Last week I covered the litigation from the Adscam controversy relating to journalistic privilege in Globe and Mail v. Canada. This week, the Federal Court released Canada (Attorney General) v. Chrétien relating to the Gomery Inquiry (pdf), the Royal Commission charged under the Inquiries Act with investigating the scandal.

From the outset, the inquiry was burdened with charges of bias and conflicts of interest. Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien then sought judicial review of the inquiry of the Commission’s findings, which quashed the findings. The current appeal was an attempt to overturn this decision to quash . . . [more]

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment have coordinated a new plan for reducing air pollution, according to this Communiqué, and also this Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat press release. The air pollution plan is based on the recommendations of a multi-party committee that included government, NGO, and industry experts. That report is not available, but may be soon. Check here, or sign up for their emails. The plan is “comprehensive” (though subject to provincial jurisdiction), will up air quality standards, and

[u]nder the new system, Canadians would have ready access to information about air quality

The Uniform Arbitration Act (1990), in force in six provinces (and passed years ago in PEI but never proclaimed in force), sets out what were then modern rules for the conduct of arbitrations, with powers of arbitrators spelled out in default of agreement by the parties, and with restrictions on court intervention in the proceedings, as well as enforcement provisions. So far as I know, it works fairly well. (Ontario had a bit of controversy a few years ago about its application to family arbitrations conducted under religious law, and the statute was amended to better harmonize with family law . . . [more]

Click on image to enlarge it.

Roll your own at Bitstrips. . . . [more]

More to the point, maybe, can you?

If you had an iPhone — and Everyday Looper — you could at least try. Reggie Watts, comic and musician, wows Sirius Radio interviewer, Ron Bennington, with an improvised concert on the only equipment he managed to bring to the interview.

I’ve tried to think how lawyers might make business use of Everyday Looper on their iPhones, but it’s Friday, so I didn’t try very hard. But if you can come up with ROI ($5.99) ideas, by all means let us have them. . . . [more]

As social media tools become easier and simpler to use, more of their value seems to be draining away. The last few years have seen an unmistakable trend towards social media tools and habits that push the absolute minimum of effort and commitment, with the result that the promise of social media — better communication, broader networks, stronger personal connections — is in danger of falling by the wayside.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

The new ReTweet (RTs): Time was, if you saw a tweet you liked, you copied-and-pasted it into your own screen, prefixed with an . . . [more]

Have you come across a QR code yet? See this as an example:

All you need is a QR code reader built into your mobile phone – either natively within Android phones, or a free QR app for the iPhone. Then scan the code, and instantly your phone will execute one of a number of predetermined tasks:

• hotlink the phone’s browser to a URL – scanning the above image, for example, takes you to the homepage our blog at Stem;
• initiate a phone call;
• display an image, business card, etc;
• download a v-card;
• or display a simple text message, to

A little late to the party by comparison with other provinces, the Law Society of Upper Canada is now seeking comments on how best to treat the practice of “unbundling” legal services in the rules of conduct. Specifically, a report (undated) prepared by the Policy Secretariat, “Unbundling” of Legal Services and Limited Legal Representation, [PDF] has made a number of proposals for change in the rules governing lawyers and paralegals, and the law society invites responses to these.

In this context, the society means by “unbundling”:

… the provision of limited legal services or limited legal representation. It is

On 4 and 5 November 2010, The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is hosting meetings on Emerging Licensing Modalities, as part of its initiative on Facilitating Access to Culture in the Digital Age. These are global meetings with speakers and participants from around the world, with representatives of a variety of stakeholders. Many speakers are experts in their fields and countries. Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig will be the keynote speaker. The Themes for the meetings are:

Licensing Content Online: New Trends
Competition and Licensing of Music
Software: Tailoring Licenses to Markets
Research and Education: Emerging Licensing Platforms . . . [more]

Recently a male partner said to me that while practicing law in a firm has always been more challenging for women, he believes that today it is almost impossible. This bold statement surprised me – not because I am unaware of the many challenges that women lawyers face but because I look at how far we have come over the past 30 years and cling to the hopeful belief that progress is being made.

When I remember how challenging it was for women to obtain articles or be kept on as associates with the assumption that women would leave as . . . [more]

My assistant came across this YouTube video. It had me laughing out loud. The comments in it are hilarious, and biting. It is worth a look.

. . . [more]