If you’ve ever taught law, you will have had to decide whether to build your course around an established casebook authored by somebody else, or from materials (cases, legislation, and articles) you’ve compiled yourself.

As a law book publisher, I’d like to make the case for teaching from a casebook; and, if you have the opportunity – contributing to one.

For one thing, when choosing to teach from a book, you’re not just making a straight choice between your own and someone else’s materials. Even if an authored casebook is the work of a single author, by the time it’s . . . [more]

Picture a lawyer. Was he a male or was she a female lawyer? Was the lawyer wearing a suit? Was the suit black or blue? Even if you’re a huge fan of the film Legally Blonde, I doubt you pictured Elle Woods in her pink suit. In the movie, Elle stuck out like a sore thumb among her more conservatively dressed classmates. This fall, as students begin their legal education, some of them will face deep insecurities and will not see themselves as lawyers. Schools can give students the space to talk about their perception of professional identity and encourage . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Les propos de l’accusé, qui était le passager du véhicule conduit par sa soeur inexpérimentée, peuvent constituer une forme de garde ou de contrôle de celui-ci (art. 320.11 a) C.Cr.) au regard des accusations de conduite dangereuse causant la mort et de fuite lors d’une poursuite policière . . . [more]

The BC Family Unbundling Roster currently has over 200 Roster members across the province. The BC Family Justice Innovation Lab administers the Roster and publishes a newsletter to Roster members and other subscribers that describes helpful tips about unbundling and developments in the field.

In the August 2023 newsletter you will find details about:

1. An update on the Unbundled Legal Services Research Project Phase 2/Phase 3
2. Roster member Sonali Sharma receives CBABC Innovation Award
3. Jamie Maclaren KC honoured for his inspiring leadership including of the Everyone Legal Clinic which provides services on an unbundled basis
4. A Slaw post linking unbundling

At the beginning of each month, we tell you which three English-language cases and French-language cases have been the most viewed* on CanLII in the previous month and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about. 

For this past month, the three most-consulted English-language decisions were:

1. AA v. Law Society of Ontario, 2023 ONLSTH 99

[77] We find that significant time has passed since the serious misconduct that took place in 2009 and that his actions since 2017 show a sincere and concerted attempt to address not only the historical sexual misconduct but also to . . . [more]

The contentious sale of Simon and Schuster, by Paramount, to KKR for $1.62 billion, albeit for less than the $2.18 billion which, in 2020, was agreed in an agreement which subsequently failed, is a reminder both of the wealth and ambition of private equity, and the value of some publishing businesses. On a lesser monetary scale, there is no question but that Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of San Francisco-based Casetext is a significant step. Although in existence only ten years or so, in 2017, its legal research platform, CARA, was named by the American Association of Law Librarians as “new product . . . [more]

Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends
Then let’s keep dancing…

“Is that all there is”, song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Administrative law can be complicated. The Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, tried to uncomplicate the law. Professor Paul Daly in his new book, A Culture of Justification: Vavilov and the Future of Administrative Law, outlines how well the court succeeded.

In 180 pages, he does a good job of situating Vavilov in the historical evolution of judicial review of administrative action. . . . [more]

One Sunday each month we bring you a summary from Supreme Advocacy LLP of recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers a weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, to which you may subscribe. It’s a summary of all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted from July 20 – August 31, 2023 inclusive.

Appeals

Criminal Law: Self-Represented Accused; Role of Amicus
R. v. Kahsai, 2023 SCC 20 (40044)

In exceptional circumstances, the trial judge retains wide discretion to appoint an amicus curiae with adversarial functions that can respond to the needs of . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : L’appel du jugement qui a déclaré la compagnie appelante coupable de négligence criminelle ayant causé la mort d’un camionneur pour avoir omis d’entretenir le système de freinage de son camion est rejeté; même si la demande de l’enquêteur fondée sur l’article 59 de la Loi sur l’accès . . . [more]

Having a new idea or insight form in our mind feels great. Each “aha” comes with a release of dopamine that gives us a sensation of pleasure.

Unfortunately, most good ideas don’t progress beyond the initial insight. Goals, no matter how worthy, take a lot of time and resources to implement.

It can be a long and tedious process to put plans into action. It is one thing to have an idea for a book and quite another to undertake the arduous effort to write and publish it.

That is why I was excited this month to speak with lawyer . . . [more]