BarTalk | December 2010

IT KNOWLEDGE | ECOURT | NEW MEDIA | IBA CONFERENCE RECAP

DECEMBER 2010 | www.cba.org/bc

Legal Technology Integration Challenges

PAGE 12

LETTERS BARTALK EDITOR

Deborah Carfrae

EDITORIAL BOARD CHAIR

Michael Welsh EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Candice Alderson Paul Arvisais Carol Anne Finch-Noyes Sandra Harper Nicole Holas Beverly MacLean Gail McKay Rose Shawlee Mark Slay Greg Stacey BARTALK SENIOR EDITOR

Joanne R. Silver STAFF CONTRIBUTORS

Bianca Bishop Trisha Jewison Jineane Payne Jennifer Weber The B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 10th Floor, 845 Cambie St. Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5T3 Tel: 604-687-3404 Toll-free (in B.C.): 1-888-687-3404 bartalk@bccba.org

BarTalk is published six times per year by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and is available online at www.cba.org/bc. © Copyright the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association 2010.

This publication is intended for information purposes only and the information herein should not be applied to specific fact circumstances without the advice of counsel.

The British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association represents more than 6,500 B.C. members and is dedicated to improving and promoting access to justice, reviewing legislation, initiating law reform measures and advancing and improving the administration of justice.

BarTalk Publication Sales Agreement #40741008

2 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

RESPONSES TO THE OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE

The HST Debate.

The Madness of Crowds: Tony Wilson I just read your article in BarTalk and wanted to take a minute to compliment you on your work. I am in total agreement with your comments and hope that the “mad crowd” can get over their madness one by one, sooner rather than later. Thanks for putting your thoughts on paper.

— Mandy Javahery Yeah! Nothing original. But total political crap. Has BarTalk become a Liberal rag? If you are going to let people like Tony Wilson – who I don’t know and have no desire to know – spout political nonsense like this the least you can do is provide equal time to the opposition!

Aside from whether HST is good or bad – for rich people like Tony and those he represents – there is the overriding question of how it was shoved down our throats!

the point of sale machines. Thankfully, there is time to properly sell the benefits and most people will forget about how the Liberals did such a lousy job of explaining the impact, both positive and negative. Keep up the good work. You should send that piece to The Vancouver Sun and The Province as a letter to the editor.

— George R. Pellatt Great article! I would love to show it to my husband (a teacher – how ironic is that?) but fear that it may start another HST argument in our household. Oh well – I got a chuckle out of it….

— Leanne Rutley

Correction: Re: 2010/2011 Executive Committee – Brian Yuen, Young Lawyers Representative, is from Vancouver not Victoria.

— Henry Vlug, QC Your piece on HST in BarTalk was brilliant. Well done.

— Anne Giardini, QC Hey Tony I really liked this piece.

While a lot of readers won’t remember, or care about Faye Leung I thought it tied a nice ribbon on the piece. It’s amazing how the HST naysayers don’t understand that if there was no HST there would still be PST and GST and probably a tax to pay back the money that we got from Ottawa to harmonize. And all the businesses would have to recalibrate

Write Us Send your Letters to the Editor to: Deborah Carfrae BarTalk Editor The B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association Fax: 604-669-9601 Toll-free fax: 1-877-669-9601 Email: bartalk@bccba.org Note: BarTalk undertakes every effort to publish letters to the editor, subject to space and editorial discretion.

Letters to the editor can also be found in BarTalk Online at www.cba.org/bc.

DECEMBER 2010

VOLUME 22 / NUMBER 6

Contents

Departments

4

FROM THE PRESIDENT The End of Lawyers? Not!

by Stephen McPhee

5

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Technology, Society and Lawyers

by Caroline Nevin

6

NOTHING OFFICIAL The Hazards of Being a Columnist

by Tony Wilson

7

ON THE WEB CBABC Lawyers’ Directory

by Patricia Jordan

8

PRACTICE TALK IT Knowledge as a Practice Standard

by David J. Bilinsky

9

DAVE’S TECH TIPS

Sections

10

SECTION UPDATE Wills & Trusts – Okanagan Municipal Law ADR – Vancouver / Wills & Trusts – Vancouver Criminal Justice – Nanaimo

