Anyone that has followed me over the past 15 years knows that I am a firm believer in the power of writing a book for business development purposes. In my view, it is a big audacious business card—period! If written as a business development tool—it lets prospective clients inside your world and how you think. It is a strong credibility builder since “you wrote the book on the subject.” Over the past 15 years, I have written 6 books, which have led to millions of dollars in revenue. But NOT in book sales. Yes, I have been an Amazon bestseller, . . . [more]

While I find Twitter posts too often to be vicious, bigoted (neither in those I actually follow, but in retweet comments), frustrating and a lagoon of self-congratulatory messages (“I’m honoured and humbled to have won/been recognized for/have been included among these fabulous people….”), I also enjoy some people’s very clever humour and discover news of developments I might not otherwise see. So it is with a Tweet from @lawtech_a2j (aka the UK’s Roger Smith): “The concept of user-centred legal design has proved itself as exciting, galvanising and innovative over the last decade. Can we call it a ‘game changer’? It . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on practice, research, writing and technology.

Research & Writing

How Do You Note Up a Specific Paragraph of a Case?
Susannah Tredwell

There are a couple of ways of noting up a specific paragraph of a case, with the easiest option being on CanLII. For CanLII, start off by searching for the case you are interested in. … . . . [more]

I wish I had more confidence.
How can I become more confident?

In coaching conversations with junior lawyers, concerns about lack of confidence and questions about how to build it up come up a lot. This is such a common challenge it is addressed directly in the opening session of AMP (Associate Mentorship Plus) Club in the context of career navigation and what to expect in the early years of practice.

Wouldn’t it be easier if I was confident?

Yes, probably.

Lack of confidence can feel like a unique challenge. Looking around is can seem like other lawyers appear confident. . . . [more]

Reflections by Gerry Ferguson, distinguished professor, faculty of Law at the University of Victoria.

Joe Arvay was a good friend to many of us and a shining star in our legal universe. When I think of Joe, I cannot get Elton John’s tribute song to Princess Diana (and Norma Jean) out of my head – “his candle burnt out long before his legend ever will.” Joe died of a sudden heart attack while still in full flight at age 71. Joe was viewed by many as Canada’s pre-eminent legal advocate for the civil rights and liberties of us all, . . . [more]

Criminal law can be differentiated from civil proceedings, where both sides are obligated to provide all relevant evidence, in that there is an inherent asymmetry in the information the Crown possesses. This is particularly important given the burden of proof that is imposed on the Crown.

The B.C. Court of Appeal stated in R. v. C. (M.H.),

 [29] …there is a general duty on the part of the Crown to disclose all material it proposes to use at trial and especially all evidence which may assist the accused even if the Crown does not propose to adduce it.

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

ADMINISTRATIF (DROIT) : Le recours des demandeurs, qui souhaitent que le tribunal déclare invalide et inopérant le paragraphe 29 du dixième aliéna du décret 1020-2020 (Décret concernant l’ordonnance de mesures visant à protéger la santé de la population dans la situation de pandémie de la COVID-19), lequel instaure . . . [more]

Each Friday, we share the latest job listings from Slaw Jobs, which features employment opportunities from across the country. Find out more about these positions by following the links below, or learn how you can use Slaw Jobs to gain valuable exposure for your job ads, while supporting the great Canadian legal commentary at Slaw.ca.

Current postings on Slaw Jobs:

• Director, People and Culture (Full-time) | Remote/Vancouver, BC
  (Ecojustice)

The following is my oral submission on February 4 to the Resource Stewardship Committee which is currently reviewing Alberta’s Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act:

In my short time today, I would like to focus on measures that will create the trust needed for employees to come forward to report wrongdoing knowing that their jobs will be protected. This is the only way to make this legislation work effectively.

All of us here today, regardless of affiliation, share the values embodied in whistleblower protection. Wasted government resources, corruption, shocking newspaper headlines are not what anyone wants to see. This undermines . . . [more]

By Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s decision in Yee v Hudson’s Bay Company, 2021 ONSC 387 is welcome news for anyone wondering about COVID-19’s effect on a reasonable notice period. For all of the upheaval that the pandemic has caused, it proved to be of little consequence to the notice owed to a dismissed company executive in this case. . . . [more]

Another teacher once told me to begin teaching legal research by asking students to find a pair of black dress shoes online.^[1] Students can be very intimidated by the beginnings of legal research, particularly post-search filtering, but many of these same students are quite adept at post-search filtering while shopping online. After giving students a few minutes to perform their shoe-shopping research, the teacher can analogize their just-displayed skills to the skills they’ll need for legal research.

First, ask the room who was shopping for men’s dress shoes and who was shopping for women’s shoes. Likely many people will . . . [more]