When does the law require you to follow up an email to see if it was received? Is that a matter of prudence only, i.e. if you really have to know, you had better follow up? Are you liable for negligence for not following up, in important cases, or all cases, if the message was not received?

A recent Swiss case – in the Federal Supreme Court – held that senders of emails have a duty to verify receipt in almost all cases. On the facts of the case, the result may be OK: an agent for a taxpayer emailed . . . [more]

When was the last time you got a great deal for less than 25 cents? If you’re looking for excellent value for money, consider the work of law reform agencies.

Law reform publications are a great resource for legal research. Michel-Adrien Sheppard regularly posts updates on Slaw on the work of Canadian and international law reform agencies. Kim Nayyer has also highlighted the value of law reform publications in legal research.

Canadian law reform agencies produce a range of informative, well-researched publications every year. Although some international law reform agencies overseas now charge a fee for hard copy publications, most . . . [more]

A tweet this morning from Heather Colman alerted me to the Building Smarter Organizations event happening today in Toronto.

If you are like me, and you are not in Toronto attending this event, you can still participate through the web.

There is a Linked In Group and a #smartorg twitter stream. There are plenty of concepts being shared through tweets that will make you think. Examples:

Mark Federman ‏@MarkFederman
Great Drucker quote: Mgmt mostly consists of making it difficult for people to do their work. #smartorg

Heather Colman‏ @HeatherColman
More bureaucratic mgmt= less engaged staff #smartorg

It is worth your . . . [more]

In his new book “Tomorrow’s Lawyer”, Richard Susskind claims that there are at least 13 “disruptive technologies” in law. A “disruptive technology” is one that fundamentally challenges and changes the functioning of a firm or sector (as opposed to supporting and enhancing current operational methods). He predicts that collectively these 13 technologies will transform the entire legal landscape.

He includes “online dispute resolution” or ODR in this group. He uses a very broad definition of ODR:

When the process of actually resolving a legal dispute, especially the formulation of the solution, is entirely or largely conducted across the

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

To avoid viruses and spyware, you should only download software from reputable sites you know are safe. One of the best sources of safe software downloads on the web is FileHippo.com. It has the newest versions of the most widely used software (freeware and shareware), browsers and browser plug-ins. The downloads on this site are 100% spyware and virus free. … . . . [more]

Nora Rock, corporate writer & policy anylist at LAWPRO, has some good advice for lawyers now that the weather is getting warmer. While this article was initially aimed at Ontario lawyers, all lawyers in Canada could stand to do some ‘spring cleaning’

We had flurries last night here in Ontario – but we’re not fooled: spring is around the corner. Time to roll up the slush mats and slide in the bug screens.

We challenge you, in the next month or two, to bring a little of the spirit of spring cleaning to your legal practice. What do we mean? . . . [more]

Last week the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in two appeals eagerly awaited by the Trusts and Estate bar: Pitt v. Holt and Futter v. Futter. They concern the rule which emerged since the 1975 decision in Hastings-Bass (HB) by which trustees could attack their own decisions where they had unintended consequences. Some commentators dubbed it the “morning after pill”.

A Press summary of the UKSC decisions can be found here.

Typically the sorts of cases where the HB rule has been applied are to give relief to decisions which have resulted in taxation that was unintended . . . [more]

It takes a special kind of mind to love statistics, but only the wilfully obtuse ignore them.

Prior to the 2008 recession the statistics for the legal profession could borrow the Olympic Games’ motto – Faster, Higher, Stronger. Nearly five years later, higher numbers of law grads and rising fees are more problematic. Stronger? That’s a difficult question, and part of the impetus for the CBA Legal Futures Initiative. Phase I looked at the current state of the profession in an attempt to identify where the forces of change will take it so as to position Canada’s lawyers to flourish . . . [more]

The more interconnected the world becomes, the more people (businesses, governments) are exposed to harm generated online. “Cyberthreats”have become a leading source of worry for many knowledgeable people. The Internet is a dangerous place. Hacking that was once the domain of geeks wanting to show off their exploits is now big business, with division of labour (those who collect the information pass it on to those who use it) and serious resources. Tools for most forms of nastiness are readily available for sale at reasonable prices.

Crime has been joined by state and perhaps private espionage in the . . . [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. Clicklaw Blog 2. Legal Feeds 3. Official Clio Blog 4. Michael Geist 5. Library Boy

Clicklaw Blog
AdminLawBC – Online Resource for Navigating Administrative Law

Are you preparing for a tough talk with your boss and want to get tips on negotiation tactics that will help the dialogue move . . . [more]

One of the most common inquiries around reputation management law that I receive is how a business, brand or professional can access the names and identities of people who use review sites to unfairly malign them.

This is a valid question because review sites are frequently being used for a variety of other purposes. For example, business competitors can try to capture larger market shares by making themselves look better, and personal vendettas can play themselves out through negative reviews anywhere a person’s name or their place of work is found online. The Terms of Service for most of these . . . [more]

On the second Sunday in each month we bring you a summary fromSupreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, SupremeAdvocacyLett@r, to which you may subscribe.

Summary of all appeals and leaves to appeal granted (so you know what the S.C.C. will soon be dealing with). For leaves, both the date the S.C.C. granted leave and the date of the C.A. judgment below are added in, in case you want to track and check out the C.A. judgment. (April 11 – May 8, 2013).

ORAL JUDGMENTS . . . [more]