Many lawyers assume that simultaneously acting for members of the same family and their business or corporate entities is relatively safe from fraud and conflicts issues. After all, the parties all know each other and everyone is on good terms.

Unfortunately, this is just not the case. An analysis of LAWPRO claims files tells us that there is actually a greater likelihood of a fraud or conflicts of interest issue when clients are related to or know each other.

Understanding when and why malpractice claims arise when work is done for related clients can help you avoid a claim. . . . [more]

Statistics Canada has just released a report on legal aid spending in the 2007/08 year for all but three jurisdictions (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut). The Daily summarizes the results. As far as overall amounts go,

[a]fter accounting for inflation, spending was up from the previous year in six jurisdictions, with Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Northwest Territories reporting the largest increases at 10% each. Spending was down in New Brunswick, Quebec and Yukon and unchanged in Ontario.

Precise data (1983 – 2007) is contained in four tables:

revenues, by type of revenue; expenditures, by type of . . . [more]

Dr. Ben Goldacre writes a weekly column for the Guardian called Bad Science, in which he “skewers” journalists, politicians, advertisers and others who misrepresent, make up or ignore scientific evidence concerning the sorts of things that concern us all. He also maintains a blog by the same name, where he can (and does) expatiate on these issues. One of his recurring themes is the awful mishandling of vaccination data by the media and, consequently, the various vaccination panics that spring up around the world.

In this connection he writes about an interview he gave on LBC Radio in . . . [more]

I’ve been asked for more information about the LCO Symposium in May, so I thought I’d provide it here. We will be posting on the LCO website soon. The format is a series of conversations that are intended to encourage dialogue among panellists and audience (in the various configurations). I’m trying to avoid a “talking at” environment. The conversations are “What are We Talking About, Anyway?” when we’re talking about law reform;”How do We do It?”; and “What Challenges does Law Reform Face?”. Michael Tilbury of the New South Wales Law Reform Commission will give a free public lecture on . . . [more]

♫ You are the sunshine of my life, yeah,
Thats why Ill always stay around,
You are the apple of my eye,
Forever you’ll stay in my heart…♫

Words and Music by Stevie Wonder.

The legal proceedings of Apple Inc. v. Psystar Corporation are very interesting. Psystar has been sued by Apple for selling computers with the Mac OS X operating system installed, called Open Macs. Apple, for its part, is alleging copyright, trademark and other claims against Psystar in relation to Psystar’s use of Apple’s operating system. Psystar originally alleged violation of federal and state anti-trust laws. In this . . . [more]

Thanks to my partner David Stratas for a tip-off concerning major changes to the SCC website announced today. . . . [more]

In the US, Amazon.com has just announced the second version of its wireless reader, the Kindle 2, will be released February 24, 2009 and cost US$359.

See info and specs here.

3G wireless lets you download books right to your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots (in the US from the Sprint data network). This means you can download books in less than 60 seconds; no PC required. They are claiming the Kindle 2 has a better display and 25% longer battery life. It can hold over 1,500 books. It also has a . . . [more]

Via CALL-L, there is a new policy at the Supreme Court of Canada, effective today for access to court records.
The most interesting part? Webcasts!

In addition to the records already listed in this policy, members of the public shall have remote access to those court records, or portions thereof, listed in this subsection:

* the electronic version of any factum on an appeal filed on or after February 9, 2009, subject to the following conditions. An electronic version of the factum must be available. The factum must not be subject to any limitation on access by court order or

The folks at the Toronto law firm Hicks Morley are leaps and bounds ahead of most other firms in their wiki use. They are using the wiki-based platform ThoughtFarmer as their whole intranet. This has had advantages, including being quick to set up and cost effective compared to other intranet or portal platforms.

In October Knowledge Management Specialist Heather Colman made a presentation to both the Toronto and New York Legal KM Groups, and we subsequently invited her to present at Toronto Wiki Tuesdays. These were her slides: . . . [more]

Recently I’ve had discussions with several lawyers at big firms and at litigation boutiques, all of whom have a clear understanding of their obligations and their clients’ obligations to preserve, review and produce electronic documents, but all of whom seem to be stymied by the apparently uncontrollable, even irrational costs of ediscovery. They have a great deal of difficulty explaining even to sophisticated corporate clients the necessity of paying for electronic discovery, especially since clients number one instruction on document discovery seems to be, “we don’t want to spend any money.”

There’s no question that doing ediscovery properly from beginning . . . [more]

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that taking someone’s picture without their consent (or in this case, taking a newborn baby’s picture without its parents’ consent) is a breach of fundamental human rights, whether or not the picture is ever published. The story is on OutLaw.com. [The judgment in Affaire Reklos et Davourlis c. Grèce is available only in French.]

“The Court reiterated that the concept of private life was a broad one which encompassed the right to identity,” said an ECHR press release about the ruling. “It stressed that a person’s image revealed his or

There’s been some discussion about Facebook and privacy, but less, perhaps, about the matter of who may use the material posted to it. Remember the fuss when Google Chrome’s EULA claimed rights in everything that passed through the browser? Well, if you’re a Facebook user, you might want to take a look at their “contractual” offer.

Facebook’s terms of use make it clear that in using the site you:

hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to

(a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan,