Periodically on Thursdays, we present a significant excerpt, usually from a recently published book or journal article. In every case the proper permissions have been obtained. If you are a publisher who would like to participate in this feature, please let us know via the site’s contact form.

Class Actions in Canada: The Promise and Reality of Access to Justice

Jasminka Kalajdzic is an associate professor and former associate dean of law at the University of Windsor and has a background in private practice as a civil litigator. She is the editor of Accessing Justice: Appraising Class Actions Ten Years . . . [more]

In some sense, much of the practice of law, legal publishing, law libraries, and related organizations are the selling or exchange of information. Lawyers take elements of existing documents and other sources of information, whether primary law or commentary, and analyze them in light of their knowledge and expertise to create advice and work products like contracts, and services like navigation of the court system. In turn, legal publishers and libraries produce and present these documents in a way that is designed to facilitate finding the information in the most efficient way possible.

Information is known to be an interesting . . . [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. R. v. Grzelak, 2019 BCPC 65

[3] The Defendant was alone in his black Mercedes, coming from work after a long day. He was driving North bound on 152 Street in Surrey BC.

[4] His Apple iPhone was in the centre cubby hole in the dashboard, at the front end of the console. The wire for his ear buds were plugged . . . [more]

Despite almost daily reports of privacy breaches and thefts of confidential information, the role of mediators and arbitrators in protecting this information has received relatively little attention in the professional community.

That is rapidly changing.

Now, almost every continuing education session I go to has some discussion on this topic.

Are the mediators and arbitrators in the room complying with privacy laws? This means PIPEDA compliance for those who work in Canada and – more crucially – the new(ish) European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which affects anyone who collects information relating to EU citizens.

This was brought home again . . . [more]

People who cannot afford lawyers (or in some cases paralegals) are at risk of not having their rights vindicated. Or they may not even try to assert their rights in the first place. A great number of ad hoc arrangements have been created to respond to this failure to provide access to justice, but the most systematic is the legal aid system. (I mentioned some of the other arrangements in a previous Slaw post and there are others.) Legal aid is not perfect — even with increased funding that has allowed it to offer legal aid to more people, it . . . [more]

Tiger Woods won the Masters on April 14, 2019. His fifth Green Jacket at Augusta National, earned 22 years after his first when he demolished world-class competition with a 12-stroke margin of victory in a tournament where first and second place are typically separated by a single, well-placed putt. I vividly remember that 1997 final, as it fell smack in the middle of my 3L final exams and I thought (correctly) that the best use of my time that day was to sit my then-infant daughter on my lap and watch history unfold rather than break the spine on that . . . [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.

Practice

A “Business Coaching for Lawyers” Explainer
Sandra Bekhor

Have you ever had a conversation with someone – a spouse, a colleague, an advisor – that shifted things for you? You somehow felt just a little less burdened or constrained after the fact? More hopeful even? They asked the right questions. …

Research & Writing

More on Verbs From Nouns
Neil Guthrie

In a previous post, we covered the . . . [more]

Law schools have historically been deeply anchored in their local communities. They train jurists who serve, and often lead, these communities. They operate legal clinics that seek to help the most vulnerable members of society. They produce research that, hopefully, improve the legal frameworks governing the life of citizens and the fate of organizations.

But over the years, many law schools have broadened, or pluralized, their definition of the word “community.” Even if it is a cliché to say so, the world has shrunk. As a result, not only are law schools increasingly active on the world stage, the world . . . [more]

The recent release of the provincial budget in Ontario has many lawyers livid over the proposed cuts to Legal Aid, which amount to almost 30% of its funding. The cuts relate to broader reductions to the justice sector of approximately 2%, from $5.0 billion in 2018–19 to $4.7 billion in 2021–22.

These cuts may appear to stem from what appears to be higher figures for actual “Other Non-Tax Revenue,” which includes legal aid, from the interim projections for the 2018-2019 year, suggesting some concern that these expenses have been growing unsustainably. But a closer look at these figures suggests there . . . [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.

TRAVAIL : À la lumière des faits de l’espèce, le juge de première instance aurait dû reconnaître que les commis débarrasseurs se qualifiaient à titre de «salariés au pourboire» puisqu’ils rendent les services au client et reçoivent habituellement des pourboires en raison du système de partage mis en place chez . . . [more]

Bob wears masks. As he enters a client meeting he digs into his vast collection and dons his client-facing mask. He straightens up and greets his client with a familiar smile. He speaks in a soothing, rhythmic cadence. He maintains utter composure as his client flails about, in turns lost, angry, and pleading. When the meeting is over Bob takes a deep breath. As he returns to his office it occurs to him that of all his masks, this is the one that never seems to fit quite right. It’s a good time for a coffee and a stroll before . . . [more]