Yesterday the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador created history when it introduced and passed Bill 75 (now S.N.L. 2008, c. A-1.01), Abitibi-Consolidated Rights and Assets Act. The legislation takes away land and water rights, including ownership of all hydroelectricity rights from the generating station at Star Lake, and timber rights to forests on Crown land, from the U.S.-based company AbitibiBowater as of the end of March 2009 given to the company’s predecessor in 1909. Media are characterizing this both as “expropriation” and “repatriation” of the lands. . . . [more]

So says Nick Abrahams in his similarly titled post of last week:

Today in what appears to be a first in Australia and perhaps the world, Master Harper of the ACT Supreme Court ordered that a default judgement could be served on defendants by notification on Facebook.

I wonder how long before this happens in Canada? After all, Canada is the country in the world with the highest Facebook penetration, as a percentage of its population… 29% in July 2008! Too bad Facebook doesn’t send back read receipts to lawyers serving documents on Facebook. . . . [more]

HeinOnline seems to be gaining market share in Canada, so I thought I’d point out that they have just released a recap of all of their search tips, which is really well-organised for long-term keeping.

Question: how many of you are subscribed? Is HeinOnline becoming a “must-have” for firms, or is it a tool better suited to academe? . . . [more]

This is a midweek meander, taking us away from law, and that’s okay, I hope. What’s around this particular bend are the 1,500 photographs that the New York Public Library has selected from the 640,000 photos of its Digital Gallery for tagging and inclusion in the Flickr Commons. These represent, we’re told, a sort of “appetizer course” for the larger transfers to come. Images in Flickr Commons are by and large available for use free of encumbering copyright restrictions.

I’ve quickly run through all of the NYPL additions and can tell you that there’s a wide range of interesting . . . [more]

That’s the title of my Free Press column for this week. I thought perhaps the tech savy Slaw audience might appreciate this, and we can all use something a little lighter to read.

It starts off by saying: Struggling with ideas for Christmas gifts for those into gadgets or technology? Here are some suggestions.

My agreement with the newspaper prohibits me from reproducing it here this soon after it was published, but you can read it on my blog, on the Free Press site, or on the Canoe tech site. . . . [more]

Aujourd’hui encore, trop nombreux sont les profanes aux yeux desquels l’Internet reste une terre inconnue, aux rituels propres et au langage incompréhensible. Pour se convaincre des réticences que continue à susciter le réseau parmi les professionnels du droit en particulier, il suffit d’ailleurs de faire état de tous les domaines de la pratique au sein desquels son utilisation est encore exclue. Par exemple, le courriel n’est toujours pas un mode de signification accepté par le législateur, et nombre d’avocats lui préfèrent la télécopie pour de simples communications. Les tribunaux de la Belle Province ne permettent pas encore la production de . . . [more]

The latest issue of LAWPRO Magazine just hit the streets, and we focused on helping lawyers get through difficult economic times.

Our cover story, Surviving the slide: What Firms Should (And Shouldn’t) Do To Ride Out The Economic Storm, is a roundtable discussion with four of the world’s top experts on law firm management and operations (Gerry Riskin, Merrilyn Tarlton, Ed Flitton, and Karen MacKay). In this discussion they share their insights and tips on leadership, marketing, client relationships, law firm finances and technology in tough times. It is an amazing discussion (we actually . . . [more]

Angela Swan recently wrote a post on “legal education, the alternatives”. Her motivation was a conference at Ryerson on models of legal education, “the how to think” model and the “how to do model”. Angela suggested this was a false dichotomy and I agree completely – I’d be surprised if anyone actually thought either model in its extreme, as presented here, was an appropriate way to train law students. The real issue is how well the two models are integrated and here law schools differ in their programs. The multilayered, multifaceted life (even in my limited experience of it) . . . [more]

There was a time before Twitter, which first appeared on our radar not quite a year ago (Some Folks Are A-Twitter). Facebook was invented in 2004 and didn’t take off until some years later. There was even a time before RSS, and certainly a time before it became a routine way to pull information. And, of course, we’re told that there was indeed a time before blogging — but that’s pre-history and there’s no written record from that time…

So my question is: what is the new technology that we’re not quite seeing at the moment?

I’m not . . . [more]

Today saw the release of an Ipsos Reid survey on the legal problems faced by low-income British Columbians. More than 80 per cent have faced problems since 2005 that have been serious and difficult to resolve. The poll was commissioned by the province’s legal aid program.

Consumer, money, and housing issues topped the list of legal problems with employment and family relations following close behind.

“The high incidence of legal problems is troubling,” said Mark Benton, QC, Executive Director of the Legal Services Society, the organization that provides legal aid in BC. “This survey, along with other research . . . [more]

I came across the following enthusiastic review of a new book on the law of Bail:

Faris on Bail is the most extensive and insightful book written on the law and practice of bail in Victoria. It is clearly written and structured and includes a reference and link to every relevant case on the topic. It provides lawyers and judges with a complete resource on the relevant law and is one of the few legal publications that provides an exhaustive treatment of a subject matter.

Well what’s unusual about that, you might ask.

Legal publishing in jurisdictions like Victoria – . . . [more]

Last week Family Law Education for Women (FLEW) unveiled a public education campaign called “All Women. One Family Law” to ensure that women in Ontario know their legal rights under provincial family law. FLEW is a public legal education project funded by Ontario to develop materials to inform women’s decisions about family law issues.

Here is the English language website, the French website and news announcements in both English and French. The information itself is in English, Chinese (traditional), Punjabi, Tamil, French, Chinese (simplified), somali, Urdu, Arabic, Farsi and Spanish.

I particularly liked the embedded video in the . . . [more]