The business of practicing law has become more demanding and complex since I articled in 1996. The introduction of emails, smart-phones, and text messages has increased the pressure on lawyers to always be available to clients and to respond to queries with alacrity. Long gone are the days when one would receive a letter from opposing counsel, dictate a response, go home for the evening after disconnecting from your practice and return the next day to consider your reply letter after having “slept on it”. More articling students appear to be competing for the same number of positions. Regional firms . . . [more]

Around one-half of all Syrians have been forced to flee their homes because of the unending, devastating civil war, mass human rights violations and acts of terrorism that have been their unrelenting reality for close to four years now.

The UN estimates that 7.6 million Syrians remain internally displaced within the country, unable or unwilling to escape into neighbouring countries. Another 3.8 million have fled the country as refugees, the overwhelming majority in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Turkey alone now shelters 1.6 million Syrian refugees. And the one million Syrians in Lebanon now make up approximately one-quarter of that country’s . . . [more]

In with the new, out with the old. Last week I beamed about the promise of new gifts from Google in the form of the pending End-To-End extension which will put pretty good privacy in reach of ordinary Gmail (and probably other email) users. As Tiny Tim may have said, “Encryption to us all; God bless us, every one!”

This week I draw your attention away from the shiny and new, and direct it to the digital dumpster—where all shiny toys eventually end up. Fresh to the heap: the Yahoo Directory. This marks not the passing of some fleeting fad, . . . [more]

No matter what the area of practice, the number one source of claims at LAWPRO is a breakdown in communication between the lawyer and client.

Between 2008 and 2013, nearly 4,600 communications claims – an average of 762 a year – have been reported to LAWPRO. The total cost of these claims to date is about $158 million – and likely to rise as more recent years’ claims are resolved.

In the Fall 2011 issue of LAWPRO Magazine we asked LAWPRO claims counsel with expertise in the various areas of law to provide insights into the communications mistakes they see . . . [more]

I’m a fan of Life Hacker and as a programmer wannabe this post, “What It Really Takes to Be a Professional Programmer,” captured my attention. Tori Reid canvassed some professional coders and other Life Hacker readers and found these were the four important skills that contribute to successful programmer careers: . . . [more]

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done

The Gambler (Don Schlitz; performed by Kenny Rogers)

Being a competent lawyer means knowing your own limits. Lawyers representing clients in cases for which they do not have the necessary knowledge and skills risk liability in negligence, being found to have provided ineffective assistance of counsel (in a criminal case) and violating the obligations of the . . . [more]

In Edwards v. Canada (Attorney General), the Privy Council considered whether “persons” under s. 24 of the Constitution Act included women,

24. The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in the Queen’s Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada, summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and, subject to the Provisions of this Act, every Person so summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate and a Senator.
[emphasis]

Lord Chancellor Viscount Sankey of the Privy Council stated,

…their Lordships have come to the conclusion that the word “persons” in sec. 24 includes

It’s Boxing Day. The name is of uncertain origin but one thing seems clear about the day: there’s a tradition attached to it, in Europe at least, of giving to those less fortunate. This is good. More so these days, perhaps, because of our inversion of the tradition from a day of giving into yet another day of getting, as the “sales” shout at us from all quarters.

I thought I might “sing” at you instead of hawking wares, sing songs on the theme of hard economic times, because for all of our great wealth, indeed luxury, there are still . . . [more]

What do you want? Yes, that’s a pretty big question for lawyers since most would start by explaining… “That depends…” I think Forbes contributor, Bruce Kasanoff who ghostwrites articles for entrepreneurs, and speaks about bringing out talent in others has a great bit of advice. Kasanoff explains…

“To paraphrase a bit, a professional recently wrote me to say that he was capable of being a VP, but that he was happy in his job, but he didn’t do such a good job of representing himself, but he was proud of his accomplishments, but he thought he should probably improve

“The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) will be moving to full electronic publication of its reports in 2015.” My perspective: like every other piece of born and solely digital legal information, law librarians will figure out how to make these important materials permanently available. Nothing to see here folks…unless institutional law libraries (government ministries, courts, academic law libraries) are not supported. Surely that wouldn’t be allowed to happen in a democratic country and among a group that values information and precedent as much as the legal industry.

I will stop being facetious and get to the [other] point about law . . . [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 technology, research and practice.

Technology

Dan Pinnington
How You Can Reduce the Extreme Dangers of Using Public Computers*

Public computers in libraries, Internet cafes, airports, and copy shops are an extreme security risk. While you can take steps to reduce these risks, it is still very dangerous to access sensitive personal or client information on them….

Research

Critical Characteristic 3 – Engagement
Shaunna Mireau

For the last 3 legal research tips of 2014 I . . . [more]

It seems an obvious enough question. However, I’ve come to learn over the years that it’s not so simple after all. First off, many firms haven’t ever really considered it before. Secondly, there really are several different possible true answers. I’ve set out six possible responses below that correspond to different types of firms I’ve encountered over the years.

Answer 1: There Isn’t One.

For some firms, the website is just a thing:

“Everyone has a website now, so it’s just another thing my firm is supposed to have, like a fax machine and some telephones. I’d like a website . . . [more]