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

There is no technology tip this week.

Research

Measure Research Time
Shaunna Mireau

It is a tricky thing to be asked a question that has a research component and be able to estimate how much time it will take to find and communicate an answer. Something that helps with estimating is knowing how much time a similar task encompased. Since, like most service industries, the legal industry . . . [more]

In a landmark lead paint liability case, the Superior Court of California has held three of five paint companies liable for public nuisance. The court ordered them to clean up lead paint in California residences painted before 1978, at a total cost of $1.15 billion. The use of lead in interior residential paint was permitted until after 1978, i.e. the manufacture and sale of lead paint was legal when these homes were painted. See People v. Atlantic Richfield Company, et al. Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, Case No. 1-00-CV-788657

Could this happen in Canada? It is possible. . . . [more]

Registration is now open for the 2014 Canadian Association of Law Libraries Annual Conference. This year’s conference will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Fort Garry Hotel from May 25-28.

From the conference webpage:

Winnipeg host city of the 2014 conference

Welcome to the Canadian Association of Law Libraries/L’Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit Conference 2014: The Confluence: Knowledge Meets Inspiration/Au confluent du savoir et de l’inspiration. 

CALL/ACBD currently has approximately 500 members representing a wide variety of law library interests. It provides a forum for the exchange of information and ideas among members, fosters cooperation among Canadian

. . . [more]

The most recent Snowden revelation, as reported by the New York Times, has revealed that even law firms have become ensnared in the NSA’s ever-growing communications dragnet.

The top secret document, leaked by Edward Snowden, reveals that a US-based firm was targeted by the NSA over the period of time it represented Indonesia in trade talks with the US government. Controversial FISC court rulings grant the NSA permission to monitor the communications of Americans, even communications within the scope of attorney-client privilege, provided those communications are deemed to have intelligence value and are with foreigners.

Given these revelations, US-based . . . [more]

This article is by Nora Rock, corporate writer and policy analyst at LAWPRO

From both a client communication and a claims prevention perspective, reporting letters may be among the most important documents in a lawyer’s file.

Reporting letters support client communication by describing the work that has been completed and the results achieved. Good reporting letters should also communicate whether any issues remain to be resolved or tasks require completion – and whose responsibility it is to deal with these.

Should the matter result in a claim, having interim and/or final reporting letters in the file can be very helpful . . . [more]

Hardly a day goes by that I am not asked to sign a document and return it. Most of these documents come to me via email as attachments. In some cases it is a nice fillable PDF form, but often it is a Microsoft Word document with a series of underscores made to look like form fields to indicate where I am to place my signature and provide other information. To keep this “form” in Microsoft Word and fill it in I would spend a lot of time reformatting the document as one cannot actually fill in the fields, but . . . [more]

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Family LLB   2. Canadian Appeals Monitor   3. Slater Vecchio Connected   4. LeeAkazaki.com    5. Henry J. Chang’s Canada-US Immigration Blog

Why are we still discussing Trinity Western University (TWU) and their law school? The Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) approved TWU’s application back in December and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education gave TWU their approval in January. 

The answer is simple. The FLSC failed to uphold their mandate to act in the public interest when they disengaged from public discourse. This glaring omission became clear to me on Thursday, February 13 as I was live tweeting the first public hearing held by any law society in Canada about TWU.

The Executive Committee of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ . . . [more]

The employment law landscape is expected to change over a number of key issues through 2014. Some of these changes provincially in Ontario follow changes initiated at the Federal level.

Changes to the Employment Insurance Act under Bill C-44 to s. 12 of the Act which now provides up to 35 weeks of EI benefits for parents who have taken time off work to provide support or care for critically injured or ill children.

These provisions were mirrored in the Canada Labour Code for Federally regulated employees through a coordinating amendment under the Bill to s. 206.1.

Changes were . . . [more]

Faillite et insolvabilité :  En raison des articles 49 et 264 de la Loi sur les régimes complémentaires de retraite, les cotisations d'équilibre aux régimes de retraite, dont le versement a été suspendu par l'ordonnance initiale, font l'objet d'une fiducie réputée ayant priorité sur les droits du détenteur d'une hypothèque conventionnelle.

On 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, SupremeAdvocacyLett@r, to which you may subscribe.

Summary of all appeals and leaves to appeal granted (so you know what the S.C.C. will soon be dealing with). For leaves, both the date the S.C.C. granted leave and the date of the C.A. judgment below are added in, in case you want to track and check out the C.A. judgment. (Jan. 17 – Feb. 12, 2014 inclusive).

APPEALS

Criminal Law: . . . [more]

This week's summaries concern: Land titles / Conflict of laws / Industrial safety / Service of subpoena in another province / Interlocutory or interim injunctions: