Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Inasmuch As, in So Far As
Neil Guthrie

These pomposities can always be replaced by something simpler and clearer. Inasmuch as is just a fancy (and archaic) way of saying seeing that, since or because. … . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Technology

A Tool to Improve Your Writing
Lesha Van Der Bij

I recently read about a great tool that helps you to simplify your writing. The Hemingway App highlights: sentences that are difficult to read – yellow sentences are hard to read, while red are “egregious”; use of the passive voice; …

Research & Writing

Heads up!
Neil Guthrie

The origins of this phrase are a little obscure, but . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Use CanLII to Confirm Citations
Susannah Tredwell

At work we are frequently asked how to cite a source using the McGill Guide. While most questions are fairly easy (“how do I cite Delgamuukw?”) the McGill Guide doesn’t always have an answer, e.g. “how do I cite an unreported tribunal decision?” or “how do I cite a type of government document [that isn’t listed in McGill]?”

Practice . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

More Confusing Pairs
Neil Guthrie

Alternate/alternative: As a verb, alternate means ‘to succeed in alternation’ (The two speakers alternated in answering questions form the audience); as a noun, ‘a substitute (I can’t attend the conference, but we’re allowed to send an alternate); as an adjective, ‘occurring by turns’ (The cake consists of alternate layers of cake, whipped cream and fruit filling). … . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Technology

My Favourite Apps – Part III
Lesha Van Der Bij

I love planning trips almost as much as going on the trip itself. So, I am always on the lookout for cool travel apps. Ulmon CityMaps2Go is now my key tool for planning (and executing) city trips. You can use different coloured markers to map out all of the tourist attractions, restaurants and shops that you want to . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Who said it?
Susannah Tredwell

This doesn’t exactly count as legal research, but I periodically get asked for to confirm that a given person was the source of a quote. …

Practice

Go to live events
Sandra Bekhor

Technology has made life better in oh so many ways. Today, we can even make new connections with colleagues and clients, without leaving the comfort of our home . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Practice

Getting Cross With Affidavits: Think About Specifying Whether the Affiant Swore or Affirmed
Shawn Erker

As an enlightened country with an enlightened legal system practised by (hopefully) enlightened legal professionals, we are accustomed to certain neutralities that make no preference for religious beliefs. One such neutrality is the legal equivalence between swearing and affirming an affidavit. …

Research & Writing

Yet More Bad Business Jargon
Neil Guthrie

Deck: . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Whistleblower
Neil Guthrie

In law and business, this now means an employee who snitches on bad practices by co-workers (especially the higher-ups) but who is protected from recrimination by legislative provisions like s 27 of the federal Digital Privacy Act and s 66.1 of the Competition Act, or, in the US, s 922 of Dodd-Frank. … . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Technology

My Favourite Apps – Part II
Lesha Van Der Bij

This is my second post in a series on my favourite smart phone apps. Here’s one for folks who are seriously pressed for time (aren’t we all?) but who are still trying to keep up with non-fiction reading. Blinkist provides access to 15-minute summaries of books on a range of topics, including leadership, politics, marketing, parenting, nutrition, technology, . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

Italics
Neil Guthrie

Slanted type like this, with a number of distinct uses. Used in these posts to set off a word or phrase that is being discussed. Quotation marks would serve that purpose just as well, although things might look a bit cluttered and fussy. …

Practice

Slaw Tips Reaches 1000 Tips!

As noted on Slaw – this week, Slaw Tips reached a big milestone: . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Technology

My Favourite Apps – Part I
Lesha Van Der Bij

While smart phones are an increasingly big part of most lawyers’ practices, many lawyers only use their phones for email, text and calls. But there’s so much more you can do! This is the first post in a series on my favourite apps. …

Research

Add Resources to the Internet Archive
Susannah Tredwell

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Technology

A New Cloud Computing Guide From the LSS
Greg Hluska – Law Society of Saskatchewan Library

Cloud. You’ve heard the term, perhaps wondered what it really meant and maybe even worried about it. ‘The cloud’ is just a marketing term that means the internet. So, if you see the term ‘cloud storage’, it means ‘store your documents on the internet’. …

Research & Writing

Trite Law
Neil Guthrie . . . [more]