The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York recently unveiled a simple, clever logo using a responsive “W”. A Wired article says “… the spindly zigzag design has been both praised for its modernity and criticized for its simplicity.”

Responsive design websites automatically adapt their configuration to the screen size you see it on. In the responsive W logo, the Museum changes the shape of the W to fit their use. To appreciate the cleverness and utility of this, look at the above video, the slideshow on the Wired article, and the designer’s explanation of the design.

As . . . [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 the week of November 28 to December 4th:

1. R. v. Ibanescu 2013 SCC 31
   

   [1] In R. v. Gibson, 2008 SCC 16 (CanLII), 2008 SCC 16, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 397, a majority of this Court — for the reasons of LeBel and Deschamps JJ. — held that straddle evidence is admissible to rebut the statutory presumption that the blood alcohol level of the accused exceeded the

Mark the commercial litigator was constantly writing down his bills because of his “leave no stone unturned” approach to research and preparation of his files.

Krista was always late with her time entry. She would hold off releasing it until the very last minute for fear of missing some small detail.

Trent has a desk piled high with filing because he is always waiting for the right time to tackle it all in one go.

What do Mark, Krista, and Trent have in common? They are all perfectionists.

I had a good discussion today about perfectionism with Derek LaCroix, QC, . . . [more]

The very first sentence of an article published some years ago in USA Today recently caught my attention: “Could three words change the way severely ill patients and their loved ones think about death?”.

The title of this article quickly gave the answer away “’Do not resuscitate’ vs. ‘allow natural death’”.

This article highlights not only how semantics can change a person’s reaction to a given situation (and potentially the ensuing consequences), but also the importance of using the right terms in the right context. As this article explains, while “allow natural death” may permit a family to better come . . . [more]

A lawyer in my office pointed out the Samples of Bodily Substances Regulations published in the Canada Gazette Part I (proposed regulations) on June 1, 2013. This proposed regulation was drafted as part of legislative reform that was required as part of the decision in R. v. Shoker. and the related Response to the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Shoker Act which was assented to in March of 2011. as the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statment points out:

This Act amends the probation, conditional sentence and peace bond provisions of the Criminal Code to provide explicit authority for

There’s some good stuff happening over on Osgoode Hall Law School’s IFLS blog, which is managed by the impressive Sonia Lawrence. I’m referring to a “roundtable” discussion about the recent Supreme Court of Canada case Quebec (Attorney General) v. A, 2013 SCC 5, otherwise known as Eric v. Lola. The old song says “whatever Lola wants, Lola gets” — but not this time. The majority of the court supported the exclusion of de facto spouses from the provisions of the Civil Code governing spousal support and division of property, making Québec (yet again) unique among the provinces. This, . . . [more]

A recent, and entertaining, decision of Justice Morgan demonstrates how sometimes the court must make decisions in the face of being presented with two compelling, competing, theories. It also demonstrates the fundamental legal principle that the Plaintiff has the onus of establishing its case on a balance of probabilities.

The Plaintiff is the owner and operator of a tomato processing plant and storage facility in Leamington, Ontario, the tomato capital of the country.

The Defendant is the creator of the “bag-in-box storage system”. The Defendant manufactures aseptic bags that line the inside of boxes that are designed to be used . . . [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

The results of the 2013 In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey conducted by Greentarget, InsideCounsel and Zeughauser Group in February 2013 reveal that among the 379 in-house counsel who responded, social media use and consumption of information on mobile devices are on the rise.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the results and what lawyers can do to get the attention of in-house counsel online.

Most Popular Media for In-House Counsel

LinkedIn, the “professional network,” is the one in-house counsel turns to most to obtain information and to expand their professional contacts. Two thirds of all respondents . . . [more]

The Canadian library and archival communities share a common interest in the impending appointment of a new leader for Library and Archives Canada. Over the past week, the Canadian Association of Law Libraries has collaborated with other national and provincial associations to consider the qualities we believe are necessary for a successful candidate to the position of Librarian and Archivist of Canada.

For more information, and to read the Joint Statement visit this link.

See also:

CAUT’s Efforts to Save Library and Archives Canada
CAUT’s List of Federal Library Closures. . . . [more]

Save the cheerleader, save the world. That was the tagline for the popular first season of the TV show Heroes several years ago – the cheerleader was the key to the mystery.

In terms of the legal industry, expert Richard Susskind suggests that kind of causal relationship might be stated as “change the incentives, change the behaviour” – incentives are the key to creating a profession that can flourish into the next decade and beyond.

In a paper prepared for the CBA’s Legal Futures Initiative, Susskind notes six key issues facing the legal industry, many of them also noted by . . . [more]

The devil – as they say – is in the details.

And it’s the details that appear to be creating issues for lawyers when it comes to the principal underlying cause of LAWPRO claims.

Back in 1998, “inadequate discovery of fact or inadequate investigation” was the fifth most common cause of a claim when we looked at the top five reasons a claim was made against a lawyer.

Since then the claims cause of “inadequate investigation” has climbed steadily upwards to the number one spot: By 2011, this category of errors had more than doubled in frequency. Moreover, claims resulting . . . [more]