11

SECTION CHAIR SPOTLIGHT Eleni Kassaris

Features & Guests 12 LEGAL TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION CHALLENGES

by Tom Mannall and Suzanne Gregg 13 THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE

PRACTICE OF LAW

by Nicole Garton-Jones

Inside This Issue Technology – learn to love it because there’s no leaving it. In fact, it seems those lawyers who do not learn to navigate the online IT highway may soon be left as “road-kill” alongside it. We journey to such destinations as the upcoming “eCourts,” a new virtual law practice that is online and paperless, and client markets through blogs, Facebook, Twitter and online legal directories. Everything about the practice of law is changing through technology, so discover why you need to incorporate IT due diligence into your practice.

News and Events 18 Mid-Winter Meeting of Council in Charlevoix, QC February 18–20, 2011

LEAF Launches a New Website to Monitor Equality Rights

Stacey Handley Honoured 19 Changes Sought to Protect Public from Unqualified Immigration Consultants

Judges’ Discretion: Preferable to Mandatory Minimums for Drug-related Offences 20 CLEBC Update

Mentoring: An Accessible Way to Gain CPD Credits

Equality and Diversity: What Does It Mean to You? 21 Legislative Update

Branch & Bar Calendar

Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust Gala Fundraiser 22 Health & Wellness TIP

LGBT Working Group Social

Enhancements to B.C. Superior Courts Website

CBABC/LSBC Bench and Bar Dinner in Vancouver

Also In This Issue

14 ECOURT

by Rob Wood

23 LAW FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

15 MARKETING LAW FIRMS THROUGH NEW MEDIA

by Chris Breikss

MEMBER SERVICES

24 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT &

16 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE IBA CONFERENCE

by Henri Alvarez, QC

25 DISPLAY ADS

17 INTERNATIONAL DEBATE CHAMPIONSHIP 2010

by Ashley Syer

27 NEW MEMBERS

26 BAR MOVES

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 3

FROM THE PRESIDENT STEPHEN MCPHEE

The End of Lawyers? Never!

Why you and I still have an important role to play.

T

his issue of BarTalk has technology as its theme. And why not? Few (if any) of us can go through any day without accessing technology in multiple ways.

My first few months as President have seen me log many miles on my iPad, laptop and Blackberry and I am doing as much work out of the office as I am when I am in the office.

My calendar and email are synchronized in real time. I can read and respond to complex questions that come with pages of attachments while waiting for a flight anywhere I have 3G access.

While in Kelowna, I can negotiate a settlement with a lawyer in Nanaimo for a client who lives in Calgary.

But what does that mean for us in real terms?

Futurists predict that we will solve all the problems of the world with rapidly evolving technological solutions.

Legal futurists predict a wholesale change to our profession as a result of technological changes to the way we assemble, categorize, store and share data.

What then is the role of the lawyer in this technological environment?

We can turn to film to see variations on a common theme – when people put all their faith in technology to solve their problems, technology can go haywire. Then the underdog human hero destroys the “mainframe” and order is restored when people realize they still have some role to play in the world.

I Robot, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Eagle Eye showed us that super-intelligent machines are no answer to the complex problems facing humans. In the end, Will Smith has to overcome rogue robots, Dave has to unplug Hal and Shia LaBeouf has to destroy the government supercomputer.

4 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

But there is no doubt that technology is changing the way we live and work.

Richard Susskind is well known for his futurist legal predictions. At the CBA conference in Niagara, he spoke about the evolution of certain practice areas and how legal services are being commoditized.

This is particularly relevant to the handling of vast numbers of documents or transactions that are or can be standardized.

He highlighted that the role of a lawyer, in his view, is to become the strategist, the manager, the expert and the risk manager.

That is what the real value of our training and experience is to our clients. Right?

Richard does not see technology replacing lawyers, and likewise it is important for us to realize the limitations of technology. Technology will not solve our access to justice challenges nor will it replace the lawyer who provides

guidance to clients in an increasingly complex world.

I attended a number of hearings for the Public Commission on Legal Aid. At those hearings, the recurring theme was that people who have legal problems are not equipped to navigate a technological portal to access advice and help. They desperately need a “trusted stranger” who has the expertise and training to assist them.

