We’re pleased indeed to announce that Yosie Saint-Cyr has joined Slaw as a regular contributor. Yosie was called to the Quebec bar in 1988, where she practised employment and labour law until 1999. For over 10 years Yosie has been the Managing Editor of the Human Resources and Compliance Collection from First Reference and she is the managing editor of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) of Ontario’s monthly member e-newsletter ELAW. She is one of Canada’s best-known and most-respected HR authors, with an extensive background in employment and labour law across the country.

Yosie can also be found on . . . [more]

I don’t make a habit of posting my newspaper articles here – but this one has received more than normal attention on my own blog, so thought it might be worthwhile posting it here as well. Its on my blog, and on Canoe

I can’t post it here in full for contractual reasons – but the gist is that a 19 year old student has been sued by the North Face clothing company over his South Butt clothes that mock North Face fleece jackets worn by the popular crowd at his school.

In response to North Face’s tagline, “Never . . . [more]

The Canadian Bar Association’s National International Law Section and the National Continuing Education Committee are presenting the 2010 International Law conference on “The Future of Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Relations” on May 6-7 in Vancouver.

The conference program (available in PDF) lists the following plenary events and breakout sessions:

• Legal Lessons in Inter-Jurisdictional Relations from the 2010 Olympics Games
• Cross Border Regulation and Trade
• Labour Movement and Human Trafficking into the Pacific North West
• Corporate Complicity in International Human Rights Abuse – The Search for Effective Remedies (dinner keynote – speaker: Justice Ian Binnie)
• TILMA, AIT, NAFTA, and WTO: Integration

CaseStudiesOnline.com is a new web site with hundreds of social media marketing case studies, all fully indexed and searchable. The site was created by Tod Maffin, a well-known strategist, consultant, speaker and thought leader based in Vancouver. The site is currently in beta with more case studies being added each day. Maffin also plans on interviewing both thought-leaders in social media marketing and the people in the trenches who are putting these tools into action.

Here’s a short video by Maffin showing how CaseStudiesOnline.com works:

I took the opportunity to interview Tod Maffin over the phone last week to . . . [more]

Maybe its because we’re just on the good side of the dead of winter, but my weekly Slaw assignment led me back to an article I wrote in 2001 in praise of a communication model I learned to appreciate in years spent hanging out at the beach.

I called the article “Windsurfing 101” and described the four-part model I learned way way back in 1984 when I took my first Canadian Yachting Association windsurfing instructor course. Back then I was taught that a good teacher:

1. Sets specific, clear and measurable learning objectives
2. Divides information into logical chunks
3. Maximizes audience participation

I see a change coming on how Alberta Courts deal with costs for computerized legal research. Mr. Justice MacLeod in Aram Systems Ltd. v. NovAtel Inc., 2010 ABQB 152, wrote:

[23] With great respect to those decisions made at an earlier time, I think that the view of computerized legal research as a mere alternative is no longer consonant with the reality of current legal practice. Such research is now expected of counsel, both by their clients, who look to counsel to put forth the best possible case, and by the courts, who rely upon counsel to present

This is definitely a bargain for firms and individuals using Twitter.

Chris Pirillo’s new e-book 140 Twitter Tips, a 14-page PDF, offers useful and practical hints for all types of Twitter users. Tips include:

• The best time of day to get retweets
• How to effectively respond to debates and criticisms
• Don’t use too much jargon
• Oversharing vs. undersharing

The best part: the e-book costs only $1.40.

See ReadWriteWeb for more information about this e-book and Chris Pirillo. . . . [more]

Date: Friday, May 14, 2010
Time: 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

I am excited to be able to participate in this year’s CBA BC Branch Women Lawyers Forum Education Day event. Along with Elizabeth Watson and Stacey Handley, I will participate on a leadership panel which will be led by Marion McAdam of Fourth Wall Project Management & Consulting. Marion has worked extensively with women who are leaders already or who are aspiring to become one within their own context. In conjunction with this, she has also done a considerable amount of research on emerging and changing trends in . . . [more]

This week saw the release of Canada’s 2010 federal budget. Maybe next year, I’ll see if blogging qualifies me to join the lock-up; but for 2010 I stuck to web-based review and analysis:

• The budget was fairly popular among the science and innovation crowd — though reaction to the budget followed faithfully the degree to which each constituency’s requests were funded.
• The full list of relevant line items is here; but this post is a good starting point to focus on the top budget items for biotech and other knowledge-based industries, including an increase in basic research

This year’s Legal IT conference, Legal IT 4.0, is scheduled for April 26 and 27th. Each year the conference looks at information technology and its impact on the law. I was fortunate to attend last year’s conference, and found the audience and presenters to be a stimulating mix of thought leaders and those new to many of the concepts.

The program has largely been set, and the 50-plus speaker roster is being finalized. The subject areas being covered:

Day 1:

• Cyber crime
• IT in courtrooms
• Tech Showcase – written communications
• e-Discovery
• Early adopters
• Tech Showcase – research and

Watching Canada win gold in men’s hockey and landing our nation the Olympic record for most gold medals won by any country in winter sports was an unforgettable experience. The national celebration and the pride and the joy we are all experiencing at being Canadian is something to savor.

“Own the Podium” – never liked it. Seemed so un-Canadian, so boastful, so competitive, and yet… how effective. As a brand “Own the Podium” named the dream and captured the aspirations of our athletes and fans.

As we return to life as usual what else can we take from these games? . . . [more]

I thought I’d draw Slawyers’ attention to a new student-run blog on international law, Legal Frontiers, run by law students at McGill University (my own alma mater). The site officially launched in January, and the content so far looks very interesting. Check it out and post a comment. . . . [more]