The December 2013 issue of LAWPRO Magazine focuses on the issue of cybersecurity and law firms. As a supplement to the magazine, practicePRO has added a number of model policies and articles to our Technology page. Written policies that clearly establish guidelines and requirements governing the acceptable use of firm technology can help reduce cyber exposures and give staff clear direction on what they are permitted and not permitted to do with law firm technology resources.

These resources and sample policies can be adapted to create polices for your firm. The model policies are also available in Word and . . . [more]

First as law students and then as lawyers, we repeatedly hear about the need for zealous advocacy. To take one example, the commentary to Rule 5.1-1 of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada Model Code of Conduct states, in part:

In adversarial proceedings, the lawyer has a duty to the client to raise fearlessly every issue, advance every argument and ask every question, however distasteful, that the lawyer thinks will help the client’s case and to endeavour to obtain for the client the benefit of every remedy and defence authorized by law.

The commentary also states “[t]he lawyer’s function . . . [more]

Let me say, up front, my post this week is a shameless promotion for the civil litigation program I am co-chairing at the OBA Institute on Thursday morning, 6 February 2014.

Those of you interested in the future of the civil trial, put it in your diaries.

The speakers include Justice David Brown, Justice Mark Edwards, Marty Teplitsky and Tom Curry.

Much has been written in the last decade about the “vanishing trial” in Ontario, and other jurisdictions. The newest generation of Ontario civil litigators may retire without ever having conducted a civil trial to judgment. The most common explanation . . . [more]

I recently had the privilege of attending the book launch of Roy McMurtry’s Memoirs and Reflections and it has stirred up many memories of my own.

Most people in the legal world will be aware of at least some aspects of McMurtry’s legal career extending over 50 plus years; litigation lawyer, Attorney General of Ontario, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court, and then Chief Justice of Ontario. But I have special memories of him from his years as Attorney General.

He was appointed Attorney General in September, 1975. In the spring of 1976, . . . [more]

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Rule of Law   2. Le Blogue du CRL   3. Kelly Santini LLP’s Employment Law Blog for the Suddenly Unemployed   4. Official Clio Blog    5. Canadian Securities Law

On December 4, 2013, the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Industry announced that Canada’s new anti-spam law (CASL) will come into force on July 1, 2014.

Concurrent with this announcement, Industry Canada published its finalized Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (ECPR) with respect to CASL. These regulations were released in response to concerns that its initial set of regulations imposed unnecessary and overly burdensome requirements with respect to the dissemination of commercial electronic messages (CEMs).

After further consultation, Industry Canada introduced a degree of increased flexibility in the ECPR by including, among other things, changes related to familial relationships, excluded CEMs, . . . [more]

It has long been an open secret that our articling system is deeply flawed. But is it unethical?

Articling today is a system that would be equally at home in Downton Abbey and in Booker Prize Winner Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

While I don’t think articling is inherently unethical, I do believe that it is inherently unequal and therefore creates an environment where unethical behavior is possible. Articling takes a vulnerable and powerless law student who is often carrying a significant financial debt and requires her to be at the beck and call of an experienced lawyer with largely . . . [more]

The Supreme Court of Canada recently upheld in Katz Group Canada Inc. v. Ontario the decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal in finding that the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act Regulations, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 93, s. 9 and Ontario Drug Benefit Act Regulation, O. Reg. 201/96, s. 12.0. were not ultra vires. The regulations in question had the effect of banning private label pharmaceuticals in Ontario.

The facts were set out by Justice Abella as follows:

[3] The sale and pricing of generic drugs is provincially regulated. In Ontario, two complementary and intersecting statutes were introduced

. . . [more]

This week's summaries concern: Race and mandatory minimum sentences / Cruel and unusual punishment and mandatory minimums:

Recours collectif: Le recours collectif intenté contre la Banque Royale du Canada par des personnes ayant perdu leurs investissements dans les fonds Olympus à la suite d'une fraude est autorisé.

The federal government’s Bill C-13 has come in for a good deal of well-deserved criticism — principally for being in fact an omnibus bill and for increasing the power of authorities to invade our privacy. A recent critique of the bill by Peter Nowak in Canadian Business caught my attention because it reminded me that it’s still illegal to publish a crime comic. The prohibition occurs in s.613 of the Criminal Code:

163. (1) Every one commits an offence who . . .

(b) makes, prints, publishes, distributes, sells or has in his possession for the purpose

. . . [more]

We recently had the pleasure of serving on a Fairfax Bar Association CLE faculty which included Circuit Court Chief Judge Dennis Smith, and Circuit Court Judges John Tran and Jane Roush. Their panel offering their insights on e-discovery in state courts was warmly received.

Judge Smith got the ball rolling by talking about the difference between digital immigrants and digital natives, terms coined more than a decade ago by author, educator and lecturer Marc Prensky.

Digital immigrants didn’t grow up with technology and digital natives did. Many judges are digital immigrants. Some will “learn a new language” and immerse themselves . . . [more]