Technology can help us be more flexible in how we structure our offices and working life. It can also help us deal with masses of data in a more efficient way. Then there is the ability to search those files electronically, which is truly magical.

I don’t want to criticize measures and programs that are in place and in development to use technology in a more effective way in our justice system. Those measures are necessary. I just want us all to remember the role of people – the important role of lawyers in our justice system, and be pragmatic about the real benefits of technological changes.

Stephen McPhee

president@bccba.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CAROLINE NEVIN

Technology, Society and Lawyers Remaining human amidst our tools.

W

e are hardwired to link with others to survive.

The fact that we do so through ways that increasingly do not require our physical presence is a relative novelty. For most of the history of the human race to date, it is one-to-one contact – in person and, much later, by physical letter – that has helped us connect as a society.

Fast forward to a new age of hyper-connectivity, productivity and superhuman efficiency. The positives do outweigh the negatives, but the price seems high some days. It’s amusing to see that Hollywood’s take on what we most fear has expanded from the usual aliens, murderers and ghosts to include random and/or deliberate disasters that remove human access to the technologies that now link and sustain us.

One of the conundrums of modern life is that we believe that we “need” technology, but we aren’t sure we like what it has done to the pace of our lives. We tire of the unrelenting pressure to adjust to change, and we are confused by the blurring of work and personal spheres. An interesting example of how work/life blurring has entrenched in our society can be seen in political life. What was once the purview of family secrets (affairs, addictions, judgment lapses) is now public domain – our sense of a “right to know” is so powerful and so potentially harmful that it prevents good public servants from stepping forward. A mere flawed human like JFK would not survive today’s scrutiny.

On the plus side, technologyenhanced connection with one another has also allowed for massive outpourings of cash and empathy in response to disasters in farflung places. It has allowed those courageously resisting tyranny to know that their struggles do not go

unseen or unsupported. And it has made the medical resources of the developed world infinitely more impactful through access by with those with few or none.

Are we driving the technology, or are we being driven?

In the legal domain, technology is allowing lawyers – and the public – access to immense databases of legal knowledge and cases. It is providing meaningful access to lawyers, witnesses and adjudicators in areas where to do so in person takes disproportionate resources in a resource-limited system. And it has allowed a huge increase in the volume of legal services being provided. But it is also speeding up the pace at which those services are expected; too often at the cost of thoughtful reflection and human contact. One of the big questions

that needs to be asked is: are we driving the technology, or are we being driven?

Efficiency is a practical and useful goal; but it is not an end in itself. The key is to ask yourself what your intention is for the “extra” time you will gain from being more efficient. If you are not conscious about that choice, it will be made for you; your time will be filled with more of the same things you wish to become more efficient at doing. If that wasn’t your goal, you will end up (as most of us do) feeling like there is less time and more stress in our lives.

I will conclude with a shameless plug: CBA believes in helping lawyers use technology to gain more satisfaction from life. We have excellent tools to help you gain more time in your day (what you do with it is yours to decide!). Check out great online PD programs (cba.org/pd) and efficiency tools like exPD8 and The Utility Company (cba.org under Member Savings). Remember, as complex as the world around us is, technology is simply a tool; the end to which we use it is what matters.

Caroline Nevin

cnevin@bccba.org DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 5

nothingofficial TONY WILSON

The Hazards of Being a Columnist Welcome to my world.

I

quite enjoy it when people write to me (or the “Editor”) and say good things about one of my columns in BarTalk. But I also enjoy it when readers vent their spleen, criticize and complain. This means they’re reading my column and have an opinion about it, even if their opinion is horribly wrong, specious or misguided. But I guess when I stick my neck out publicly, sometimes I’ll get kudos and sometimes I’ll get my head bitten off.

Although I long to receive the kind of kudos given to the British writer and actor Stephen Fry about his “inoffensive charm and gently upmarket wit,” only once was I personally insulted by a BarTalk reader. Five years after “Just Under the Wire Prize” was published in 2004 (I guess it took him a while to read it), one Victor P. Timajuleler (not a B.C. lawyer) emailed me about how “idiotic” my humour piece was and said, (and I quote): “It figures the author would be an imbecile like you.” How witty! I’m sure he’s on the web somewhere if you wanted to contact him about his diction, or you want to forward him a few thousand emails for fake watches, or in case you’d just like to tell him that Klingon proverbs about “cold food” can come true.

