We note the passing of David Anthony Ward, one of the founders of Davies Ward, Phillips & Vineberg, and one of the leading authors on Canada’s Tax Treaties. . . . [more]

For those whose New Year resolutions include the idea of weight redistribution or reallocation.

Seen elsewhere: “Indianapolis’ front four rely on their quickness because of a lack of size (their average weight is 283 pounds).”

By comparison, in 1953 the the average weight of a sumo wrestler was 317 pounds. It is now 412 1bs. . . . [more]

I’m the guy who, as a kid, used to make a list of unfamiliar words just to contemplate them in their strangeness, reluctant some times for months to puncture the mystery with a dictionary. There’s something profoundly interesting to me about written language in and of itself — as an object, rather than as a means to meaning. I enjoy the sight of it, bulked on a page, the shape of certain words, the way it can be made to come to a perfect halt at some right margins…

And then there’s this:

कृपया साल के हर एक दिन Slaw . . . [more]

Here’s a nice little comeditorial from Search Engine. It is the first entry in their new YouTube channel.

It does not mention the law, but it has implications: if the internet makes us dumber, does that mean online legal services will be poorer, since the lawyers providing them will not be so sharp? Or does it mean, instead, that we’ll all be getting more done, though none of us might be able to claim the credit exclusively? . . . [more]

So many of us are shocked and saddened by the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) advises against non-essential travel to Haiti, asking that only those with the skill sets needed go as they don’t have enough infrastructure in the country to support more people.

They advise the best way for Canadians to help is to donate money, not food or clothing. The Government of Canada today announced they would match giving of Canadians dollar-for-dollar up to $50 million in response to this tragedy. Because scam artists are already at work online . . . [more]

The blogosphere and twitterverse are buzzing today about the stand Google took yesterday in China. Google basically said it would no longer censor results for Chinese users as required by the Chinese government, and if the government didn’t like it, they would leave.

Seems that the last straw was a series of cyber attacks on Google and others trying to steal proprietary information, and trying to read the gmail accounts of human rights activists. Google claims the Chinese government is behind those attacks.

This is a bold move by Google. We often see how businesses, governments and courts struggle with . . . [more]

Rule #408 Don’t lay claim to your personal coffee mug by mass e-mail.

Rule #78 It is impossible to send an e-mail longer than two paragraphs without a typo.

Rule #765 A managing partner should never walk the halls in stocking feet.

Rule #189 Docketing “twittering” to client development is sure to invite ridicule.

Rule #685 Don’t hang a picture of yourself wearing a bathing suit in your office.

Rule #441 If you’re under 50 and using a fountain pen you’re trying too hard.

Rule #210 Make funny faces and adoring comments when a new baby visits no matter what . . . [more]

A note that Stanford is hosting the first of Law.Gov’s workshops laying the groundwork for

a report documenting exactly what it would take to create a distributed registry and repository of all primary legal materials in the United States.

Here is the announcement, the home page, the live blog, and the mailing list, The Twittter hashtag is #law.gov.

Authenticity is a highlighted technical concern, which is good to see. I presented on this problem recently at the Grey Literature 11 conference in Washington DC. Here is the abstract. . . . [more]

Today’s Calgary Herald reports the death of the distinguished Canadian legal author, John Ballem QC of Gowlings, at the age of 85.

Those of us who have had to refer to Ballem’s masterpiece, The oil and gas lease in Canada (now in its third edition) and his pioneering work on fiduciary duties in the 1963 Alberta Law Review, will likely not realize that he was also the author of fourteen novels (The Devil’s Lighter, The Dirty Scenario, The Judas Conspiracy (reissued as Alberta Alone), The Moon Pool, Sacrifice Play, The Marigot Run, Oilpatch Empire, Death Spiral, The Barons, Manchineel, . . . [more]

We posted about the major cuts that Thomson-Reuters announced in early December to trim almost 2 % of its North American workforce. The blogosphere has noted the significant cuts made to Eagan’s library liaisons.

But we’ve seen no formal announcement or confirmation of the rumours of seventy five Carswell staff being let go from Thomson-Reuters’ Canadian legal operation, that was initiated just before Christmas. The rumours suggest that the cuts include twenty-five in the legal editorial group and that the downsizing may still be ongoing.

Funny that the Australians reported the news about the Canadian lay-offs while there’s . . . [more]

Hint.fm, the baby of a couple of IBM scientists, Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg (who are actually a couple) [UPDATE: actually NOT a couple; my mistake; see the comments], is a website about visualizing data. As we’ve talked about many times on Slaw, one method of trying to understand the current surges of information involves using data to construct visual Gestalts that our minds might ingest in a gulp. The fact that a picture is worth 10³ words is nothing new, of course; charts and graphs and diagrams have been around since before Babylonian geometry. What is . . . [more]

wherein (because it is a Friday) we peel the layers of the onion (in attempted homage to that Onion) and reveal the secret behind the recent prorugation of the Canadian Parliament. 

Is there also some connection to this and from appearances this?. You’ll have to decide for yourself.

Our story begins a number of years ago (not necessarily on Friday the 13th or otherwise). . . . [more]