It was Record Store Day on Saturday and I did my part to support record stores. This year, thanks to my friend Dave C., I was flipping through bins of records at BJ’s Records and Nostalgia up in Barrie. This activity brings back many happy memories of my once annual pilgrimage to Sam the Record Man every Boxing Day. I absolutely love the physical process of search and discovery, finding a new or unknown album that sparks an inspiration to try looking down a new path.

I like vinyl records too and not just because of the perceived quality . . . [more]

LAWPRO is pleased to take part in Slaw’s Student Week. We’ve made an effort to reach out to students and new lawyers by creating a student issue of LAWPRO Magazine for the law schools, and this week we’ll post some of the articles from those issues. They contain practice management and risk management content aimed at helping students make the transition to becoming a practicing lawyer and getting their careers off on the right foot.

Law students – like all students – are prone to anxiety about their career prospects. High-profile news about the employment challenges faced by new grads . . . [more]

Ontario lawyer David Lepofsky, the 2014 Roy McMurtry Visiting Clinical Fellow, recently delivered a baker’s dozen of lectures on disability rights advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School. You can view them all online using the playlist on Osgoode’s YouTube channel.

David’s lectures range across a wide variety of topics, from particular specific case studies, such as causing Toronto’s transit commission to announce subway stops, to “ethical lawyering in a global community.” . . . [more]

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This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Rule of Law   2. SOQUIJ | Le Blogue   3. Michael Geist   4. Labour Pains    5. Thoughtful Legal Management

As I sit and write this column it is a warm 11 degrees in Victoria and the flowers are starting to bloom. While I realize that my colleagues in many parts of the country are still buried in snow, our thoughts on the west coast are starting to turn to spring. At this time of year I engage in an annual exercise that began when I ran my small law office and continues to this day with my consulting firm. That practice is spring-cleaning and it is a simple process that I recommend to all of my clients. While each . . . [more]

This week's summaries concern: Professional misconduct in medicine / Assignment of copyright / Breathalyzer / Stalking / Punitive damages:

Sivia v. British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles), 2014 BCCA 79

1. CASE SUMMARY

Areas of law: Motor Vehicles; Legislation; Constitutional law; Charter of Rights-

-Provisions in Motor Vehicle Act establishing automatic roadside prohibition regime for motorists registering a failure on an approved screening device infringing s. 8 of Charter (unreasonable search and seizure) and not salvageable under s.1

Background: The petitioners were motorists who had received 90-day roadside driving prohibitions (”IRP”) under provisions in the Motor Vehicle Act (“MVA”) establishing an automatic roadside prohibition regime (“ARP”) after they had either refused to supply a sample of breath, or having . . . [more]

Faillite : Il n'y a aucune raison d'importer en droit canadien le concept américain de «contribution substantielle», l'article 11.52(1)c) de la Loi sur les arrangements avec les créanciers des compagnies permettant à une partie de requérir une sûreté afin de garantir les honoraires professionnels d'intervenants faisant preuve d'une participation efficace au processus de restructuration.

Technology, particularly legal technology is supposed to make the delivery of legal services more convenient. However, sometimes lawyers get in the way and muck things up. Teraview is a perfect example.

Back in the day, anyone could walk into the local registry office and register any document they wanted. Since the mid-1980s registration documents were not witnessed, nor were signatures checked. The system was one of openness and accessibility.

Then along came Teraview – which allowed registration from anywhere in Canada via the internet. A seemingly great idea that would make real estate transactions faster and smoother. However, everyone forgot . . . [more]

A number of Australian library associations including the Australian Law Library Association released a study earlier this month that highlights the big 5-to-1 bang for the buck from resources invested in government, law firm and organizational libraries.

In fact, every one dollar investment in special libraries such as law firm libraries brings 5.43 dollars in return to their organization, according to the study commissioned by the associations.

From the press release:

“ALIA [Australian Library and Information Association] Executive Director Sue McKerracher said, ‘Working in the library and information sector, we all recognise the value of special libraries. What

. . . [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.

Royal Succession and the Canadian Crown as a Corporation Sole: A Critique of Canada’s Succession to the Throne Act, 2013
Philippe Lagassé and James W.J. Bowden
Constitutional Forum constitutionnel Volume 23, Number 1, 2014

(Excerpt: pp. 19, 20)

I. The Canadian Crown as Corporation Sole

. . . .

Perpetuity and seamless succession, . . . [more]