Law Society of Ontario Bencher Elections 2019

The LSO 2019 Bencher Election season is upon us, and it feels more active and exciting this year than in the past.  A few of our favourite online legal contributors have set up special (and free!) features to cover the election and provide platforms for candidates to share their message, so we thought we’d spotlight those here.

LSO 2019 Bencher Election by Colin Lachance: Our friend and legal technology enthusiast Colin Lachance has set up a website for the 2019 election that aims to consolidate and organize information by and about Bencher candidates so that you, the voters, can make informed decisions. We really like that you can look up specific issues facing the incoming Benchers, and see what your candidates have to say on those topics. To use a completely random and unbiased example, here is what candidates have contributed so far on the topic of funding for courthouse libraries.

Of Counsel: Bencher Series by Sean Robichaud: Bencher candidate Sean Robichaud is taking his podcast “Of Counsel” on a special diversion for the election – the “Bencher Series” of interviews with candidates. The format is simple: candidates get nine minutes and are asked the same questions. You can listen directly in your web browser, or through your podcast app.

Bencher Elections 2019 from Law Times: Law Times has been heavily active this Bencher election season. Many candidates are linking right to their Law Times profile in their promotional materials.

CCLA Bencher Emails: An easy plug for our own service, but worth mentioning! As we have done in the past, the CCLA will be sending three emails to our mailing list at the beginning of April. One email will be for Toronto candidates, one for East Region candidates, and one for people from all the other areas of Ontario. There is no cost to either be on our mailing list (you can do that here), nor for candidates to send this message out. Details on that can be found on our website.

 

Newly Received Materials from LSO CPD

Below are some of the most recent CPD materials added to the library collection. Each title links to the book record where you can view more details and the full table of contents. All materials are available in print at the library, or if you’re interested in only a couple of articles, feel free to email us a request for a scanned copy.

The Six-Minute Real Estate Lawyer 2018 (November 20, 2018)

  • “The new Construction Act : a six-minute primer for real estate lawyers” / Richard Wong
  • Fraud : don’t let your guard down / Lori Swartz
  • Power struggle : electric vehicles and the Condominium Act / Odysseas Papadimitriou
  • Condos and cannabis : 420 ways to regulate / Tannis Waugh
  • Section 71 notices / Cynthia A. Cline

26th Annual Immigration Law Summit – Day One & Two (November 27 & 28, 2018)

  • Immigration strategies for business expansion to Canada / David Garson, Jessica Ravenhurst
  • Cannabis legalization and travel to the United States / Henry J. Chang
  • IMP compliance : navigating the known and still unknown ; IRC employer portal information form / Peter Rekai
  • Making principled objections to the admission of hearsay evidence before the immigration division / Simon Wallace
  • Immigration consequences of criminal dispositions & sentencing / Samuel Loeb, Anthony Navaneelan, James Todd
  • Evolving Charter jurisprudence and its application in the immigration and refugee context : recent developments in section 7 / Erin Simpson

The Six-Minute Family Law Lawyer 2018 (November 29, 2018)

  • Caselaw from heaven : some important cases from 2018 that you should know / Aaron Franks, Adam Prewer
  • An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure : the six most common mistakes when drafting financial statements and how to avoid them / Robert Shawyer, Andrew Sudano
  • Child protection proceedings : a short primer / Tammy Law
  • Gifts … loans … income … what is it? / Dana Lue, Elizabeth Mourao
  • Your spouse is not a squatter : how to effectively apply principles of occupation rent / Fadwa Yehia

Impaired and “Over 80” 2018 (December 1, 2018)

  • R v. Jennings hasn’t ended the fight / Karen Jokinen, Peter Keen
  • Expert evidence in impaired driving cases / Kerry McVey
  • Leading effective expert evidence for the defence : lessons from the civil bar / Jonathan Rosenthal, James Foy
  • Collision reconstruction : what is involved? / Scott Walters

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Find below recently published Ottawa decisions, available for free through CanLII.org.

Family Matters

Alkhudair v. Alobaid (2019 ONSC 1067)
child — father — custody — contempt — access
Justice D. Summers

Vodden v. Furgoch (2019 ONSC 953)
children — paternal grandparents — access — clinician — behaviour
Justice J. Audet

CAS v. N.P. (2019 ONSC 893)
children — band — community — child — identify
Justice J. Blishen

Glazer v. Hill (2019 ONSC 809)
expenses — duress — retroactive child support — motion to change — set aside
Justice P. MacEachern

Obregon v. Montgomery (2019 ONSC 831)
costs — offer — motion — full recovery — successful
Justice P. MacEachern

Continue reading

Pan-Canadian Project to Translate Court Decisions

The following message was shared on the Canadian Association of Law Libraries listserv, and we think it might be of particular interest to some of our readers.