Other than February 2010’s issue, when four BarTalk readers correctly pointed out that “Dressage” was not “horse jumping” but rather using the horse as some kind of “Avatar” for equine yoga, the most letters I’ve ever received from BarTalk readers were about Charlie Don’t Skate, and my view that we should sever our constitutional ties to the English monarchy once the 83-year old Queen Elizabeth moved out of Buckingham Palace – a position I’m even more evangelical about since the trashing of the Olympics by the toxic English Press (and the fact that I still need a passport to visit the foreign country where the Canadian Head of State permanently lives).

6 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

So I enjoy the fact that BarTalk lets me tweak the nose of whatever sacred cow I want, mix my metaphors, and make regular innuendos of the political or sexual kind. Readers don’t complain about those sorts of jokes.

But say anything provocative about the monarchy, and I’m the devil.

That was until the HST came along. Some people didn’t like my support of the HST in BarTalk. Some did. But the comments against me were tame and enlightened compared to the comments I received from The Globe and Mail readers, who didn’t like my explanations of the tax in the regular column I write for that paper. Not only did they hate what I was saying, they hated me. With a vengeance.

Said one anonymous writer, who more or less summed up 300 of the most negative comments from the 85,000 hits I received from the first HST column: “You are a malicious, sycophantic, self-entitled, pompous, wholly ignorant thug using the bully

pit of a national media outlet to slur, slander and demean the people of this province. We’re fed up with you and your kind. You need to shut it and keep your head down. I would suggest to you Mr. Wilson that you remain well encumbered in your leather chair in your little corner office with the post-modern prints and well away from those of us you insult and denigrate with your ignorance and blithe stupidity. Dude – you really, really, really ought to just keep your mouth shut about this.

Shut it Wilson. Now.” Another writer, who didn’t use “Dude” or “really, really, really” in his rant, said, in capitals, “THIS MAN IS SO STUPID EVEN HIS WIFE HATES HIM... JUST PLANE STUPID....” When I confronted my wife about this, she assured me she would never tell a man with such poor spelling that she hated me.

So all you lawyers reading BarTalk, thanks for being so comparatively polite all these years and really, really, really keep those cards and letters coming in, even if you don’t agree with me. I’m happy none of you have obliquely threatened my life or my safety yet, and I’m thrilled you’re all such good spellers.

But if anyone ever calls me “Dude,” there could be a column about you. Like totally. You know? OMFG. LOL. The views expressed herein are strictly those of Tony Wilson and do not reflect the opinions of the CBABC or its members.

ontheweb PATRICIA JORDAN

CBABC Lawyers’ Directory Faster and easier to use.

I

n early November 2010, the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBABC) launched the redesigned Directory website at www.bccbadirectory.org. Our objective was to provide better online access to lawyer and law firm listings and enhance the site’s search functionality. For example, searches under professional service categories can now be made by district, language, language translation, location, roster, service type and title. Search criteria will vary by category.

LAWYERS’ DIRECTORY

The Lawyers’ Directory contains a searchable database of lawyers and law firms that is updated daily. Searches for lawyers can be made by secondary language, location and preferred area of practice. Law firm searches are conducted by firm name and location.

Lawyers and law firms now have the option of posting their logo with their listing for a nominal fee. The logo is linked to the firm’s website. All firm members of law firms that purchase the logo option also have the firm logo appear on their individual listing.

LEGAL RESOURCE DIRECTORY

The revamped Legal Resource Directory (LRD) contains information that is published in the white pages of the Directory print book. The online LRD consists of five categories, including Preferred Suppliers, Professional Services, Law Organizations, Judiciary and Court Services and Government.

The “Preferred Suppliers” category is a searchable database of hotels, products and services from the CBA and CBABC Preferred Supplier Programs. Associations, professional services and regulators are listed under “Professional Services” and law-related organizations and societies are in “Law Organizations.” Judiciary

listings, court services and district maps are located under “Judiciary” and government listings for British Columbia and Canada are provided in “Government.”

As a value of CBA membership, CBABC members have free access to the Lawyers’ Directory portion of the site. The LRD is a paid service that is available to members for a nominal fee. The legal support staff of CBABC members may purchase a license for the full Directory at the reduced CBA member rate. Access to the Directory is also available to non-members and the public.

