Here are the three most-consulted English-language cases on CanLII for the week of May 1 – 7.

♨ 1. Bruni v. Bruni 2010 ONSC 6568 (Back again for a re-run, thanks to notes in a couple of UK blogs: The Motley Fool and Roll On Friday, such is the power of notoriety.)

[1] Paging Dr. Freud. Paging Dr. Freud.

[2] This is yet another case that reveals the ineffectiveness of Family Court in a bitter custody/access dispute, where the parties require therapeutic intervention rather than legal attention. Here, a husband and wife have been marinating in a mutual hatred

In an article this weekend, the Montreal French-language daily, La Presse, reported that the provincial Liberal government is looking to amend the Quebec Labour Code in response to labour turmoil at the Journal de Montreal (another Quebec daily). In that dispute, the striking union argued that the Journal de Montreal’s management got around the anti-scab legislation by contracting out work to journalists working from home. The law, as it is currently written, does not prohibit this kind of technological circumvention as it generally only bars the use of employees from an employer’s establishments (with many nuances) while a strike . . . [more]

For more than 17 years I’ve worked in legal marketing, I’ve been keenly listening to clients about how they choose their lawyer, what irritates them and why they leave. I read surveys, attend public and private panel sessions that profile clients and their preferences, and I interview clients at every opportunity.

If you’re in a business, such as law, which centres on attracting and keeping clients, your marketing — and all other business strategies — must be informed and guided by client preferences. If you’re not understanding, responding and anticipating their needs, you will never reach your full potential. Start . . . [more]

We all like self-improvement tips, even when it isn’t New Years. My good friends Merrilyn Tarlton and Joan Feldman over at Attorney@Work have posted an amazing collection of 101 tips for improving your law practice and being a better you. And as a bonus, many of the tips link to more detailed info.

This post is a must read. It is packed full of great bite-sized tips you can implement immediately. Read it today! . . . [more]

Finally, after a decade of exclusively print publication, a portion of the Supreme Court Law Review is available free and online. Each year for the past fifteen years, Osgoode Hall Law School has held a Constitutional Cases conference, the output of which is published in the SCLR. Now, thanks to the efforts of Jamie Cameron and others at York University, the broader community will have access to the more than 200 articles by constitutional scholars and litigation experts. As well, LexisNexis, publishers of the print SCLR, are to be congratulated for giving their permission and support to the project. . . . [more]

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD) annual conference kicked off last night in Toronto at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and the Ontario Legislature. Yesterday we had many of the Association business meetings, the first part of the AGM and opening of the exhibit hall at the Royal York. Members and guests then headed to the Legislature for the opening reception.

We were treated to a welcome from the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Hon. Dave Levac (see photo), and a tour that included the Speaker’s apartment in the Legislative Building, the Legislative Chamber, and the Legislative Library.

CALL/ACBD . . . [more]

There is a certain foreboding in this David Bowie lyric. The song warns those in power of an emerging class that will replace them.

There are parallels in the modern world of the administration of civil justice.

The need for civil justice is as strong as ever. But although the core qualities of our civil justice system are beyond reproach, some of our machinery for delivering it is rusty and inefficient. This drives up the cost for the individuals and businesses that need it and hurts the image of the bench and bar.

The irony is that we are more . . . [more]

When the discussion turned to rebuilding the British House of Commons in 1943 (after its destruction on May 10, 1941) Winston Churchill in a simple but profound way stated, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.” He had fixed ideas about what the rebuilt House of Commons should look like – exactly like it was before. He was opposed to the semi-circular chamber which was popular in continental Europe and the U.S. (and Toronto City Hall) and in his view was poorly suited to party politics. His theory, based on his own experience, was that changing political . . . [more]

This Saturday, the University of Toronto Law is hosting the second annual lawTechCamp. The schedule is available here, and it’s no surprise that you’ll see many familiar law bloggers, including a significant presence of Slaw contributors.

You can read reviews of last year’s event on Slaw here and here, and background on what this kind of tech camp is about here.

One significant difference with the event this year is that there are a number of sessions which are CPD accredited. Considering the cost of attending is still free, the event promises to be well-attended and . . . [more]

The Journal of the Digital Humanities just released its inaugural issue. It is an open access journal with a new take on the peer review process. As described in the editorial, the idea of community is the starting place for the journal. 

Reversing the ‘closed’ selection and review process usually used, the journal starts with the materials noted on the Digital Humanities Now blog, which itself is a selection from the materials available through all the websites included in the very comprehensive Digital Humanities Compendium. Interestingly, anyone can add their site to the Compendium, so accordingly there is . . . [more]

Nobody whistles anymore. Seems to me you could once walk down the street and hear the people you passed whistling tunes. I remember indulging in a kind of stealth tune stealing, where I’d quietly join the whistler’s tune and gradually up my volume, maybe adding a cadenza or two, until the song was mine alone. I don’t remember learning to whistle, though I do remember being mightily impressed that my dad could do it — and could send out a shrill blast through his teeth when needed. This loud whistle so got to me that I sweated long and hard . . . [more]

Lawyers probably work in one of the most stressful environments that exist. If they are in private practice, they have the stress of working to provide their clients the information, advice and services that the client is looking for when the client wants it. If they are in-house counsel or in the public sector, they have employers, bosses who want information, advice and strategy when they need it, not on the lawyers’ schedule. As well, lawyering is such that sometimes there does not seem to be any clocks and everything else can be put aside including family, friends and one’s . . . [more]