The Practice Directions for the Toronto Region states,

Parties must consult with each other to select a return date convenient to all parties and which will permit all parties to file all necessary materials and conduct any examinations before the return date. At the time of booking, a realistic estimate of the time required by all parties for argument must be provided.
[emphasis added]

Most other regions have similar guidelines on consultation for scheduling.

Finding a single date when all counsel are available, and then also securing that date from the Trial Scheduling Office, can be challenging, especially when there . . . [more]

Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or another cause for celebration that triggers you to pause, over-eat, connect with loved ones, the winter holiday is a blessing. It also reminds us to stop and appreciate our clients, especially if we haven’t done so during the year. 

A few years back I was working on a project and my law firm client retained a well-known Vancouver design firm. On the eve of Thanksgiving, all of us on the project received pumpkin pies with a note of appreciation attached. Simple and sweet. It was their strategy to offer a memorable token of appreciation during . . . [more]

On September 29, 2010, new legislation allows Quebec to enter into reciprocal agreements with other Canadian provinces and territories to enforce the payment of wages and other moneys owed to local employees of Quebec-based organizations, as laid out in the other jurisdictions’ respective employment standards legislation.

Will this spread to other jurisdictions? Will people now pay more attention when we talk to them about the importance of proper legal citation? Just a thought :)

Lawyer Fined $100 for Getting a Case Citation Wrong . . . [more]

Linking Service Descriptions to the Economic Model

It is trite to say that in any outsourcing transaction, the service description is critical to the deal. The services are, after all, the essence of the outsourcing regardless of the impetus for doing the outsourcing in the first place (such as cost reduction, technology improvement, business transformation, and so on). The service descriptions are used to establish the framework for the economic model and the base fees that will have to be paid by the business owner. These service descriptions are key for establishing what the service provider must do for the . . . [more]

The Legal Services Act of Scotland has been passed into law allowing up to 49% public ownership of law firms.

As earlier promised, a somewhat delayed post on legal project management (LPM).

The recent Ark Group master class on LPM, by Steven B. Levy of Lexician and Patrick Lamb of the Valorem Law Group, was a good overview of the topic, with Steven drawing on his experiences at Microsoft and from his book, with Patrick providing a law firm perspective based on the approach in his daily practice. The session certainly reinforced the points in Steven’s book and provided useful context and comfort for implementing LPM. In addition to both the various theoretical and practical ideas presented, . . . [more]

I am wondering about the current Canadian rules on intermediary liability, if any — mainly for online intermediaries.

I note the provision of Quebec law (An Act to establish a legal framework for information technology, R.S.Q. c. C-1.1, s. 22.):

A service provider […] is not responsible for the activities engaged in by a service user […]

However, the service provider may incur responsibility, particularly if, upon becoming aware that the documents are being used for an illicit activity, or of circumstances that make such a use apparent, the service provider does not act promptly to block

. . . [more]

There has been a lot of press over the Privacy Commissioner’s decision that the Google Street View collection of information from unprotected wifi signals breached PIPEDA. See the press release, and the decision. See examples of press reports by the CBC and CTV. The CTV report says that Spanish regulators announced they were filing a lawsuit against Google for the incident, seeking millions in fines.

I know nothing more about this than I read in the press – but I think we need to put Google’s actions in perspective here. Yes, it should not have collected that . . . [more]

Having been a supporter of open access to research and scholarship for a dozen years now, I sometimes think that I have seen it all, from brilliant strategies to collegial indifference. Thus my surprise and delight, when I recently had the chance to meet Goldis Chami and Gordana Panic at the University of British Columbia to talk about their efforts, as students, to bring about open access to the work published by faculty and graduate students at UBC. Goldis, a second-year medical student, and Gordana, a recent graduate in Biology and Psychology, explained to me that they were determined to . . . [more]

LinkedIn has just announced that users can add new sections to their profiles. New boxes will be available for certifications, publications, and even patents, reflecting the broader types of users that LinkedIn has experienced beyond the business and IT communities. For example, I can now add my (American) nuclear medicine technology licenses, and my numerous speaking engagements, important to an aspiring litigator claiming some background in healthcare.

One new section might be of particular interest to lawyers. The Martindale-Hubbell Ratings, which provide scores based on client satisfaction and peer-reviews, are also available as a section feature. The two . . . [more]

October 18, 2010 was election day for municipalites in Alberta. My husband made his choice in the afternoon at our polling station, with one person in line in front of him. I made my selection for a Division 1 Councillor for Lac Ste. Anne County around 6:10 p.m., on my way home, with no one in front of me in line to vote.

There were news reports for city election results, and some blog activity in larger centres, but in rural Alberta election news, and results, and even platforms were mostly silent. Especially on the web.

Prior to the election, . . . [more]