CBABC LAWYERS’ DIRECTORY ONLINE ADVERTISING

CBABC can provide your firm with prominent positioning to reach your target audience. The Directory site offers advertising opportunities in premium positions using standard sizes of 300 x 250 pixels for “big box” ads

and 960 x 90 pixels for “banner” ads. Online advertising is available by month and year. For more information, please contact Tanya Galic in the Sales and Marketing Department at 604-646-7856 in Greater Vancouver, toll free in British Columbia at 1-888-6873404 (318), or email ads@bccba.org.

BLAWG DU JOUR \\www.canadiantechnologyiplaw.com

Stikeman Elliott LLP, a leading Canadian business law firm, launched CanadianTe c h n o l o g y I P L a w. com in May 2010.

CanadianTechnologyIPLaw.com is a collaboration of the firm’s technology and intellectual property (IP) groups. This comprehensive blog provides real-time information and commentary on legal developments on a wide range of technology and IP topics, including outsourcing, e-commerce, privacy and issues related to corporate transactions.

NOTE: CBABC members have free access to the Lawyers’ Directory portion of the site.

Patricia Jordan is the CBABC Web Manager. She welcomes your comments, questions and suggestions.

Tel: 604-646-7861; Email: pjordan@ bccba.org; visit: www.cba.org/bc.

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 7

practicetalk DAVID J. BILINSKY

IT Knowledge as a Practice Standard What is the cost to your practice?

You’re the hidden cost and the thing that’s lost In everything I do ... r – Music, Lyrics and recorded by Jackson Browne r

A

recent quote by the notable practice management consultant Gerry Riskin caught my eye: “Too many lawyers pride themselves on their IT incompetency believing that it makes them somehow charming and brilliant. I say they might as well be sneaking into the firm at night and taking cash out of the safe. The costs associated with that attitude include: poorer client service by failing to capitalize on the efficiencies technology offers

competitive

disadvantage (clients do not find incompetency charming... ever) wasted IT personnel time

distracting and therefore delaying or discouraging the latest IT initiatives.”

Is knowledge of information technologies reaching a stage where it can be considered a de facto, if not quite a de jure, standard of practice? One way to look at this is to see where IT knowledge is necessary to legal practice.

LAND TITLES: The Land Title

and Survey Authority of B.C. has made it known that an end-date for filing most documents in paper form is not far off.

CORPORATIONS: Corporate On-

line is the preferable route to deal with a corporation’s filings in B.C. COURTS: Court Services Online

will be expanding the use of technology in the courts over the next three years. Mandatory e-filing is not far into the future.

8 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

E-discovery has taken the litigation world by storm. Aside from the need to be able to handle discovery in multiple electronic formats (video, audio, text, chat, etc.), failing to obtain discovery in native electronic form may mean failing to find the “smoking gun.” In the U.S. case of: In re Payment Card Interchange Fee & Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, 2007 WL 121426 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 12, 2007), it is set forth: “Data ordinarily kept in electronically searchable form ‘should not be produced in a form that removes or significantly degrades this feature.’” Production in paper or even in TIFF, a common e-discovery format, can delete non-printable metadata.

METADATA:

LEGAL RESEARCH: Whether it is LexisNexis, Westlaw or CanLII, legal research today is carried out in online form. Law firms use bound case reports to decorate their hallways.

ICBC E-BILLING: This is a recent

development that requires litigators to submit invoices in purely electronic form if they wish to retain ICBC as a client.

ADOBE ACROBAT: Hardly any ap-

plication has had such a dramatic impact on the legal profession. It is applied for e-filing, document exchange, archiving of emails and records and more.

SECURITY, PRIVACY AND ENCRYPTION:

Knowledge of how to create, store, access and exchange documents and communications confidentially and securely is implied by the Canons of practice.

This extends to e-documents and ecommunications by implication.

REMOTE ACCESS: Today lawyers

must be able to securely access their files and information using the Internet from wherever they may be.

SHAREPOINT: The next frontier. Cli-

ents are demanding private secure Continued on page 9 >>> The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author and may not be shared by the Law Society of British Columbia.

David J. Bilinsky is the Practice Management Advisor for the Law Society of British Columbia.