 

Pan-Canadian Project to Translate Court Decisions
TARGET DATE : MARCH 8th 2019

Greetings. 

We have received funding from the Department of Justice Canada to compile an initial list of selected unilingual decisions requiring translation. The ultimate aim of the project is to increase the number of court decisions available in both official languages in all provinces and territories and thus to ensure that caselaw emanating from all over Canada is accessible to all. 

The project will favour the translation of court decisions which are more likely to have a serious impact on citizens’ private lives, notably in the field of family law and penal law. While decisions in these fields would be translated as a priority, other areas of law are certainly not excluded. We recognize that access to leading cases and landmark decisions in all fields of law is of paramount importance for the Canadian legal system. 

We are therefore inviting all the members of the legal community to participate in this ambitious project, which is a golden opportunity for the Anglophone legal community to obtain English translations of caselaw currently only available in French, but also to see that caselaw currently only available in English is translated for the use of the Francophone legal community. The participation of those involved in penal law and family law, whether as lawyers, professors or judges) would be particularly welcome. 

Please contact us with your suggestions at the address mentioned below. You may use the Proposal Form to transmit your suggestions. 

Note that we are inviting numerous stakeholders to participate in this pan-Canadian project, including members of the judiciary, all law schools, as well as Anglophone and Francophone lawyers).   

Karine McLaren
Director, Centre de traduction et de terminologie juridiques
Université de Moncton

Cool Tools: Canva

This post was written by Dorota Turlejski from the CCLA Technology Committee.

Would you like some Graphic Design made easy? Canva provides ready-to-use templates for any form of communication that requires a visual component. As long as you are online, it is very easy to use the Canva search engine to find a template most closely connected to what you’re trying to do. You get to provide content in a way a visual artist or a graphic designer would without actually hiring one.

Canva gives you access to over a million photographs, graphics and fonts and 50,000 templates for various types of visual outputs.  For example, say, you wanted an appealing first page of a presentation you will be showing at the first CCLA Technology Lunch and Learn entitled, “Lawyering while Travelling.” You go to www.canva.com, click on the “Find templates” tab, pick “Presentations”, and you are provided with some subcategories.  I picked the “Simple” subcategory and chose from the available options. I thought this template might work nicely:

All I had to do is replace the information provided in the template.  The result is:

       

Simple! You can then save it on your desktop, and you have the option of saving in “pdf” or “jpg” format, and the file is ready to be uploaded into your presentation.  

The great parts about Canva are that it is cost effective, you can get a visual that looks good very quickly, and you can easily transfer the created file onto whatever file you are working on.  

Some drawbacks are that the tool is dependent on the speed of wireless connection, and that you have to get comfortable with the copy and paste functions and how they are used to replace content in the templates. Also, there is paid content on the templates that you need to watch out for. You can add paid elements or take them out of the templates. The paid content is worth paying for as it blends in well with the whole template and each element or image is usually no more than $1 or $2 (USD).   

Category: Graphic Design Software

Ottawa Blog Roll: January 2019

Please find below links to blog posts or articles authored by the Ottawa legal community in January.

Civil Litigation

Frivolous, Vexatious or Abusive Claims: The Ontario Court of Appeal Addresses Notice Requirements Under Rule 2.1.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure – Shauna Cant, Mann Lawyers

Clean Hands in Real Estate Disputes (Nuisance and Trespass) – Patrick R. Simon, Vice & Hunter LLP

Ontario Automobile Insurance Reform – Edward Masters, Mann Lawyers

Specific Performance for Commercial or Investment Properties?: The Court of Appeal Clarifies – Alexander Bissonnette, Mann Lawyers

Condominium Law

Must Condos Include Materials in a Meeting Package if Owners Demand It? – Graeme Macpherson, Condo Adviser

Do Changes to the Condo Act Mean More Work for Lawyers? – Rod Escayola, Condo Adviser

Declaration vs Rules – James Davidson, Davidson Condo Law

More Perspectives on Short-Term Rentals Regulations – Andrea Daly, Davidson Condo Law

Tarion and the Dangers of the Conciliation Deadline – James Davidson, Davidson Condo Law

Correction: Although the Green Energy Act is Repealed, Condominium Obligations to Report Energy and Water Use Remain – David Lu, Davidson Condo Law

The Cost of Failing to Produce Records – Jessica Weick, Davidson Condo Law

Corporate Commercial Law

New Corporate Records Obligations Imposed on CBCA Corporations – Andre Martin, Mann Lawyers

