How a client perceives a lawyer’s role in a transaction often depends on the client’s experience. At one end of the spectrum, a new homebuyer may believe that the lawyer will not only navigate the process, but will also personally shield the client from all risks. At the other extreme, a sophisticated businessperson may urge a lawyer to “rubber stamp” a deal the client has brokered. The wise lawyer will, however, refuse to be either insurer or pawn.

When it comes to doing due diligence − and specifically, making decisions about searches − the safest approach is follow the client’s . . . [more]

The Linked Open Data in Libraries, Archives and Museums (LODLAM)* training day videos have been posted. The presentations focussed on “hands-on applications and examples” sharing “approaches to both publishing and reusing Linked Open Data in library, archive, and museum settings.” The organizers saw this session as an “amazing prototype” and plan to apply the experiences gained here to their first official LODLAM Training Day in 2015.

The session was organized by Jon Voss (Historypin and co-founder of the International LODLAM Summit) and took place at the 10th Annual Semantic Technology & Business Conference (SemTechBiz), August 19, 2014 in San Jose, . . . [more]

[Sarit Mizrahi assisted in the preparation of this column.]

By now, we’ve all heard about the Google Spain SL, Google Inc. v. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), Mario Costeja González decision rendered last May by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). However, for those who’ve been living under the proverbial rock, let us go over the facts:

A complaint was lodged with the Spanish Data Protection Authority (“AEPD”) by Mr. Gonzalez on March 5, 2010 against a Spanish newspaper publisher, Google Spain and Google Inc. due to the fact that, when his . . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award­-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from sixty 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. ELAN 2. Clio Blog 3. Canadian Appeals Monitor 4. Legal Feeds 5. Labour Pains

ELAN: Electronic Legal Aid News
A Guide to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement now available as an eBook

Our online-only booklet A Guide to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement is now available as an eBook! . . . [more]

Bill C-24—the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, which passed its third reading on June 16, 2014, is already facing considerable scrutiny.

Of particular concern are the revocation clauses, which would provide the government to strip a Canadian of his or her citizenship, even if they were born in the country. This could result in the deportation of a person to a country they have never even been in.

This type of scenario was envisioned in the Maher Arar fiasco, where a Canadian was deported from New York with Canadian assistance to Syria and tortured there, in a country where . . . [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) : Le requérant, qui a été déclaré non criminellement responsable pour cause de troubles mentaux du meurtre de ses deux jeunes enfants à l’issue d’un procès tenu devant jury, est remis en liberté en attendant de subir un nouveau procès.

Intitulé : Turcotte c. R., 2014 QCCS 4285 . . . [more]

I used to have it bad. In university I pulled all nighters for my papers, and crammed for exams. I even tried cramming for my Chinese 101 exam – trying to memorise two hundred plus Chinese characters in one night is not something I would recommend to anyone. Let me just say, it didn’t end well.

This last minute frenzy approach to work followed me into professional life and meant that I was stressed out, fighting the clock, and left wondering if my good work product could have been great if I had a little more time to give it. . . . [more]

Folding is fairly nifty.

For one thing, it lets you increase surface area without increasing volume. Which is why radiators are folded into sections or have multiple fins, allowing heat to escape maximally into the surrounding air via convection off the expanded surfaces and why ostriches fold their wings and legs against their bodies at night to cut down on heat loss. Our lungs pack a lot of oxygen transferring surface — 2,400 kilometres of airways! — into a comparatively modest volume thanks to a kind of folding. And our “little grey cells” find themselves on folds surrounding unfolded . . . [more]

Each Thursday 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.

REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF THE PRINCIPLED APPROACH TO EVIDENCE
Lisa Dufraimont
(2013) 39 Queen’s Law Journal 11-39

Excerpt: Part II

[Footnotes omitted. They are in the original that is available via the link on the title above.]

II. Evidence Principles Versus Evidence Rules

The adoption of the principled approach represents a move away . . . [more]

When an employer denied a job candidate’s application with a text message saying, “I don’t hire foreners I keep the white man working" (his spelling not mine!), the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal had no trouble finding that the job applicant experienced discrimination on the basis of race, color and place of origin.

When I sat down to write this post, it was going in a whole different direction. Given the hot topics of innovation and the future of the legal industry, I was thinking I might add to the growing discussions around the recommendations of the CBA Futures Report (see here, here and here).

Then, about half way down the social media rabbit hole I was following as part of my “blog research”, I came across this interview (thanks @karenskinner) with Alex Novarese, editor-in-Chief of Legal Business, discussing the future of the legal industry in the UK. In the interview . . . [more]

You are invited to participate in a Chat via Twitter being hosted tomorrow by the Canadian Law Libraries. It will take place from 12 – 1 pm EST.

We are using the CBA Futures report as our jumping-off point. The questions outlined below will be posted by the @CALLACBD Twitter account and we will be using the hashtag #CALLFuture to identify tweets from the discussion.

Please join us!

CALL/ACBD is very pleased to welcome Fred Headon, Past-President of the Canadian Bar Association and Chair of the CBA Legal Futures Initiative, who will be joining us for the first part of

. . . [more]