Email: daveb@lsbc.org Blog: www.thoughtfullaw.com GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

dave’s techtips I love technology that works well, works easily and enables you to work the way that you want I was therefore pleased with how the Novatel MiFi 2372 works. By way of introduction, the MiFi 2372 combines a cellular data 3.5g modem with a five-device Wi-Fi router in one slightly-thicker-than-a-fewstacked credit-card-sized case that weighs almost nothing (81 grams – 2.9 ounces).

The MiFi 2372 has download speeds of 7.2 Mpbs and 5.76 Mbps upload. This device replaced an aging “Rocketstick” cell modem that has download speeds of 7.2 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 2.1Mbps. So the greater upload speeds should speed things up somewhat!

The differences between the Rocketstick modem and the MiFi device: The MiFi is a battery-powered device with a stated battery life of four hours. The Rocketstick

connected to your USB port on your laptop and as such, drew power from the laptop giving it the same lifetime as the battery on your laptop. Effectively to extend the connect time with the MiFi you need to carry the battery charger with you (you can run the MiFi plugged into the power charger) and seek out a handy-dandy electrical outlet (and while you are at it, plug in your laptop as well) or install the MobiLink software and connect the MiFi to the USB port on your laptop.

The Rocketstick modem could only connect one user to the web (in order to share this USB Internet connection you would have to figure out the Byzantine settings on a laptop’s operating system that enables the sharing of an Internet connection wirelessly through the laptop which, to my knowledge, has been accomplished by only five people in the history of mankind, four of which work at Microsoft). On the other hand, the MiFi sets up a private secured cloud for up to five devices (802.11 b/g with WEP/WPA/WPA2 security pre-configured) that is as easy to connect to as any secured

WiFi cloud. The range of the cloud is stated to be 30 feet.

The MiFi has a microSDHC slot that accepts cards up to 16GB where the Rocketstick does not have this capability.

Technical requirements: Operating systems: Windows 2000, Vista, 7 or Mac 10.4.7 or Linux 2.4, 2.6.

100 MB of hard drive space 128 MB of RAM Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g capability on your browser USB 2.0 port to use the USB connection capability A data plan with your cellular provider. In my case, this was arranged through www.rogers.com.

The initial setup was quick and easy and the only glitch was the need to call technical support to enable the SIM/cellular connect (which was not mentioned in the materials shipped with the device – it implied that it was already enabled).

The big advantage of the MiFi is the ability to set up a private cloud wherever you can find a cell connection that can be shared by a private group. You can catch the MiFi and put it in your pocket to use on a rainy day when you can’t find a free WiFi connection.

Continued from page 8

areas on the net that contain all the information on their files accessible 24/7.

Failing to keep current with legal technology has a hidden cost that will become increasingly

apparent as technology becomes a necessary component of competent practice.

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 9

sections SECTION UPDATE

Wills & Trusts Okanagan

Keep Current A review of Guest speaker Stanley T. Rule u of Sabey Rule LLP focused on a provincial Section meetings. number of points regarding the new Wills & Trusts Okanagan Meeting: October 20, 2010 Speaker: Stanley T. Rule, Sabey Rule LLP Topic: New Civil Rules and Estate Litigation

Municipal Law Meeting: September 22, 2010 Speakers: Lui Carvello, Chair (photo), Don Howieson, Lindsay Parcells, Bryan Jung and Rachel Forbes Topic: Summer Case Law Round Up

ADR – Vancouver / Wills & Trusts – Vancouver Meeting: September 21, 2010 Speaker: Prof. John Wade (photo from L-R) Sherri Robinson, Colleen Selby, Prof. John Wade, Jennifer Davenport Topic: Preparing for Mediation and Negotiation in Succession Disputes

Criminal Justice Nanaimo Meeting: September 29, 2010 Speaker: Veronica Mitchell, Judicial Case Manager Topic: Public Commission on Legal Aid and Changes to the Nanaimo Courthouse Rota

10 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

Supreme Court Civil Rules and Estate Litigation. He noted that the contentious and non-contentious estate rules are substantially the same as the old rules. However, the British Columbia Law Institute will be publishing a report with recommendations for new probate rules.

The new Notice of Civil Claim requires parties to set out the legal basis for the claim, as well as the facts and relief claimed.

