Canada’s online legal magazine.

Friday Jobs Roundup

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):

  • Managing Director (Full-time) | Toronto, ON
    (Legal Information and Resource Network (LIRN)
. . . [more]
Posted in: Friday Jobs Roundup

Security of Sex Workers Paramount in Court Decision

Written by Daniel Standing LL.B., Editor, First Reference Inc.

The recent criminal case of R. v. Anwar, 2020 ONCJ 103 (CanLII) involved a constitutional challenge to various provisions of the Criminal Code dealing with prostitution. The challenge contained a distinct workplace safety consideration: it alleged that the interplay between the challenged sections created a legal regime which was intended to prevent sex workers from lawfully using third parties to protect them and to prevent them from associating with others for their mutual protection-aspects which are natural, expected and encouraged in all other sectors of the economy. Before eventually declaring . . . [more]

Posted in: Case Comment, Substantive Law, Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions, Substantive Law: Legislation

How to Think Better About Technology Risk in Four Simple Steps

1. Is it real?
2. What does it cost if it happens?
3. How does it compare to the status quo?
4. Are there other risks that are important, too?

Whether we have overcome our storied risk aversion, or we have merely been given a more important risk to avoid, the legal profession in Canada is now struggling to adopt technology at a very fast pace.

And as might be expected, success is not evenly distributed. The difference between the people who take this opportunity for change and those who miss it will be how they think about risk.

Here’s . . . [more]

Posted in: Technology

Revisiting R v. S. (R.D.), 1997: A Case About a Black Judge on “Trial” for Acquitting a Black Boy

“It wasn’t that long ago in Canada when our justice system put a Black judge on trial for acquitting a Black boy of allegedly running his bike into an officer’s leg – her offence? Speaking truth to power by stating that sometimes police over-react when dealing with Black youth.” – Professor David Tanovich @dtanovich 

In R v S. (R.D.), 1997 CanLII 324 (SCC), R.D.S. was a young person accused of assaulting a police officer. At trial, the testimonies of the police officer and the accused differed in material ways. The trial judge acquitted R.D.S. after trial. The case . . . [more]

Posted in: Case Comment

Reporting Sexual Harassment: A New Professional Duty for Lawyers?

Sexual harassment in the legal profession is a serious problem. Anecdotal accounts abound, and empirical data reveals sexual harassment among lawyers to be a significant issue.[1] While the experiences of those subjected to sexual harassment are diverse, there is no doubt that, collectively, the impact on the wellbeing and careers of victims is profound.[2]

Professional conduct rules explicitly prohibiting sexual harassment have been in place for roughly 30 years. The enforcement of these rules has led, in some instances, to lawyer discipline, but has not, obviously, stopped sexual harassment in the legal profession. So, what more should law . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Ethics

Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII

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. United States v Meng, 2020 BCSC 785

[82] Ms. Meng’s approach to the double criminality analysis would seriously limit Canada’s ability to fulfill its international obligations in the extradition context for fraud and other economic crimes. The offence of fraud has a vast potential scope. It may encompass a very wide range of conduct, a large expanse of time, and acts, . . . [more]

Posted in: Wednesday: What's Hot on CanLII

The Constitutionality of Interprovincial Boundary Closures (Part III)

This is the third and final post in a series considering the constitutionality of intraprovincial/territorial border closures. In Part I, I set out the background to the closures, with a summary of which provinces had closed their borders to travellers from other provinces/territories and those implementing other non-closure procedures. In Part II, I considered the constitutionality of the closure provisions (including the federal closure of Canadian borders) under sections 6 and 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this final post, I look at the enforcement provisions relating both to the closure of borders . . . [more]

Posted in: Substantive Law

Times Have Changed, the Need to Market Hasn’t.

Relationships are a funny thing. We all know people that we cannot see for years and then decided to grab a coffee and everything just works. It feels like you see that person every day. Other people we see everyday and may take for granted just how close we are.

Seeing people isn’t as easy as it used to be. It takes more effort. It takes technology. It takes a desire on both parties to be together.

Marketing has always taken effort. Where you place your efforts will be a determining factor in your success as we move through the . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Marketing

Tips Tuesday

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.

Technology

Online Whiteboard for Collaboration
Lesha Van Der Bij

With everyone working from home, I have been looking for better tools to collaborate with my team. I recently found one that is super cool – Miro. Miro enables users to map out a workflow, brainstorm new ideas or develop a business strategy on a shared online whiteboard. …

Research & Writing

Face Mask
Neil Guthrie

Never write or say . . . [more]

Posted in: Tips Tuesday

Add Some Education to Your Week

Everyone I connect with from legal is flat out busy. One of the challenges with being flat out busy is that you get so involved doing the tasks in front of you and don’t necessarily consider better ways of doing those tasks. This week and next, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries Virtual Conference Series continues. Cost: $0 Opportunity: $priceless.

Please join us on Friday to celebrate excellence in Legal Publishing! . . . [more]

Posted in: Education & Training: CLE/PD, Legal Information: Information Management

Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from more than 80 recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Crossroad Family Law Blog 2. The Lean Law Firm 3. Rule of Law 4. Barry Sookman 5. RT Blog

Crossroad Family Law Blog
How do I get a restraining order in Alberta during COVID-19?

It is now clear that incidences of domestic violence seem to be increasing . . . [more]

Posted in: Monday’s Mix

New ESA Termination and Severance Pandemic Regulation

On March 19, 2020, the Government of Ontario created a new regulation under the Employment Standards Act, which created a new emergency leave to protect workers who were sick from COVID-19. This was an important protection to ensure that workers were not dismissed as a result of being sick during the pandemic.

As the pandemic drags on, and social isolation and distancing rules create significant economic barriers for businesses, many lawyers have been considering whether there would be an enormous wave of employment litigation following the conclusion of the pandemic. Many employers have had to reduce wages, modify the . . . [more]

Posted in: Substantive Law: Judicial Decisions, Substantive Law: Legislation

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This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada | Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au gouvernement du Canada