This is the second column of a series on the Ten Laws of (Legal) Project Management. I’ll recap the ten laws at the end of this column, but for this month, let’s focus on the first two, which revolve around the misunderstood idea of effectiveness vs. efficiency.

1. First Effectiveness, Then Efficiency

Efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right things.

Efficiency is easy… for a consultant. For every process, there is often a more efficient way to do it – something that will save a little time, offer a slightly better result, create just a . . . [more]

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

The Misery of International Law: Confrontations with Injustice in the Global Economy. By John Linarelli, Margot E. Salomon & Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. iv, 304 p. Includes bibliography and index. ISBN: 978-0198753957 (hardcover) $125.00.

Reviewed by Humayun Rashid
Head of Cataloguing & Reference Librarian
Bora Laskin Law . . . [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. Davies v. The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington, 2019 ONSC 2292

[1] If there was ever any case that demonstrates how expensive it is to litigate in the 21st Century, this case is the gold standard. Few in this country could afford to litigate a case where the costs sought by Mr. Zuber total close to $7,000,000, and the costs . . . [more]

There appears to be a sentiment pervasive in the legal blogosphere that lawyers are “behind”:

• “The pace of change in legal services is not slowing down while lawyers’ day-to-day practice of law continues to lag far behind” (Remaking Law Firms)
• “Law Is Lagging Digital Transformation” (sic.) (Forbes)
• “’Change’ Is a Mantra for Law Firms, But Will They Tune In?” (com)
• “When It Comes to Innovation, Lawyers Are Being Left Behind” (com)

Given that “behind” is a relative term, you would think that every other industry has totally reinvented itself. Yet that is . . . [more]

One of the themes the Canadian Judicial Council has identified as part of its review of its Ethical Principles for Judges is judges’ use of social media. This is an etirely new area since the release of the current Principles 20 years ago and it has rapidly become a complex and sometimes dangerous area to navigate. Tempting though it might be to tell judges that they cannot use social media, this would be fruitless. Better to incorporate training for judges about its use, clear limits about subject areas and guidelines about the risks into judges’ initial education sessions, which should . . . [more]

28,872. That is how many clients Pro Bono Ontario (“PBO”) served across the province in 2018 through services like its Free Legal Advice Hotline, 3 Law Help Centres, 6 medical-legal partnerships, 2 children’s programs and projects serving low-income start-ups and non-profits. In the past decade, demand for PBO’s services has increased by 272%. Yet the same year that PBO helped a record number of people, the charity narrowly avoided closing its court-based centres because the resources afforded PBO to meet these growing needs have barely budged. This is simply not good enough. It is not good enough because the private . . . [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

Easy Automated Workflows
Lesha Van Der Bij

As a solo entrepreneur, I need to automate numerous tasks. Zapier – an online tool which enables you to build connections (or “zaps”) between two apps – makes the automation process super easy….

Research & Writing

Ministry of Labour Employment Standards Act 2000 Policy and Interpretation Manual Update
Martha Murphy

We have good news for those of you who use the . . . [more]

The current jury system has long been criticized in Ontario, in particular in regards to its diversity and representation. Hints in Ontario’s recent budget suggest some changes are forthcoming.

A big part of the reason for Ontario’s problems is that it is jury rolls remain an anomaly in Canada, and are based on specific provisions under the Juries Act. Although the Director of Assessments prepares jury questionnaires based on the provisions in s. 6, based on the inhabitants of the county under s. 15 of the Assessment Act who are Canadian citizens and who will be 18 at . . . [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 (March 30 – April 19, 2019 inclusive).

Appeals

Aboriginal Law/Civil Procedure: Class Actions; Judicial Supervision
J.W. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 SCC 20 (37725)

In overseeing administration and implementation of this Agreement, courts have a . . . [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 Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : La déférence s’impose à l’égard de la décision de la ministre de la Justice d’ordonner l’extradition de la requérante aux États-Unis afin qu’elle réponde d’une accusation d’enlèvement d’enfants en violation d’une ordonnance de garde, les conclusions de la ministre portant sur l’existence d’une défense équivalente dans l’État . . . [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):

• Content Editor–Western Employment & Labour Law Subject Matter Expert (Contract Role) | Concord, ON
  (First Reference Inc.)
• Chief of Legal Operations (Full-time) | Victoria, BC
  (British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General – Legal Services Branch)
• Chief of Legal

This is a short summary of the full text of this article, which has the same title, and which was posted on the SSRN, March 25, 2019, pdf.; 62 pages

The fact that lawyers lack the knowledge to challenge the reliability of technical sources of frequently used kinds of evidence, and the tolerating of its impact upon the ability to “do justice,” is due to the under-performance of a number of institutions within the justice system. As a result, law and the rules of practice and procedure applicable to such evidence are moving in one direction, but the reality . . . [more]