Some practitioners suggested that the statement of the legal basis would often be fairly bare bones.

The Wills Variation Act has its own section in the rules which sets out who needs to be named as a party to the action.

Any party may request a Case Planning Conference and, once requested, all parties must attend and a case plan proposal must be submitted. This may be a useful tool where communications with the other side have broken down or there is a lack of cooperation between counsel.

Experts must state in their reports that they understand their role is to assist the court, not to be an advocate.

The new rules are intended to streamline and limit the discovery process. One practitioner suggested an argument could be made that one need only disclose those documents that would be admissible in trial.

The timelines in the new rules, including the times for delivering expert reports and the timing and information required for the Trial Management Conference will

require more extensive preparation by counsel well in advance of trial.

Municipal Law Chair Lui Carvello introduced

uattendees to the 2010-2011

Executives. Each Executive member discussed two or three recently released (or about to be released) decisions on various local government law topics, including Case Summaries and Notes, which includes a list of cases, brief summaries and links to the judgments.

A new and exciting feature of the Municipal Law Section meetings was introduced: Announcements and Awards. The random award of the month was given to Valkyrie Law Group for their unique marketing campaign, “got dragons?” It is anyone’s guess what next month’s award will be... what a cliffhanger.

ADR – Vancouver / Wills & Trusts – Vancouver Prof. John Wade, Director of Dispute Resolution Centre, School of Law, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia spoke on preparing for mediation and negotiation in succession disputes.

Mediation is a form of “assisted decision-making” (ADM) or “assisted negotiation” (AN). There are many types of mediation, the four most commonly documented being settlement, problem solving, therapeutic and evaluative.

Many lawyers in Australia attend mediations weekly, but know only one or two “types.” This limited exposure leads to professional mistakes. Clearly, different clients need different services. It is a responsibility of lawyers to attend different types of media-

u

tions, increase their stable of service providers, and then to match mediation type to client problem.

Mediators are privileged to watch many people negotiate and make decisions. They see the best and the worst. In 1999, one survey of the most employed commercial lawyer-mediators in Australia reported that mediators see commonly made mistakes by lawyer representatives such as failure to prepare the “right” information and overemphasis on “legal” as compared to “commercial” or personal issues.

Failure to prepare “properly” for negotiation and mediation is probably the most commonly documented misdemeanour. Only three things matter in negotiation/ mediation – preparation, preparation, preparation.

Criminal Justice Nanaimo Many new changes are upcom-

uing at the Nanaimo Courthouse with regard to how cases will flow through the courtrooms. Judicial Case Manager Veronica Mitchell updated the members with a discussion of why the Administrative Judge felt that changes were required and what they will look like in the coming weeks and months. There may be some challenges ahead, but all present are prepared to try to make things work and make suggestions as we go along if cases can be dealt with in a more efficient manner.

For enrolled CBA members, more detailed information and available minutes from the Section meetings are online at www.cba.org/bc in Sections under Professional Development.

SECTION CHAIR SPOTLIGHT

Eleni Kassaris was called to the Bar in B.C. in 2002 and has been practising in the areas of Labour and Employment, Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Privacy at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP since the summer of 2005.

Eleni is the current Chair of the Employment Law Section of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and this is her fourth year on the Executive.

Eleni sees it all in her practice – from negotiating, drafting and advising on the employment, labour and privacy aspects of corporate transactions to conducting workplace investigations.

She enjoys the diversity of her work immensely.

In addition to her volunteer activities in the legal community, Eleni volunteers her time for Ovarian Cancer Canada and as a member of the Board of Directors of Vancouver’s Pacific Cinémathèque.

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 11

features TOM MANNALL AND SUZANNE GREGG

Legal Technology Integration Challenges

The planning and execution of an upgrade.

T

echnology upgrades enable law firms to optimize business processes, improve service and gain a competitive advantage.

Successfully integrating new technology requires detailed planning, precise execution, teamwork and a significant amount of effort.

Technology Due Diligence

A technology plan is required that identifies the applications, infrastructure and resources best suited to meet the firm’s overall requirements.

Reviewing and updating your firm’s network security policies and practices needs to be included as part of the technology plan in order to ensure data is adequately protected and secured.

