“How are things in the library?” A door opens – not the elevator door, but the door of opportunity. Are you ready?

The concept of the “elevator speech” has been popping up all over the place lately. At the Ontario Government Libraries Council AGM, keynote speaker Farida Karim challenged us to come up with a 30-second synopsis of what our libraries do. Umair Haque, blogging for The Harvard Business Review, has dumped the elevator speech in favour of the Dumbwaiter Speech. In other reading, I’ve seen librarians chastised because they are unable to explain what their library does in . . . [more]

Congratulations to Sue Conner: her comment was our 8000th. Less than a year ago we were celebrating our 6000th comment. This is heartwarming for those of us who post to Slaw: your comments, whatever their complexion, are our rewards, and you’ve been bountiful.

But. There are those who lurk, those whose fingers hesitate uncertainly over mouse or keyboard, debating whether to send us their thoughts. You know who you are. Hesitate no longer. Talk to us, and you’ll see that it turns into a conversation. We’re a friendly group here, and we try to be interesting and accurate; your comments . . . [more]

As a small business owner I am gearing up to start applying the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to my company’s services, in effect July 1, 2010 or earlier. I note this has implications for both those of us who reside in these provinces and those who reside outside these provinces but provide goods and services to residents of B.C. and Ontario. Here are some of the explanatory resources I have found:

• Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for Ontario and British Columbia – Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
• Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) – Videocasts – CRA
• HST news updates – CRA
• HST for

. . . [more]

Cloud computing is a new and fascinating set of technologies that is changing the way the world does business. Is the legal profession ready for it?

Cloud computing is the generic term used to describe a variety of technologies that transfers the responsibility for a computing activity (storage or processing) from a local computer to a network of remote computers. The remote computers are generally operated by one or more third parties. The principal benefit of cloud computing is cost. By using the cloud, a business can reduce the amount of money it spends on procuring and maintaining its own . . . [more]

Yesterday a conference in Kampala, Uganda concluded over terms of the Crime of Aggression under the International Criminal Court. The press release from the court can be found here.

To date, the Rome Statute (pdf) only had subject-matter jurisdiction for three crimes, as listed under Article 5:

1. Genocide
2. Crimes against humanity
3. War crimes

A fourth crime is listed in Article 5, but it is was not defined at the time of the signing of the statute,

2. The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted in accordance with articles

. . . [more]

A ramble on law firm names.

Facebook's founder says we're all to have one identity now. There is legal danger here & moral wrongheadedness.

Yesterday an 8-1 majority of the Supreme Court of Canada held that section 517 of the Criminal Code is valid notwithstanding it infringes section 2(b) of the Charter. The decision is indexed as Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. v. Canada, 2010 SCC 21 (June 10, 2010).

Section 517 provides for a mandatory ban on the publication of “evidence taken, the information given or the representations made and the reasons, if any, given” at a bail hearing at the request of an accused person. In October, 2008, the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed a Charter challenge to section 517 brought . . . [more]

Thanks to Kerri at the CBA for bring this May 2010 Law Society of Saskatchewan fraud alert to my attention.

It provides details (including copies of the correspondence and the collaborative family law agreement) about an attempted spousal support collection fraud that targeted a Saskatchewan lawyer in May. It really jumped out at me because the collaborative family law agreement provided by the fraudster was almost exactly identical to one used for a fraud attempt against an Ontario lawyer in April this year. The fraudster, who claimed to be Karen L Clarke in Saskatchewan, used a different name in Ontario . . . [more]

. . . [more]

I’ve been a sole practitioner for the last 7 years. Of the main office supply issues that continually crop up, chief among them are (1) paper, and (2) printer cartridges. Now, I’m fortunate in that I don’t practice in an area that has huge demands for document production (I’m thinking primarily of the family law/real estate law domains, whose demands for paper keep the forestry industry alive). Nevertheless, I go through a fair amount of paper and cartridges.

Like most small offices, I engaged in the “ink jet vs. laser” debate a number of years ago and, like most small . . . [more]

I am a regular user of the services and collection of the Alberta Government Library. The library organization has changed significantly over the years from embedded department libraries to a centralized model under the service branch of the government. The “significant change” trend is continuing in 2010.

There was a library group email list announcement recently that confirmed earlier rumours that three of seven branches (or sites as they are referred to) are closing as of October 1, 2010. Given that this consolidation will have a direct (likely negative) impact on my ability to gather information for my clients, . . . [more]