A vodka martini is the libation of choice for the James Bond of film – famously shaken, not stirred. The actor may change but Bond’s drink remains the same: the viewer understands that he likes its taste, he likes its style, its strength; that he has a comfort level with it that will not change.

When it comes to many lawyers’ seeming lack of engagement with the issues facing the future of the legal profession, it has been suggested that, like the Bond of film (though, it must be said, not the literary character) lawyers with a certain amount of . . . [more]

I am a woman. I am a mother. I am a law librarian. I am a leader. Except for the leader, and law librarian bits, I rarely think about what the other two “I am” statements have to do with my job. Attendance at the Monday morning Plenary session at the CBA Legal Conference 2013 where Arin Reeves of Nextions presented “The Next IQ: The Next Level of Diversity & Inclusion for the 21st Century” caused me to reflect on being a woman and a mother in the context of my career.

I have rarely felt diminished, oppressed or that . . . [more]

Some publicity has been given to a recent Texas judgment that held that Bitcoins were a form of money, and thus a scheme by which investors hoped to increase their holdings of bitcoins was subject to securities regulations.

Is there any doubt that a similar holding would be made in Canada?

It was not necessary to find that bitcoins were a form of money in order for the investment to be a security. I recall from law school days securities that promised gains from chinchillas, for example.

The holding that bitcoins were money was needed in that particular case because . . . [more]

Matthew Butterick, whose book Typography for Lawyers we talked about back in 2008, has launched a new e-book, Butterick’s Practical Typography. Drawing heavily on his print book, this site takes you through the essentials of typography and importantly is itself a demonstration of good design and use of type in a web context.

The book is freely available, though Butterick has a number of suggestions as to how you might recompense him for his effort.

If you’re vaguely interested in how your documents appear to others — and which lawyer would not be? — but are hesitant to . . . [more]

Having seen both ends of the spectrum from working with seasoned QCs to wide-eyed, gum-chewing articling students, over almost two decades, I’ve whittled down a long list of advice to ten of the most fundamental tips. Getting these underway early in your practice, where many senior lawyers, who lacked marketing support early in their career, didn’t know the best way to build a successful practice, will give you a significant boost.

Here’s my roadmap for summer students, articling students and the early years of your legal practice:

1. Building of a great reputation starts now. How you are perceived matters . . . [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

Find Your Lost Android Phone With Android Device Manager
Dan Pinnington

Most of us have lost a phone at some point, even if only temporarily at home (between the couch cushions or in another room). Always frustrating when that happens, especially if you are rushing out the door or have absolutely no clue where your phone is. Finally (as of just yesterday) Android users now have what iPhone (Find . . . [more]

My last post, about alternative fee arrangements, generated a lot (relatively) of comments from both private practice and in-house lawyers. It seems that there is a desire on Slaw to discuss the often hidden world of interactions between private practice lawyers and their in-house counterparts. Having recently made the switch myself, I’ve found that part of my job to be incredibly interesting and rewarding.

While I don’t plead cases anymore, I am still involved in complex legal issues, but am focused more on providing business-orientated advice – making sure that I enable my colleagues to accomplish their mission rather . . . [more]

In the September 2010 issue of LAWPRO Magazine, we asked our claims counsel about what they feel are the biggest malpractice hazards in each area of law based on the claims files they work on every day. Here is an excerpt from that article that discusses criminal law, which while not a large source of LAWPRO claims, still has its dangers. Click here to read the full article “Practice Pitfalls”.

Criminal law has not traditionally been a fertile source of malpractice claims, notes LAWPRO Claims Counsel Karen Granofsky, but “ineffective assistance of counsel” claims are a growing trend.

For example, . . . [more]

I am impressed with the sharing aspect of Canada’s legal community, and the generosity everyone shows in blogging. Every day we see great new examples of this with both thought leadership and informational blogs. On Friday members of the CALL-L listserv received a note from the CALL/ACBD Website Editorial Board chair Michel-Adrien Sheppard reminding us about the blog on the Canadian Association of Law Libraries/L’Association canadienne des bibliothèques de droit website.

Even as a CALL/ACBD executive board member I didn’t quite realize how much blogging was going on inside the members’ area! Fortunately now members have the option of . . . [more]

You’re probably wondering what presents LexisNexis are doling out at this time of year.

Well being LN it’s the surprise that they usually roll out at yuletide for a percentage of their employees: the wonderful state of unemployment.

This time though they’ve decided to roll Christmas according to reports on Above The Law and The Dayton Daily News.

Here’s what Marc Osborn their spokesman told the Dayton Daily News this past week.

LexisNexis continuously reviews its needs, operations and other factors to identify what resources and services are necessary to optimally support our customers and improve business operations. As

. . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada's award-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from forty-one recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. SOQUIJ | Le Blogue   2. First Reference   3. Canadian Securities Law   4. Rule of Law    5. Lee Akazaki: SQP avocats | virtual mentor for lawyers

The Canadian Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee has released a new summary report today, Reaching Equal Justice: An Invitation to Envision and Act. The report explains why fundamental change in the legal system is necessary, exploring issues like the growth of unrepresented litigants, the role of technology, and potential partnerships between private practices and public resources.

The report emphasizes greater public education over the law, and approaching law as an essential life skill given that over the next three years given that 45% of the Canadian population will encounter some problem with a legal component to it. One . . . [more]