This morning’s Intapp Law Firm Risk Management Blog features a piece I recently published in Managing Partner Magazine in London entitled: “Managing Screens,” which explores the tension between tightly controlling access to sensitive client (and firm) information and fostering internal sharing, which I characterize as: “the potential of exploiting collective professional knowledge.”

“What has changed is that, in the past decade, so-called ethical screens have proliferated within law firms. Ethical screens are what used to be called Chinese walls: institutional mechanisms combined with technological safeguards and personal undertakings which ensure that confidential information is tightly protected.”

I am among a decreasing number of Canadians who are unilingual. I am grateful for a small innovation that Canlii has made to their main page. They added a check box for remembering your language selection.
Thanks CanLII.
Merci. . . . [more]

It is commonplace these days for parties to an IT contract to consider alternative dispute resolution (mediation or arbitration) as a means for resolving disputes. I have written on the topic of mediation in outsourcings, and concluded that it was useful in some outsourcings, but not all. At an engaging lunchtime seminar I attended the other day on ethics and professionalism issues arising in IT law, I had my thinking on this topic jolted by a turn in the discussion towards the use of subject matter experts by the court. One of the speakers, Don Johnston, pointed out that . . . [more]

The 15th Annual Canadian Information Technology Law Association (IT.CAN) Conference is coming up fast. The program for October 27 & 28 is jam-packed with all your favourite topics and a bunch of hot new issues (such as compliance with the new anti-spam legislation). For a full view of the program, see the conference brochure. You can register online. If you have any questions about the program please contact Lisa Ptack, IT.CAN Executive Director at lisa.ptack@rogers.com.

This program is accredited by provincial Law Societies for CLE credit. . . . [more]

Last year at about this time the Court of Appeal for England and Wales overturned the conviction of one T (R. v. T. [2010] EWCA Crim 2439) on the charge of murder. It was an identification issue and a critical element in linking the defendant to the crime had to do with a shoeprint left at the scene. The judgment is heavily redacted, reminiscent of some grudging government compliance with a FOI order; nevertheless, it’s clear that shoes found at the defendant’s house had soles that matched the patterns found at the scene of the crime. The important . . . [more]

A video has come to light in which Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, responded to a question by saying that “all these concerns about privacy tend to be old people issues”.

While it may be that some younger people may be a bit more permissive with their information than older generations, it does not mean that younger people are not concerned about privacy, or are not exercising control over their personal information.

His comment has lead to a strongly worded rebuke by Ann Cavoukian, the Ontario Privacy Commissioner.

From her article:

Here we go again. Once more, the chief

Not that Research in Motion needs more bad news and Apple more positive press, but today Apple launches a significant update to its operating system along with its new cloud service.

I am looking forward to testing out both new developments since I continue to more heavily integrate my iPad into the practice of law (in addition to amassing more Zombie games, including the highly addictive Call of Duty: Zombies HD; my joy in slaughtering zombies, albeit only in a video game app, is causing me concern, although there are apparently no moral issues in killing the undead . . . [more]

While the US government deals with having less A’s these days it’s been AAA (August Acquisition Action) in the world of legal publishing.

We’re not sure though whether we should adding a plus or minus after those three A’s.

Law Librarians News readers will know that we’ve touched upon this subject in our last two editorials

Usually we see acquisition and deal season in the world of legal publishing happen either post Easter or in September to combine with the Partridge hunting season (Sep 1 – Feb 1) in the UK.

But for reasons we haven’t yet deciphered August 2011 . . . [more]

This past weekend, the State of California passed legislation banning minors from using tanning beds. This law will take effect on January 1, 2012. This is the most restrictive law on the use of indoor tanning beds in the United States (other states have some restrictions on the use, but no outright ban). Law-makers cite health concerns associated with this activity to justify the legislation.

Prior to this law, minors between the ages of 14 and 17 had to get parental consent before being able to use tanning beds, with the activity prohibited for those under the age of 14. . . . [more]

Does the Air Canada labour dispute really put Canada’s ‘fragile economy’ in jeopardy?

Listening to the radio this morning and seeing this Government of Canada news release, a reasonable Canadian citizen could think that the only thing keeping Canada’s economy healthy is uninterrupted air travel. The other side of the coin is that over 65 percent of the Air Canada flight attendant members of CUPE rejected the most recent contract offer on October 9.

Regardless of your opinion on the particulars of this current labour dispute, my question is this:

Does the threat of back to work legislation from . . . [more]

Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Gus Van Harten and his team have launched a website and database on “International Investment Arbitration and Public Policy.” At its heart, IIAPP offers a database of summaries of some 150 cases brought by investors against states under treaties channelling disputes into less costly arbitration. Examples most familiar to Canadians will be those investor-state arbitrations carried out under NAFTA’s Chapter 11. Investor treaties touch upon a great many policy areas critical to a state’s functioning, areas including agricultural, environmental, human rights and public health policies.

Along with the database come a series of . . . [more]

Namespaces are used in XML to avoid the problems caused by what would, without the use of namespaces, be latent ambiguities.

A long time ago, in a place far away, there were two ships called “Peerless”. The plaintiff in Raffles v. Wichelhaus (1864), 2 H. & C. 906 (LLMC), 159 E.R. 375 (Hein), 33 L.J.N.S. 160, claimed he had a contract with the defendants for the delivery of some cotton to the defendants in Liverpool “ex Peerless from Bombay” (a.k.a. Mumbai). The defendants claimed they had refused to accept delivery from the Peerless which had sailed . . . [more]