A senior commercial litigator who had just completed five days of civil mediation training in BC commented: “That didn’t look at all like what I have experienced in mediation!”

With a little probing, he expanded on the disconnect that he experienced as follows:

Attribute Training Model Commercial Mediation Model Mediator selection Process expertise Subject matter expertise Pre-mediation preparation Detailed separate meetings between mediator and each party and counsel, if any, to discuss underlying interests, goals Little or no interaction with the mediator prior to mediation. Possibly some exchange of mediation briefs (similar to court submissions) Mediation Emphasis on joint meetings . . . [more]

The Globe and Mail (see here) is reporting today on a recent article from Forbes.com (see here) about so-called “love contracts” in the workplace. The name alone does not necessarily lead to the correct conclusion as to the actual purpose of these contracts: love contracts are meant to be signed between two romantically-involved coworkers stating that their relationship is consensual and that they understand the employer’s policy on harassment.

Indeed, office romances, while not uncommon, can make life difficult for employees and employers alike when they head south. Some time ago, my colleague, Gabriel Granatstein, wrote a column . . . [more]

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association Health and Safety Committee has produced and published a report [PDF] that urges wifi be regarded as a workplace hazard in schools. The OECTA website glosses it this way:

A position regarding the use of Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation, including WiFi, in the workplace, Researched and presented by the OECTA Provincial Health and Safety Committee, January 2012

There are growing health and safety concerns regarding the widespread use of technology, such as cellular phones and wireless computer networking (WiFi), which produce non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. It is estimated that at least 3 per cent of

. . . [more]

We are deep in Pilot rollout of Windows 7 and Office 2010 at Field Law. It is fun, interesting, frustrating, and intense.

Fun – I love learning new things, especially technology things. I especially like being in Pilot groups where I can see that my feedback is shaping the way we offer these tools to the rest of the firm.

Interesting – It is interesting to see how ribbons and menus were contemplated by the developers who are likely not the same folks who created Windows originally. New technologies are often, for me, a glimpse of how the current generation . . . [more]

One thing has become clear in the last few months: Hollywood has declared war on the Internet. Rupert Murdoch and his colleagues, not content with grossing billions of dollars on their blockbuster movies have decided to spent some of those billions to lobby congress to try and get legislation passed that would give them the ability to more quickly (and with minimal due process) shut down file sharing sites that they think are hosting pirated content. Of course, Mr. Murdoch has demonstrated that he has a fairly fuzzy understanding of how links and such work so if it’s up to . . . [more]

The 2012 Conference in Toronto will mark the 50th annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries and provide an occasion to highlight many of the accomplishments of the association and its members over the decades since its creation. One of many accomplishment worthy of note is the Index to Canadian Legal Literature for which CALL provided both the inspiration and the support required to create a Canadian publication that met international indexing standards.

The Proposal for a New Index

In December 1983, The Canadian Law Information Council and The Canadian Association of Law Libraries developed a proposal to . . . [more]

♬ Every day create your history
Every path you take you’re leaving your legacy…♬

Music and lyrics by Michael Jackson, James Harris the 3rd and Terry Lewis; recorded by Michael Jackson.

Law students across Canada are about to make history. They are preparing to argue a Legal Appeal using twitter.

Marketwire has reported that Yana Banzen and Kowlasar Misir, two students at the University of Ottawa’s Law School, are gearing up to participate in the world’s first ever Twitter Moot, scheduled for 21st February at 1pm EST.

This Twitter Moot is a project of West Coast Environmental Law. Accordingly, it . . . [more]

Today’s a holiday throughout much of Canada today. In Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan it’s Family Day. In Prince Edward Island it’s Islander Day. And in Manitoba it’s Louis Riel Day. However, even in those provinces, folks who work for the federal government will be toiling today. It’s all very Canadian.

And it’s all by way of saying that things will be quieter than usual here on Slaw today.

See you tomorrow. Most of you. . . . [more]

[ français / English ]

Comme vous le savez peut-être, Éducaloi est un site d’information juridique grand public qui explique le droit en vigueur dans la province du Québec au Canada. Cette phrase peut sembler anodine, mais chacun de ces mots compte. Dans cette chronique, je vous expose un problème lié à cette première affirmation, auquel nous avons récemment fait face.

La partie « site d’information juridique grand public », vous comprenez. Nous informons le public sur leurs droits et leurs obligations, et ce, dans un langage simple et accessible. Là où ça se corse, c’est dans la seconde partie . . . [more]

When Apple released the iPhone 4 in the U.S. in June 2010, some customers quickly noticed some problems. The phone’s case, which doubled as an antenna, gave variable reception depending on how the phone was held. Apple held a press conference 3 weeks later, providing free replacement cases or the option to return the phone to users who requested it within a 2-month period.

American customers who did not take up this initial offer subsequently launched 18 separate class-action lawsuits against Apple, alleging “misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale, and servicing of its iPhone 4–particularly as . . . [more]

Durnin & Fisher v Victoria Hospital, 2012 ONSC 320*

Summary (added Feb. 19, 2012)

The Supreme Court of Canada stated in R. v. Sheppard, [2002] 1 S.C.R. 869 at para. 24, 2002 SCC 26 that

at the trial level, the reasons justify and explain the result. The losing party knows why he or she has lost. Informed consideration can be given to grounds for appeal. Interested members of the public can satisfy themselves that justice has been done, or not, as the case may be.

It is my opinion that the reasons in this case do not adequately . . . [more]

Well, as Simon Chester alerted us it would, CanLII has just now clicked the odometer over as the millionth judgment comes on line. Here’s the graphic evidence (courtesy of Colin Lachance):

Fittingly, perhaps, the millionth judgment was an opinion from the Supreme Court, S.L. v. Commission scolaire des Chênes 2012 SCC 7.

That’s a whole lot of precedent. Use it wisely, Canada. . . . [more]