session was moderated by the Honorable Annette Scieszinski, Albia, . . . [more]