“Looking out for Number One is the conscious, rational effort to spend as much time as possible doing those things which bring you the greatest amount of pleasure and less time on those which cause pain.” Looking Out for Number One-Robert J. Ringer

I recently attended a wonderful evening hosted by Above the Law with key comments provided by Bruce MacEwen, a well known law firm strategist, commentator and lawyer who runs the consultancy and blog titled Adam Smith, Esq. Not surprisingly, Mr. MacEwen rightly has a large American following and an immense level of credibility among the AmLaw200 . . . [more]

You sidle up to the bar and ask what beers they’ve got. Suppressing your disappointment that it’s all in bottles, you quickly run by the alcowater from down south that passes for so much beer nowadays and seize upon the only import available. “I’ll have a — ” Now, how will you say it? If you happen to know German, as I do, you’ve got a bit of a problem. If you say Löwenbräu — pronounced something like lerven-broy, you’re likely to get a glassful of incomprehension; but if you say Lowenbrau — low-en-brow — not only might a . . . [more]

Have you ever felt like there aren’t enough hours in the day? In professional life it just seems like a given.

Whether you are a working parent with kids at home, or have aging parents to care for, or even an energetic dog who requires long walks daily, or a combination of all three (lucky you!), or a whole different set of responsibilities, chances are you feel stretched a lot of the time.

The truth is that our prosperous professional lives are full to overflowing. This is a good problem to have. And it is also a kind of suffering. . . . [more]

UNESCAP, the United Nations Economic Commission on the Asia-Pacific region, has been working on a regional trade agreement focusing on electronic commerce. The agreement, once made, could affect the interests of businesses in Canada and the US (and other countries in that region…).

There is a meeting in Bangkok in November to make some decisions about the document. It would be helpful for anyone who wants to influence the document to get on the record before then, in order to have a place in the conversation in the later stages.

So: I invite anyone interested to comment. Should the Canadian . . . [more]

Not a clamp on her nose.

Or, you can’t always get what you want, especially if the judge doesn’t agree that’s what you need.

Kidd v. Canada Life Assurance Co., 115 O.R. (3d) 256, 2013 ONSC 1868 per Perell J is instructive reading.

It is a class action in which a motion for approval of an amended settlement to replace the original settlement was rejected because the court held that the amended settlement was unfair, even if better than the original. The original settlement had become unfair to a significant portion of the class because unanticipated events that occurred . . . [more]

An interesting perspective on the Canadian system of articling was offered up during this week’s Twitter chat by Valarie, @YoungSmartLegal, who has recently moved here from the United States.

“The idea of articles sort of baffles me,” Valarie said in response to questions about the advantages and limitations of articling for professional training.

Twitter chat moderator Omar Ha-Redeye noted that Canadians seem to think it’s necessary, to which Valarie responded: “In principle it makes sense, but if you’re going to a big firm it just seems like a way to keep salaries low.”

Articling students would be first-years at U.S. . . . [more]

I like to look for law reform commission reports when doing legal research.

Law commissions consult widely with stakeholders, sometimes compare how other jurisdictions have dealt with the same problem and they frequently dig into the history of an issue.

Here are a few reports released in the past few weeks.

• Alberta Law Reform Institute Final Report on Estate Administration: “In our Final Report on Estate Administration, ALRI makes a number of recommendations for reform (…) The objective of these reforms is to create clear, rational and accessible legislation that will provide guidance to estate representatives who are responsible

Almost exactly four years ago, the European Parliament passed Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009 restricting the marketing of products made from seals to:

only where the seal products result from hunts traditionally conducted by Inuit and other indigenous communities and contribute to their subsistence.

and incidentally:

the placing on the market of seal products shall also be allowed where the seal products result from by-products of hunting that is regulated by national law and conducted for the sole purpose of the sustainable management of marine resources. Such placing on the market shall be allowed only on a non-profit basis. The nature

This is just a quick reminder to IT law folks: the Seventeenth Annual Canadian Information Technology Law Association (“IT.CAN”) Conference will be held in Toronto, October 24-25, 2013. The full conference brochure is available on the IT.CAN website, and registration is possible online in English and en français. The brochure contains details concerning CPD and CLE credits available.

Please direct any questions about the conference to Lisa Ptack, IT.CAN Executive Director at lisa.ptack@rogers.com . . . [more]

Unless you’ve been completely disconnected from international economic news, you’ve heard about the fact that, for four years now, Canada and the European Union have been negotiating “the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in order to bring their trade and investment relationship to a new level”. As explained on the EU’s website:

CETA will cover the key issues relevant to a modern trade and investment environment, from ambitious new market access opportunities to clear rules for European and Canadian traders and investors.

Of course, one of the key issues relevant to a modern trade environment (or . . . [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.

Ontario Energy Law: Electricity
Fred Cass, Ron Clark and Scott Stoll
Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2012

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO ONTARIO’S ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY

Electricity has been an integral element of the province’s development over the past 125 years and it will continue to be a vital part of our success – economic and . . . [more]

In light of the most recent round of federal judicial appointments announced last week, I wasn’t surprised to find 24 women and just one man attending the Manitoba Bar Association’s lunch & learn event, So You Want to be a Judge? earlier this week. The event, co-sponsored by the Women Lawyers Forum and Equality Issues section focused on providing practical information on the process of seeking an appointment to the provincial or federal bench.

Panelists from the Manitoba Court of Appeal, Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and Provincial Court of Manitoba spoke frankly about their own experiences on the bench . . . [more]