No, I’m not the seller. I only recently found a copy of my own. I’ve “had” to use my firms’ copies, for years.

It’s not only the first edition, it’s the ONLY edition (g).

The original price was $39.99. I thought it was a bargain, then. . . . [more]

I, like many people no doubt, have one of those guilty pleasures that make little sense yet is so enthralling: reading up on the lives of the rich and famous. It is actually surprising how great a role law plays in the lives of celebrities, seeing how often the press reports on how they break, bend and use the law to their advantage , but one expression, new to me, has recently caught my eye: the super injunction.

Over the past few months, the British media have been reporting on these so-called super injunctions, which go beyond the prohibition of . . . [more]

I am always fascinated by how the law is viewed by non-lawyers. Fiction is always a good place to come across these viewpoints. I saw an excellent example recently when reading John Steinbeck’s ,The Grapes of Wrath.

It tells the grim tale of the Joad family, forced off their land in Oklahoma by drought and the economic hardship of the Great Depression.

They pile all of their belongings on to a modified truck and head west, lured by handbills calling for fruit pickers in California. Grandpa dies of a stroke on the road. The family is confronted with the dilemma . . . [more]

There are fabric shops and lumber yards (well, there used to be), stationery stores and the occasional real hardware store — all places where you can get the wherewithal to make things. Stuff. But there’s a whole lot of material that would be nifty to work with that’s either hard or impossible to come by. Think about all the different kinds of plastic that you come across every day — but where do you go to find a decent selection of that mundane substance? It’s difficult to locate even certain types of metal or metal that’s been worked into this . . . [more]

Lawyers work with words. Tears, fisticuffs, power drills, or whisks won’t take you very far when you’re arguing. I’m told that a good haircut and a good tailor can help; but even these won’t do much for you if you’re drafting. Basically, it’s your command over language that lets you make a case.

That being so, it’s not surprising that more than a few lawyers display an interest in grammar, syntax and usage — elements out of which meaning is made. Of course, these are some of the professional possessions of those who study in the field of linguistics. This . . . [more]

One hundred sixty years ago London invited the world to the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations held in the new and astonishing Crystal Palace. The Google Doodle for today commemorates this event, and, as is the case lately with these doodles, this graphic is interactive. Your cursor over the doodle becomes a magnifying glass, letting you see details with greater clarity — including a number of miniature animations.

The Crystal Palace, originally erected in Hyde Park, threw a glass roof over 990,000 square feet of space. The building was moved and altered considerably in . . . [more]

Here we are embedded in an election — some might say mired — that even with the surprise showing of the NDP can lead to saturnine moods. Today I offer an antidote to gloom, perhaps oddly by moving us very far away from the sun. I prefer to think of it as lifting our gaze to horizons so broad that they put the merely mundane firmly into perspective.

NASA provides an astronomy picture of the day, which alone should be enough to lift your spirits (and there’s always an accompanying scientific comment, for those who require instruction in order . . . [more]

On April 28 of each year, we honour workers who have lost their lives as a result of workplace injury or disease with the Day of Mourning. The Canadian flag on Parliament Hill will fly at half-mast. Workers will light candles, don ribbons or black armbands and observe a moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. Businesses are asked to participate by striving to prevent workplace deaths, illnesses and injuries, and publicly renewing their commitment to improve health and safety in the workplace.

This day was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, eight years after the day of remembrance . . . [more]

Check out the renovated website for the Parliament of Canada. The design is clean, simple, and easy to use. And, of course, the redesign extends to the important LEGISinfo site as well. There you’ll find current bills front and centre (able to be ordered by latest activity date or bill number, and filtered by a set of facets to the right), each displaying a handy progress chart indicating how far along in the legislative process each bill is:

Now all they need to do is recapture the URL parliament.ca from the domain squatter who’s got it now. . . . [more]

Thank you to Simon Fodden for inviting me to contribute to Slaw. I am delighted to be here!

One of yesterday’s headlines caught my eye: passing legislation to make voting mandatory in Canada. This debate is certainly not new, as each election and the somewhat disappointing turn out seems to bring similar questions to the forefront; however, any law addressing this matter has yet to be passed, as opposed to a number of countries that have already adopted such legislation.

As with any law, not voting would have consequences, i.e. penalties (a fine of some sort). Such a law could . . . [more]

Alan Borovoy, General Counsel Emeritus of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, is the recipient of the 2011 Award for the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada. The Award is given by the Canadian Library Association:

Throughout a remarkable career as one of the undisputed leaders in the civil rights movement in Canada, Mr Borovoy has been a tireless advocate for freedom of expression, along with its corollaries freedom of the press and freedom of association; and equally activist for equality and procedural fairness. June Callwood, a recipient in 2006 of the same Award, dubbed him “Mr. Civil Liberties.”

Mr

The most recent issue of the Canadian Law Library Review has a nice article by American attorney Sonia J Buck titled “Movie Therapy for Law Students (and Their Instructors).”

Consistent with my views, the author advocates the use of law-related movies in teaching the law to students. She draws on several movies for specific purposes (e.g., Adam’s Rib and Suspect for ethics, evidence and criminal law), North Country for employment law, and Flash of Genius for IP Law).

In hindsight, I was embarrassed to not have included the obvious choice of Flash of Genius for my law-related movies website, . . . [more]