I was recently invited to a lunch where we were invited to consider both the end of the year and the end of the decade. This came as a surprise as I hadn’t thought about that simple matter of the two digits turning over this year. Since then, I was reminded that because there was no “zero” year, the end of the decade will actually not be for another year, but we all know that’s not the usual way of counting these things.

The end of the year means that we have reached the time when we like to look . . . [more]

As promised in our previous post, we are back to discuss the fourth and final chapter of our upcoming report detailing the pursuits of the “Towards Cyberjustice” Project (the other parts can be found here: part 1, part 2, part 3). Whereas our previous posts highlighted the various papers, studies and pilot projects conducted by the Cyberjustice Laboratory and its partners throughout this seven-year long venture, our final post is dedicated to the future avenues of research that were inspired by our accomplishments over these last years, which are also supported by the Social . . . [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. Mundinger v. Ashton, 2019 ONSC 7161

[67] The Medicine Act is foundational legislation with regard to the practice of medicine in Ontario. Anyone who wants to know what a physician is or is qualified to do would begin by looking at the Medicine Act. If the legislature intended to depart from the definition of physician in that Act, one would . . . [more]

In Bell Media Inc. v. GoldTV.Biz, 2019 FC 1432, the Federal Court dealt with a novel motion in Canada for a “site-blocking order”. The broadcasting company plaintiffs sought an interlocutory mandatory injunction against the innocent third party Internet Service Providers [ISPs] seeking to compel the ISPs “to take steps to block their customers from accessing websites and Internet services operated by the anonymous Defendant”. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants are infringing copyright by operating unauthorized subscription services that provide subscribers access to the plaintiff’s programming content over the Internet. The innocent third party respondents are the major Canadian . . . [more]

There is no question that legal education has become increasingly complex, partly as a result of the will of educators and students and partly as a result of external forces. While some may argue that legal education has not changed very much since the earliest days (emphasizing the continued emphasis on case law, for example), in my view it has been tranformed over my own legal lifetime. The introduction of “perspectives” courses, intensive weeks, the diversity in students and faculty, experiential learning, various supports, some curriculum review and other efforts towards inclusion have had greater impacts on some schools than . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries / Association canadienne des bibliotheques de droit (CALL/ACBD) is accepting nominations for the 2020 Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing. This award honours a publisher (whether for-profit or not-for profit, corporate or non-corporate) that has demonstrated excellence by publishing a work, series, website, or electronic product that makes a significant contribution to legal research and scholarship. Anyone is welcome to make nominations – you do not have to be a member of CALL/ACBD. Nominations from the author or publisher of a work are welcomed. Nominations can be submitted to Ann Marie . . . [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.

Technology

Bookmarking Web Pages in Lexbox
Lexum

Do you know you can save links pointing to any site of interest with Lexbox? The bookmarking feature of Lexbox is available for this purpose. The “New Bookmark” button is located at the bottom of the page of your Lexbox account. …

Research & Writing

Terms for Associates Who Won’t Make Partner but Who Are Allowed to Stick Around
Neil Guthrie

The . . . [more]

The Canadian Foundation for Legal Research announced the winner of the 2019 Walter Owen Book Prize this morning. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Jonathan Rudin, for his publication, Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System: A Practitioner’s Handbook (Emond Publishing).

“Founder and current Program Director of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, Mr. Rudin was selected from among 35 nominees to receive a $15,000 cash prize for his ground-breaking contribution to Canadian law literature.“

Finalists for this year’s award included:

• Robert J. Sharpe for Good Judgment: Making Judicial Decisions
• Philip Girard, Jim Phillips and R. Blake Brown for 

On October 25 & 26, Windsor Law proudly hosted the 2019 conference of the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics. The presentations touched on many of the most important issues confronting the legal profession today. Check out the brief summaries below to stay up to date.

Thematic Index

• Access to justice (see presentations #3 and #11 below)
• Zealous advocacy and its limits (see presentations #1 and #2 below)
• Harassment and discrimination within the profession (presentations #16, 17, 18)
• Teaching ethics in law school (presentations #6, 7, 8, 9)
• The Regulation of Judges (presentations #12, #15)
• The limits of “business-like” lawyer

With the legalization of cannabis in Canada, and greater transparency around the use of drugs, public health officials have greater interest in tracking the use and dependence of the population on various substances. The 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, which is conducted every 2 years, found that the prevalence of one of six illegal drugs was 15%, or 4.5 million people. At the time, cannabis was still illegal, and many researchers intend to observe whether the vast majority of these people, 4.4 million, increase or remain the same after legalization. The survey found that alcohol use was . . . [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 (November 16 – December 13, 2019 inclusive).

Appeals Constitutional/Maritime Law: Division of Powers; Sale of Marine Parts Desgagnés Transport Inc. v. Wärtsilä Canada Inc., 2019 SCC 58 (37873) The federal maritime law at issue here . . . [more]