Behind the corporate veil: New ownership record rules in Canada – Karen E. Hennessey & Shaela W. Rae, Gowling WLG

Criminal Law

January 2019 Criminal Law Round-Up – Anne Marie McElroy, McElroy Law

Don’t Expect New Justice Minister to Deliver on Progressive Criminal Justice Reform – Michael Spratt, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP

The Presumption of Innocence is for the Court of Law, Not for Protecting the Reputations of the Powerful – Michael Spratt, Abergel Goldstein & Partners LLP

Employment & Labour Law

Off-Key? The Boston Symphony and Gender-Based Equality in Pay – Paul Willetts, Vey Willetts LLP

Ontario Employment Standards Act Update: 2019 – Megan Cornell, Momentum Business Law

Arbitrator Orders Nurse Who Was Caught Stealing Narcotics to be Reinstated – Sean Bawden, Labour Pains

Have you been injured while insured under your employer’s group benefit policy, but only realized the extent of your injury once you were no longer an employee? – Amanda Le, Nelligan O’Brien Payne

Entertainment & Sports Law

Leaked nudes and talent morality clauses – A lesson for the digital age – Jahmiah Ferdinand-Hodkin, René Bissonnette & Scarlett Trazo, Gowling WLG

Family Law

Technology and Family Court…The Saga Continues – Jillian Allen, Fresh Legal

IP & Copyright Law

Blacklock’s Got Much of What it Wished For – For Now: Will This Be About “Be Careful What You Wish For”?” – Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

My Brief to the INDU Committee re Copyright Revision & S.92 Review – Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

Update on Blacklock’s Mega Motion of December 12, 2018 – Howard Knopf, Excess Copyright

Trade secret enforcement in Canada: How rights holders can secure justice – Michael Crichton & Will Boyer, Gowling WLG

Practice Management

Starting from scratch – Jordan Furlong, Law21

Regulatory Law

Does my food ad market to kids? Draft guidance on Bill S-228 – Megan Martins, Gowling WLG

Wills & Estates Law

Multiple Wills in Ontario: Re Milne Revisited – Yasmin M. Vinograd, Merovitz Potechin LLP

We include highlights of recent posts and articles from Ottawa-area blogs that are of substantive value to the legal community. Did we miss one? Let us know!

Recently Published Ottawa Decisions

Find below recently published Ottawa decisions, available for free through CanLII.org.

Family Matters

Zika v. Martel (2019 ONSC 662)
motion for summary — email — endorsement — lifting the stay — service
Justice S. Corthorn

Nduwayo v. Muhonga (2019 ONSC 681)
father — costs — parenting — child support — access
Justice J. Audet

Smith v. Reynolds (2019 ONSC 634)
access — motion — recognizance — email — self-represented in this proceedings
Justice P. MacEachern

Blair v. Hamilton (2019 ONSC 622)
costs — legal fees — motion — acted unreasonably — parenting
Justice P. MacEachern

Continue reading

Cool Tools: Evernote

This post was written by Christiane Saad from the CCLA Technology Committee.

Lawyers can use Evernote to collect, organize, access, and manage data, as well as collaborate in day-to-day law practice.

In addition to supporting digital and handwritten notes, Evernote’s Web Clipper allows saving articles and web pages, taking screenshots and bookmarks sites directly from the web browser to store and organize. Evernote’s strength lies in its organizational features, like its notebooks, stacks, tags, and powerful searching tools, making content easily accessible everywhere. Further, features such as reminders and checklists aid in daily work projects, keeping users informed and on top of deadlines while providing teams with workspaces with in-app discussions, knowledge discovery, and presentation mode.

Evernote is also a great place to scan, store, manage and search business cards. With the Premium option, it’s possible to digitize and connect your card to your LinkedIn profile. In the legal practice, Evernote may also be used to organize firm’s policies, procedures, and checklists as well as legal research or precedents.

In terms of security, Evernote allows two-step verification and a pass code lock for mobile devices. However, just like any other cloud based system, it’s a question of risk and how much the user is willing to accept. In terms of data ownership, data protection and data usage, you can read Evernote’s policies to verify compliance with your needs.

Evernote is available for Microsoft Windows, on Android, iOS, web and has a Chrome extension. It’s also available for the Apple Watch and Android Wear. While these apps don’t have full functionality, it’s possible to receive notifications, create notes, check off to-dos, and search using voice command.

Currently, the free account provides only up to 60 MB data and is limited to two devices. However, the premium or business version offers more features with an affordable upgrade. To learn more: https://evernote.com/compare-plans.

Categories: Note-taking, Collaboration, Productivity