Most of you will have heard of the controversial figure skating win of Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova who won the Olympic gold medal last week beating out Yuna Kim of South Korea, despite many stylistic errors and fumbles. Many media outlets and fans were surprised to say the least at what appeared to be clear favoritism on the part of the Russian judge. The South Korean Olympic Committee has already sent a protest letter to the International Skating Union, and a petition is posted on Change.org calling for more accountability in sports judging.

But what legal recourses do athletes have . . . [more]

Too often, litigation disputes are like two ships passing in the night. The first salvo describes in great detail the relevant facts and applicable law. The opponent’s response then covers the very same ground, emphasizing the facts and law that are favourable to it – often with very little to no references to the opponent’s points of view.

Our goal as advocates is to advance our client’s case as effectively as possible. Unlike advocates, though, a judge’s job is to balance the different points of view to reach the best result. The judge needs help to decide who is right . . . [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

Back Up Your Cloud: How to Download All Your Data
Dan Pinnington

On at least a few previous occasions (here and here), I have written about the necessity of backing up your personal data, pictures and contacts, regardless of where they . . .

Research

Regulations
Shaunna Mireau

One of the things we don’t talk about much on the legal research side of things here at Slaw Tips are . . . [more]

[Vocabulary Watch] ‘Brainspray’ – Electrical and other signals given off by the brain that are detectable – and increasingly usable – for various purposes.* 

Science, medicine and commerce

It is widely known that much of the functioning of our brain is done by electrical impulses, or at least that its functioning creates electrical impulses. Since the invention of the electroencephalograph (EEG) many decades ago, these impulses have been measurable. In recent years, they have become subject to increasingly subtle interpretation as well. Science is beginning to know what the measured impulses mean and to be able to use . . . [more]

Injunctions are a powerful remedy that are sought and granted in a wide range of disputes.

An employer might seek an injunction to stop a former employee from soliciting the employer’s clients. A business may seek an injunction to stop a competitor from unfairly using a registered trademark. Your neighbour may seek an injunction to stop you from cutting down that hideous tree in your back yard that provides oh-so-much shade and privacy for your neighbour, or perhaps they may seek a mandatory order requiring you to cut down that same hideous tree that they view as an eye-sore.

A . . . [more]

Many members of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries will be familiar with Wendy Newman, lecturer and fellow at the University of Toronto’s iSchool. At the CALL/ACBD conference in 2012 she took many of us through an Advocacy 101 workshop which was invaluable. I’m pleased to let everyone know that–starting today!–she is leading everyone through a library advocacy MOOC. Is is free, online, and provides a certificate for those who fully participate and do the work over the next 6 weeks.

From the website:

About this Course

How can we strengthen libraries and librarians in the advancement of knowledge,

. . . [more]

I’m in the middle of teaching an introductory course on metadata and while preparing for an upcoming lecture I was reviewing the <indecs> model for e-commerce. It occurred to me that this model might have something to contribute to the interoperability of legal data.

<indecs> is a rather peculiar looking acronym that stands for Interoperability of Data in E-Commerce Systems. It’s a “metadata framework” or reference model similar in intention to the library community’s Functional Requirements for Bibliographical Records (FRBR). FRBR is a conceptual model that provides the cataloguing community with a common frame of . . . [more]

Apple fans often brag that Apple devices are far less susceptible to hackers and security breaches than PCs and other devices. While that was the case in the past, you can no longer use Apple devices and blissfully assume you can’t or won’t be hacked or infected with malware.

Last Friday, without a lot of fanfare, Apple released iOS update 7.0.6. iPads and iPhones use the iOS operating system. This update fixes a coding mistake that could allow a hacker to capture the information you think you are securely sharing with an online merchant or when logging in on a . . . [more]

It’s a standard trope in any discussion of legal education that law students are not prepared to practice law immediately after graduation. While efforts are being made by some law schools to change their curriculums to graduate “practice ready” students, the great majority of “lawyer training” (as opposed to “legal education”) occurs in an attorney’s first few years of practice. Formal, informal, in-house and external…new lawyer training takes many forms and has many contributors. This month’s CBA Futures twitter chat is going to talk about them all.

As an American, I’ve been fascinated with the Canadian articling system. A common . . . [more]

The time to think boldly about legal education is now

This is a time to think boldly about the possibilities for legal education and law schools. Recent posts on this blog testify to a renewed interest in re-examining the education of lawyers. As legal educators, we should be unafraid to question all aspects of our approach to legal education, even those practices that are so familiar that they seem beyond review.

For that reason, Lakehead’s proposal to integrate a law practice program within the confines of their three-year law degree might be lauded. Students who graduate from Lakehead will not . . . [more]

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. The Treasurer’s Blog   2. IP Osgoode   3. ABlawg.ca   4. Legal Post Blog    5. First Reference

In the era of high speed internet and a culture of ubiquitous sharing, what are copyright owners to do in enforcing their claims? Or are fears of these claims being used to unduly extort unwitting consumers?

Although popular file sharing site Demonoid.me is still down, the harbours at Pirate Bay are still wide open. Revelations through Edward Snowden this week demonstrate that these file sharing sites have even been deemed to be a malicious foreign actor, simply for being a document repository. Yet a Federal court decision on Thursday in Voltage v. Does may provide some recourse without . . . [more]