This spring, I read 200 applications from people who want to study law at the University of Windsor. Our law school, like every other in Ontario, receives more than eight applications for each available place in first year. Across the province, there are roughly 4300 applicants for 1600 spots. The figures are comparable across the country; Canada still has among the fewest law school spots per capita in the developed world.

Those of us on admissions committees must rank applicants on the basis of our respective institutions’ admissions criteria. We must recommend that many people who want to . . . [more]

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed* on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Sandhu v Siri Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara of Alberta, 2020 ABQB 359 (CanLII)

[1] The applicant contests his ouster as president of the respondent organization. He applied, unsuccessfully, for an interim injunction reinstating him. As part of the “no injunction” order, I directed the parties to attempt to draw up the procedural roadmap for the reinstatement litigation, which they were unable . . . [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

Definitions: A Drafting Point
Neil Guthrie

Two lawyers at my firm asked which formulation I preferred: “Notice” has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 9.1. “Notice” has the meaning ascribed in Section 9.1. “Notice” has the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 9.1. Being a dangerous radical, I opted for the second one. It’s the simplest. …

Practice

Pitch a Book to CanLII
Emma Durand-Wood

CanLII . . . [more]

[This post was a collaboration written by Julie Macfarlane, along with NSRLP research assistants Katie Pfaff, Negin Shahraki and Arathi Arit.]

How are students in law school coping with the impact of the lockdown on their studies, their lives, and their feelings of well-being and optimism?

I asked our NSRLP research assistants for their thoughts and reflections on what it was like to finish out last semester – and anticipate beginning next semester – in a virtual learning space. Below, three 1Ls share their hopes, their challenges, and their ongoing questions about what happens next.

Katie Pfaff

When the announcement . . . [more]

In a recent post Ivan Mokanov presented Lexum’s vision of providing Knowledge Management as a Service to the legal community. It is true that until now KM in the legal sector has been closely associated with expensive enterprise software only at the reach of law firms of a certain size. However, it is our belief that the infrastructure we developed for legal publishing can also be leveraged by lawyers for making the most out of the information they produce and store internally. That is why we recently started introducing features in Lexbox increasing the interactivity between public (legislation, case law, . . . [more]

In 1977, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the case of Smithers v. R., where two young hockey players who got into it, in and outside of the rink. In the brief altercation that ensued, one of the players died. The other player was charged and convicted of manslaughter.

The accused appealed unsuccessfully around the cause of death, which was due to asphyxiation. However, this was not due to any choking, but either the aspiration of foreign materials due to vomiting, and a malfunction of the epiglottis.

The unusual cause of death has therefore become one of the examples . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all appeals as well as leaves to appeal granted so you will know what the SCC will soon be dealing with (May 16 – June 12, 2020 inclusive).

Appeals

Criminal Law: Entrapment
R. v. Ahmad, 2020 SCC 11(38165)(38304) (joint reasons for 2 appeals)

Police cannot offer a person who answers a cell phone the opportunity to . . . [more]

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 Ju stice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

RESPONSABILITÉ : Le juge de première instance n’a pas commis d’erreur en ce qui a trait à la norme de conduite que doit respecter l’Agence du revenu du Canada (ARC) dans le contexte d’une vérification; la négligence est suffisante pour établir une faute et il n’est pas nécessaire de . . . [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 (newest first):

• Freelance Copyeditor (Contract) | Anywhere in Canada
  (CanLII)
• Managing Director (Full-time) | Toronto, ON
  (Legal Information and Resource Network (LIRN)

This morning I had by email a long-wished-for letter (laid out like a typical business letter, with letterhead and date and address etc.) from the company financing my car, telling me my loan was now paid in full. It finished with the usual cordial invitation to contact them if I should need any further services, then ‘sincerely, [name of company]’, then:

“NOTE: This letter is computer generated; no signature is required.”

And sure enough, it looked like an old computer printout, as if it had holes up the side to feed it through a printer, and an ancient font, pre-Courier. . . . [more]

The website Librarianship.ca has put together a list of statements made by the Canadian library, archives, and museum community on racism, injustice, and violence.

The statements and commitments come from local, regional and national groups.

This includes a communiqué on anti-Black racism by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA). The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is one of the member organizations of the CFLA.

Earlier today, the CALL Executive Board and the CALL Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization Committee issued a separate Open Letter to Membership: Black Lives Matter which outlines some of the association’s commitments to action: . . . [more]