The Globe and Mail reported recently (November 12, 2011) that only 30% of judges appointed by the Conservative government since 2006 have been women. (So far in 2011 just under 20% of appointments have been women.) This is a significant decrease from the last year of the Liberal government when 40% of their judicial appointments were women. A spokesperson for the Justice Department stated that the number of appointments reflects the number of female applicants.

In the past, it has been argued that the number of female federally appointed judges (32% in total) has been similar to the . . . [more]

The Attorney General for England and Wales, Dominic Grieve gave a very interesting speech on December 1 entitled ‘Contempt – A Balancing Act: balancing the freedom of the press with the fair administration of justice’ to journalism students where he commented on his approach to contempt of court.

‘Citizen journalists’ should not think they are immune to the law of contempt, that there is a certain belief that so long as something is published in cyberspace there is no need to respect the laws of contempt or libel. While he accepts the danger posed to the administration of

Ontario’s Auditor General tabled 2011 Annual Report in the Legislative Assembly today. Features of the report included:

• Auto Insurance Regulatory Oversight
• Electricity Sector—Regulatory Oversight
• Electricity Sector—Renewable Energy Initiatives
• Electricity Sector—Stranded Debt
• Forest Management Program
• Funding Alternatives for Family and Specialist Physicians
• LCBO New Product Procurement
• Legal Aid Ontario & Office of the Children’s Lawyer
• Ontario Trillium Foundation
• Private Career Colleges
• Student Success Initiatives
• Supportive Services for People with Disabilities

Of particular interest to the litigation bar in Ontario was the Auto Insurance Regulatory Oversight, reviewing the operation of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the auto regime . . . [more]

I suspect a few of you will be wondering the malls over the next few weeks looking for a gift for the special lawyer in your life. To save you from buying yet another bad tie (it’s the thought that counts!), here are four great online gift guides that should help you find a gift that will be welcomed and used by your favourite someone.

My good friend Reid Trautz just released his 7th Annual Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers. Reid works on this all year and he always has some interesting suggestions. This morning, AttorneyAtWork released a slightly . . . [more]

For Ontario lawyers a significant decision this morning of importance to civil litigators on the new rules concerning summary judgments.

Five cases decided together raise a number of issues concerning the interpretation of the new Rule 20, including the nature of the test for determining whether or not summary judgment should be granted, the scope and purpose of the new powers that have been given to judges hearing motions for summary judgment, and the types of cases that are amenable to summary judgment.

The grouped appeals are from decisions of the Superior Court of Justice under Rule 20 of . . . [more]

Love them or hate them, Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and MacBook are rapidly changing the way lawyers practice law. In just a few short years the technology lawyers use has shifted homogeny of PCs and BlackBerries to a diverse mix of PCs, Macs, iPads and iPhones. RIM, meanwhile, is imploding.

To try to keep a pulse on the rapidly shifting IT landscape, Clio, in cooperation with MILOfest, is holding the second annual Apple in Law Offices Survey – please take the survey. There’s a chance to win an iPad 2 to boot!

As I did last . . . [more]

Last month the Federation of Law Societies of Canada released a long-awaited Report on Conflicts of Interest prepared by its Standing Committee on the Model Code. This was the third attempt by the Federation with previous reports prepared by a Special Advisory Committee on Conflicts of Interest in June 2010 and in February 2011. The Federation settled the conflicts issue except for the thorny conundrum of current client conflicts. A copy of the almost-finished Model Code is available here. If this report is adopted by the Federation’s National Council it will mark the completion of the Model Code . . . [more]

I was at my monthly book club meeting the other night. As is our wont, after a solid discussion about the book (Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy) we moved along to other topics of import. The question about women in law firms came up, not surprisingly since I am a law librarian and another member of the group is a lawyer. The rest of the group were surprised to learn that, despite law school students being at least half female, the percentage of female partners in firms still falls significantly short of the 50% mark.

We speculated on various . . . [more]

Erik Magraken

There are two types of expert medical witnesses in personal injury cases; treating physicians and ‘professional‘ witnesses. I don’t note this with any criticism of the latter category but simply point out that often doctors are brought to Court (by both plaintiffs and defendants) to act as independent medical experts to provide opinion evidence. These professional witnesses often have no role in treating an injured plaintiff.

The BC Supreme Court Rules have strict requirements for expert opinion evidence. These Rules are applied with equal rigour to both categories of experts. ‘Professional‘ witnesses often have . . . [more]

[with Meredith James]

Is it acceptable for legal pollution levels to be higher in some neighbourhoods than in others? In the US, pollution is often concentrated in areas of colour, including the famous Cancer Alley. Changing this is called “environmental justice”, and is an important priority for US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

(Ecojustice has framed the same issue as a Charter challenge in its work on behalf of two members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. It argues that Ministry of the Environment ongoing approval of multiple sources of pollution surrounding their Sarnia reserve violates their rights to life, liberty and . . . [more]

“In many ways a trial, like skydiving, is not inherently difficult; however both can be terribly unforgiving of the slightest inattention.”
“Courting Justice”, David Boies (Hyperion -Miramax 2008)

Referral advocacy is a model by which court advocacy is undertaken by a specialist bar to whom other lawyers refer as needed.

Lawyers who refer to specialist advocates lose the headaches of trial work, the havoc it wreaks on a practice, and the responsibility for an unfavourable outcome. Yet they gain the ability to offer their client specialist advocacy services at more predictable cost, and the client’s gratitude when the outcome is . . . [more]

What do you do when a website claims that you are an international criminal kingpin, and it’s affecting your business?

Altaf Nazerali, the plaintiff in Supreme Court of British Columbia decision Nazerali v. Mitchell, discovered a number of articles about him on a website, Deep Capture, including allegations of arms trading, ties to the Iranian regime, and that he was part of a criminal enterprise with ties to the Italian and Russian mafias and Colombian drug cartels. The website even claimed he attempted to sell enriched uranium to Al-Qaeda.

The plaintiff was actually in the business of founding, . . . [more]