I would like to weigh in on Judge Denny Chin’s U.S. District Court decision on March 21, 2011 to dismiss the amended Google Book Settlement, but I am blinded by something like prejudicial gratitude. Google Books, even in its current legally encumbered state, has over the last year insinuated its way into how I work. I believe the work is better for it, and this sense of the difference that Google Books is making on learning and scholarship has played little enough part in discussions of this decision. 

At the same time, I support Judge Chin’s decision because it speaks . . . [more]

Several US blogs and media outlets have taken aim at Canada’s human rights system following a decision last month by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ordering stand-up comedian Guy Earl to pay $15,000 to an audience member for insulting her.

I recently celebrated five years working in a law library. I graduated with my library technician diploma eight years ago, and yet I still feel new to the library world. I think part of the reason for that is I have a relentless curiosity about everything, so I’m always asking questions. My latest wonderings today are about Knowledge Management

My knowledge of Knowledge Management is self-taught; what I’ve read on blogs and white papers, and what I’ve gleaned in conversations with KM practitioners. I’ve been thinking about it a lot more lately, since I recently left one firm to join . . . [more]

Yesterday the Law Society of British Columbia posted the below warning on its website.

From a California lawyer, we have also received a copy of a message that purports to come from lawyer named Marcus Davis at this firm. The initial contact message the California lawyer received is reproduced below.

Attention real estate practitioners:
Fake law firm website used in new variation of bad cheque scam

Wagner Elliot LLP is not a real law firm, but in yet another twist on the bad cheque scam, a sophisticated fraudulent website (www.wagnerelliot.com) is used to fool you into believing that it is. . . . [more]

Much of the legal status of electronic communications in Canada (and elsewhere) rests on legislation based on the United Nations Model Law on Electronic Commerce of 1996. The Model Law’s main Canadian implementation has been through the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act, adopted in 1999. All the common law provinces, Yukon and Nunavut have enacted the Uniform Act, as shown here. Quebec adopted its Act to establish a legal framework for information technology in 2001, mainly based on the principles of the Model Law though not using the Uniform Act as its template. The electronic documents part of the . . . [more]

There are two ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) pilot projects currently in BC. One is aimed at family law cases and the other is aimed at low-value civil claims. Both involve using online dispute resolution technologies to demonstrate how ODR can be used to bridge distances and solve disputes between parties.

A a partner at my firm said someing that surprised me today:
“That is a lot of change.”.
Putting things in perspective, this partner, like many at my firm, is very capable with technology.

We have some major IT projects happening this year at my firm. Hardware, software, training. These along with regular additions of new lateral hires, minor renovations to add more places for people to work, new students, new legislation, new governments, and as Yul Brynner would say, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

How much change is TOO much? Is there a maximum capacity for learning . . . [more]

I was recently asked which one area of civil legal aid I would protect from the upcoming spending cuts in the UK. It is difficult to single out one area of law, but I think I would protect employment advice in the civil legal aid budget for three reasons:

The rise in unemployment 

In the last three years there has been a substantial rise in unemployment and The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development predicts that in 2011 over 200,000 people in the UK will lose their jobs. This increases the probability that the number of people requiring advice regarding . . . [more]

One of the interesting elements of Google’s StreetView program was that its camera crews picked up and recorded the location of wireless hotspots that were not secured. This information was not, so far as I recall, published by Google, but its collection made some news. It seems to me, however, that one hears less often about ‘war-driving’ and other forms of cruising about looking for unsecured wireless signals in order to piggyback onto the Internet with them. Is that because there are so many public wireless access spots available nowadays, or because broadband access has become so cheap that one . . . [more]

For the record, I don’t support the NDP, and their fiscal policies are plain scary. But that doesn’t mean that their viewpoints on everything ought to be ignored. The NDP tech policies on issues such as net neutrality, usage based billing, and copyright are in many ways more compelling than the Conservative policies. Now that the Conservatives have a majority and don’t have to fight for their existence every day – lets hope they take a step back, take a deep breath, and take a fresh approach to tech issues.

The prosperous future of Canada is to a great extent . . . [more]

After speaking at the Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference in Orlando earlier this month, but before flying home, I managed to catch the event’s keynote presentation. It was delivered by Jeff Williford, a facilitator with the Disney Institute, which manages the Disney Corporation’s professional development and corporate culture. He described Disney’s disciplined approach to creating a business culture and applying it throughout the company’s 60,000-strong workforce. Law firms could stand to adopt a few of Disney’s philosophies in this regard (though maybe not the company’s custom of referring to its employees as “cast members”).

One of Jeff’s observations stood out . . . [more]

First of all, I’d like to thank Simon Fodden for inviting me to contribute to the site. It really is an honour to be able to contribute to such a well-rounded and popular blog.

Like my colleague Genevieve Lay (who also blogs on the site), I am a labour and employment lawyer at Ogilvy Renault LLP in Montreal. As a firm, we generally only represent employers. In thinking about how to introduce myself to the Slaw.ca community with my first post, I thought it best to talk about what I do and why I do it. Part of . . . [more]