[With special contribution by Jim Eckler]

In this article, I follow up on the statement made in my last column in which I said “I’d seek to bust the myth that what’s good for a vendor must be bad for a customer and vice versa.” In writing those words, what I had in mind was to explore a newly developing genre of outsourcing known as “Vested Outsourcing”^fn. To help with this undertaking, I’ve turned to the colleague who first introduced me to this outsourcing model – Jim Eckler, President of Eckler Associates and a leading expert in outsourcing . . . [more]

One of the first sessions at the ABA meeting had Tom Mighell and Nerino Petro, two legal tech experts, talking about using tablet computers in the practice of law. Essentially they took us through the competitors and their comparative advantages. 

(I must say one thing at the start: there was no wifi; there is no wifi at all at the ABA meeting. This is almost impossible to believe and very hard to understand today.)

Here’s how I understood what I heard.

Apple’s iPad is clearly in the lead. For one thing, Apple has an 18-month head start on the others, . . . [more]

A few of us are attending the American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting in Toronto this week, and we’ll be posting a few updates on some sessions.

Rebecca Bowman of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania spoke on how decision trees can be used in the negotiation and arbitration processes, specifically when dealing with right-brain clients. . . . [more]

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2010, S.S. 2011, c. 17 (former Bill 160), was proclaimed in force on July 1, 2011. The overall purpose of the Act is to make the human rights complaints process more timely and flexible by streamlining the process for dealing with complaints and allowing more cases to be resolved without litigation.

A major and, according to some, welcome change is the elimination of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal and the transfer of the tribunal’s powers to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, which will hear complaints that cannot be resolved by . . . [more]

How much noise must neighbours of a highway put up with?

As noted by Geneviève Lay here on Slaw recently, The Québec Court of Appeal has certified the Carrier class action by neighbours of a major Québec freeway, the Laurentian Highway (Highway 73) north of Québec City. I’d like to add a bit to her reportage here.

The neighbours have been complaining about noise from the highway since 1985, which (they say) interferes with outdoor use of their properties and requires them to keep their windows closed at all times. Even with the windows closed, their sleep is disturbed and . . . [more]

Yesterday Larry Alford joined the University of Toronto as its new Chief Librarian. Larry is responsible for the UofT Library system which is the largest research library in Canada and among the largest in the world. Mr. Alford is only the 6th permanent Chief Librarian at UofT since 1892. Larry replaces Carole Moore who retired earlier this summer after leading the Library for over 25 years and overseeing the transformation of the UofT Library system from a good Canadian library to one of the great research libraries in the world – matching the University’s aspiration to join the ranks . . . [more]

When referring to court or tribunal decisions in our daily lives, we generally use only the name of the main party or organization involved in the case. This “style of cause” or “case name” as we call it, doesn’t have to be unique in order to be specific: in any given legal context, the names of one or two main parties often suffice to refer to a decision, its full citation being used only in formal writings. Also, with electronic databases, we can afford to refer to only one decision and other decisions made in the same dispute are often . . . [more]

A short while ago the US House Judiciary Committee amended House bill H.R.1981 “Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011” so as to require ISPs in the United States to retain for 18 months a broad range of data about customers and their online activity. (It would seem that the version currently available on LOC’s Thomas does not yet reflect the changes.) To quote from the brief story by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic:

…the firm that sells you Internet access would be required to track all of your Internet activity and save it for 18 months, along

For the past week, the U.S. National Public Radio has broadcast a series of shocking reports about corruption and abuse in how the US Patent system is set up, and who is abusing it to the detriment of everyone else and innovation.

I highly recommend that you listen to the audio version of these clips, as there are some great quotes included.

The original report is about 20 minutes and can be found here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/07/26/138576167/when-patents-attack
Follow up reports can be found here:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/441/when-patents-attack
and here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/02/138934689/the-tuesday-podcast-the-patent-war
These stories are fascinating, hard hitting and make me wonder whether there are any . . . [more]

Luigi Benetton has published a nice article called “Knowledge Management Know-How” in the current edition of The Lawyers Weekly.

The article quotes me and fellow SLAW contributor Dominic Jaar, but what I like about the article are the viewpoints from others in the industry and the wide range of tips and advice on best practices.

What I find with knowledge management is that there is usually never a single approach or method and varies a fair bit depending on the type of organization, its culture and staffing.

In fact, there has been lots of discussion in the . . . [more]

Two disparate articles caught my eye this morning that are worthy of pondering.

Apple has sued Samsung claiming that Samsung’s tablets violate Apple tablet patents. Some of the features in question are actually part of the Android operating system, not just the tablet itself. In Australia, sales of Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 are on hold pending court action. Setting aside the legal issues, and the debate over whether such patents are a good or bad thing for innovation, consider this point of view by Mike Masnick of Techdirt:

But, really, all Apple has done with this lawsuit is

If you were planning on working through the summer without taking a holiday, think again. Vacations aren’t just for fun, relaxation and time with the family, they can provide crucial recuperation for your mental muscle. When you don’t take vacation, you lose important recovery time, and over the long term your work (and you) may well suffer.

Here’s why: Our bodies work in rhythms. Our brain does too. Throughout the day we cycle through longer periods of energy exertion and shorter periods of recuperation. Our minds can maintain optimal focus for 60 to 90 minutes before needing a 10 minute . . . [more]