Yesterday, retired judge Dennis O’Connor resigned from heading up the Toronto Police use of force review. He did so because of a perceived conflict of interest over his role at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP; BLG represents the Toronto Police when they are sued.

According to the Toronto Sun, O’Connor said in a statement, “We were surprised by the objections raised by lawyers for some of the victims’ families to my conducting the review. We had thought that I could structure and conduct the review to satisfy any concern but apparently not….. I regret that this issue has arisen but . . . [more]

An appeals court in the US has held that in principle, someone who sends a text message to someone she knows is driving (in this case, a motorcycle) and is likely to text back while driving, can be liable for damages caused by that driver while distracted by texting [Kubert v. Best]. In the case in point, the court held that the woman who was texting her boyfriend did not know he was responding while driving, so she was not liable for the damages he caused. (He himself settled with the victims, but his insurance did not cover . . . [more]

A recent survey from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) shows a disturbing trend that online surveillance often happens without transparent judicial oversight, and yet appears to be raising relatively little concern among the public. As a result, the CIRA, which is the organization that manages the .CA Internet domain, is calling for a national dialogue on online privacy.

The larger legal publishers’ 2013 half-year and interim results season was quietly revolutionary. At 80% the issue is done and dusted. The issue that has been plaguing the legal and professional publishing world for decades now can be consigned to history. With a palpable flop over the finish line, you can hear the words ‘largely complete’ panted in an exhausted and rasping whisper. The digital transition is finally finished; honest; no really; trust me – finished.

Looking back over the 15 years it has taken to get here 2 lessons are clear:

1. Readers buy confidence not content; formats are secondary;

. . . [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.

Introduction to the Law and Legal System of Canada
Nancy McCormack and Melanie Bueckert
Toronto: Carswell, 2013

Excerpt chosen by the publisher.

(iv) Religious Dress

Another intersection between law and religion arises with respect to religious dress.²⁸ This issue has come to the forefront primarily in connection with Sikhs and Muslims.

In . . . [more]

I want to add my voice to those concerned with what might be cast as Myriad Genetics Inc.’s continuing infringement of the public trust, most recently exacerbated by its recent efforts to enforce through the courts its patents for testing BRCA1 and BRCA2. These genetic tests, which grew out of federal funding for University of Utah research, can detect mutations that speak to much higher risks of breast cancer, which can be used, in turn, to take steps that significantly reduce those risks for women. The Myriad genetic tests cost approximately $4,000, and the company is working hard to . . . [more]

A couple of years ago, Connie Crosby mentioned on Slaw (third comment) that she had been surprised to discover that when she ‘Liked’ a page (by joining a ‘fan club’) devoted to a product, her name later appeared in advertisements for that product on her Facebook friends’ pages.

A number of others appear to have been not only surprised but offended at this practice. They brought a class action against Facebook for the practice, an action now settled for $20 million. Whether Connie gets a share of that, I can’t say. Probably not enough to fund a bottle of . . . [more]

Something has been bothering me lately about the discussions about the future of the legal profession. Maybe you’ve noticed it too? Where are the voices of women in this discussion?

There are a few of us paying attention to the issues but on the whole, I’d say women lawyers are not speaking up about what changes they’d like to see for the future of their profession.

Of course, we know that many women lawyers leave private practice early in their careers. I recently heard Allan Fineblit, CEO of The Law Society of Manitoba say that half of women lawyers are . . . [more]

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. R. v. Boyes 2013 BCPC 204
   

   [1] Mr. Boyes is charged with three offences, alleged to have been committed in the early morning hours of September 22, 2012: (i) dangerous driving, contrary to section 249(1)(a) of the Criminal Code; (ii) failing to stop when pursued by police officer, contrary to section 249.1(1) of the Criminal Code; and (iii) failing to comply with demand

. . . [more]

We’ve referred to the matter of governments spying on citizens a number of times here on Slaw, particularly in relation to the feebleness of the “it’s only metadata” excuse. If you’d like more confirmation that metadata has the power to breach privacy in a serious way, have a look at the affidavit — the “declaration,” to be precise — by Princeton computer science prof, Edward W. Felten filed in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit. Professor Felten takes you through the process step by step, intending, of course, to educate the court about these technological matters.

There’s perhaps a natural . . . [more]

Lawyers routinely send demand letters to those who may offend a client’s rights in some way. The easiest, but often ineffective, way to do that is to fire off a missive citing every possible legal theory that is being breached, and threatening to bring down a reign of legal terror so intimidating that the recipient will quake in their boots and comply.

Sometimes that kind of letter is so over the top that it isn’t taken seriously. Especially in todays world of social media, it can actually backfire due to the Streisand effect.

So it is noteworthy when someone . . . [more]

Innovation will be a hallmark and creativity will be absolutely mandatory for lawyers and law firms hoping to succeed in the next decade and beyond, participants at a Futures Initiative-sponsored professional development session on innovation were told at the 2013 CBA Legal Conference in Saskatoon.

Innovation, creativity and perhaps the kind of regulatory change that made the U.K.’s Riverview Law possible.

Andy Daws, Riverview’s vice-president North America, says the 2007 Legal Services Act, which was designed to promote competition, innovation and the public and consumer interest, has made the U.K. “the world’s legal laboratory right now,” where experiments in ownership . . . [more]