For many lawyers, their workdays could best be described as chaotic, out of control or constant crisis management. They arrive at the office with no clear plan about how they are going to spend the day but just let the day unfold responding to each email or phone call as it appears. While their day may be productive and billable as this is all work needing attention, the feeling that all they are doing is putting out fires can be very frustrating.

Over the long term this type of crisis management means that matters requiring blocks of time do not . . . [more]

This actually seems to be more of a marketing campaign for Dell and Intel than a movement, but Happy IT Day to Information Technology professionals anyway. 

It’s time to celebrate and recognize the efforts of all IT professionals across Canada. Let’s thank our IT heroes for the hard work and long hours they put in everyday. Show your appreciation by saying “thank you” in your own way!

Perhaps the hotel industry will need the services of some IT professionals soon in light of this New York Times article entitled IPads Change Economics, and Speed, of Hotel Wi-Fi that says . . . [more]

I’ve come across a couple of new law reviews that might be of interest to SLAW readers…

1) The Washington Journal of Environmental Law and Policy from the University of Washington in Seattle. WJELP is a student run journal. Issues will be available for free online and the first issue is here. You can sign up for e-mail alerts of new issues at the journal’s website. All issues will also be archived at the University of Washington’s digital repository.

2) The Southampton Student Law Review is a new student publication from the Southhampton Law School in the UK. . . . [more]

Perhaps the thorniest of emerging Internet legal and policy issues these days is the question of Internet intermediaries. It is a feature of the Internet that all online activity is intermediated through at least one and often several service providers, such as ISPs, social networking sites, blog hosting sites, etc. Standing at the crux of all this activity, intermediaries are uniquely placed to exert a great deal of control and surveillance over activities of downstream users, making them a compelling target for policy-makers and aggrieved plaintiffs alike. The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent seminal decision in Crookes v. Newton offers . . . [more]

Recently Apple released their iPhone 4S and regardless of how excited you might be about the new camera or the new processor the reality is that the feature everybody is talking about (and to) is “Siri” the voice-enabled “personal assistant”.

You can ask Siri to find the nearest coffee shop, to wake you up at a particular time, to tell you what the weather is expected to be, to call or send a message to a contact in your address book…even to look up random facts for you.

One of the most intriguing things about Siri is that you can . . . [more]

What are you doing at 6:00 PM (ET) on Monday, November 14, 2011? If you’re in Toronto, consider coming to Fraser Milner Cagrain at 77 King Street West to hear Human Rights Adjudication in the 21st Century, a talk by Timothy Endicott, Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Legal Philosophy (for Lawyers and Non-Lawyers alike)

The timetable is 6pm Wine and Cheese Reception, 6.45pm Talk and Discussion. $20 at the door but please let us know if you’re on the fence so we know how many to cater for. Here is the log-in.

Timothy Endicott is a Canadian . . . [more]

I have been remiss at mentioning the free online conference Library 2.0 that started today at 9:30 am ET and continues around the clock through to the end of tomorrow. This page has a schedule of sessions listed according to your time zone. For a quick look at the schedule, check out the Eastern Standard Time schedule — sessions typically run for a 1/2 hour.

There is still time to sign up! Register for the Library 2.0 site. All sessions will be run using the Blackboard Collaborate platform. Session rooms have a bandwidth-related limit of 700 attendees. Word via . . . [more]

We have been quick to use the word “crisis” to describe the state of articling in Ontario. Maybe too quick. Certainly the rather abrupt rise in the rate of “unplaced lawyer candidates” – students unable to find articling positions – from 5.8% in 2008 to 12.1% in 2011 is an eye-popper and potentially a game changer. But a crisis, as the Globe and Mail reports today? Maybe.

Those that work in the legal trenches have known for years that another crisis exists – the access to justice crisis – now well documented by the Ontario Civil Legal Needs Project . . . [more]

Thanks to Colin Lachance we learn that these are the three most consulted cases on CanLII in October:

1. Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership v. Rogers Communications Inc., 2011 BCSC 1196

[1] The ability of the law to adapt is part of its strength. Technological innovation tests that resilience. This case considers that ability as claims for breach of contract, trespass to chattels and copyright infringement meet the Internet. At the root of this lawsuit is the legitimacy of indexing publically accessible websites.

[2] The plaintiffs seek an injunction and damages against the defendants for their conduct in accessing Century

If you have “friended” a reporter on Facebook you could potentially see one of your “private” photos published in a mass media publication. It happened to my client.

A recent media relations campaign for one of my law firm clients revealed a new risk with “friending” reporters. One of the media releases was accompanied with a photo of a partner standing with a high profile public person. It seems the reporter didn’t want to only run the sanitized, pre-vetted photo provided by a publicist and decided to hunt for more interesting photos.

By good fortune, or bad, this reporter happened . . . [more]

Whether you call them “executive recruiters” or “headhunters”, they are all engaged in a fierce competition to recruit the ideal candidate to fill out executive or professional positions for their clients.

With a labour shortage that is bound to rise dramatically as baby-boomers begin retiring, headhunting has become increasingly important for the future development of companies and for people seeking new employment. However, the industry has faced challenges. It has been reported that several headhunters have run afoul ethically by, for example, requesting money directly from potential candidates (in exchange for a better recommendation) or revealing confidential information related to . . . [more]

Today’s Globe and Mail features an articling discussing what is being called a “crisis” in articling positions,

Some blame law firms, accusing them of reducing their hiring in the face of economic uncertainty. But according to Law Society statistics, there has also been a steady increase in the number of law graduates, as law schools have increased their enrolments. The number of law students successfully landing articling jobs has increased each year since 2007, but it has not kept pace with demand.

The article features interviews with Meagan Williams, a colleague of mine from UWO Law (and occasional law . . . [more]