Increased security measures, such as strong password policies or firewall restrictions, often result in pushback; however, the benefits of a secured system far outweigh any inconveniences.

Coming up with a sound technology plan is challenging. Organizations, such as the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), peer networking groups and system integration companies are valuable sources of information.

Once your plan has been approved, meet with different prospective IT professionals who can implement the systems in which you are interested. Their past experience on similar projects may provide invaluable information.

Always check references, do so before making decisions regarding your deployment.

Once goals are established and business processes have been reviewed, then technology due diligence begins.

EXECUTION You’ve done everything right.

PLANNING Vision

A strong management group provides the overall vision, which guides the firm’s technology direction and adoption. As part of this vision, a buy-in from the principals is imperative.

Business Processes

Firms often conduct business year after year without reviewing their business processes.

Just how are we doing conflicts checks again? Who is responsible?

How are they carrying it out? Ignoring current business practices, or assuming that they are covering areas such as conflicts checking adequately can be very costly to a firm. You never know just what may crawl out when you lift up a rock.

Reviewing existing processes and understanding goals is paramount to identifying the appropriate technology solution in which to invest.

12 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

You have reviewed your business processes, identified weaknesses, established goals, met with internal and external resources, checked references and finalized your technology plan.

The execution phase now commences where resources are allocated, plans are communicated and the implementation phase begins.

Resources: Budget

This is when the rubber hits the road and is not the time to cut corners.

Your system upgrade is at least as important as the interior design of

your office. Which contributes more to the productivity of the firm?

Once a technology plan has been created based on the firm’s vision and goals, a realistic budget is required in order to successfully implement the new technology.

Continued in BarTalk Online....

\

If you would like to read more about Legal Technology Integration Challenges go to www.cba. org/bc/bartalk_12_10/12_10/ guest_gregg_mannall.aspx.

Tom Mannall, Prolan Network Services Inc. (tdm@prolan.com) www.prolan.com Suzanne Gregg, AppSolute Consulting Inc. (sgregg@appsolute.ca) www.appsolute.ca

NICOLE GARTON-JONES

The Use of Technology and the Practice of Law

What we do at Heritage Law.

C

urrent economic realities, the unaffordability of legal services by moderate income clients, rapid technological change and the encroachment by new competitors into the traditional legal marketplace are all resulting in increasing pressures on lawyers to practice efficiently and strategically.

While the effective use of technology can be an important tool, an enormous range of options are available for lawyers to choose from. In the hope of assisting our colleagues at the Bar from overbuying and/or underutilizing expensive equipment and programs, we are sharing information about the technology currently used at Heritage Law. SOFTWARE Heritage Law is “paperless” and utilizes practice management software to centrally manage billing, time tracking, matter information, contacts, appointments, documents and document assembly. No actual paper is retained except for wills, corporate records and trust minute books.

We use PCLawPro for billing and time keeping. We use Time Matters Enterprise for matter management and tracking contacts and appointments. Popular alternative practice management programs are Amicus Attorney and PracticeMaster. We use Worldox for document management. Every document is saved or scanned with a client and matter number. Every document saved

in Worldox is searchable by client, matter, description and text.

We use HotDocs Professional Edition for document assembly. All our standard firm documents (memo, fax cover sheet, retainer letters, nonengagement letters, reporting letters and demand letters) and estate planning documents (wills, powers of attorney and representation agreements) are automated. Document automation projects can be expensive, particularly for small firms.

Practice area “packages” of pre-automated documents can be purchased from companies such as SpeedMatters by Legal Systematics, Inc. HARDWARE All staff log into our remote, secure server over the Internet, which is a repository for all firm data and software applications. We currently house and operate our own server, but we are transitioning to a rental agreement with a hosted equipment and services company based in North Vancouver, B.C. called i-worx. The i-worx hosted infrastructure, operating systems and software are collocated in a data centre located in Burnaby, B.C. Heritage Law has what might be termed a “private cloud.” For solos and small firms, cost effective options to consider are software as a service (“SaaS”) cloud based

practice management providers such as Clio and Rocket Matter.

PHONES We have a VoIP phone system which allows our staff, many in different locations, to use the same phone line and system. Each staff member has a Polycom SoundPoint IP 560 desk phone. Each phone has an ordinary three-digit extension registered through Iristel, a Canadian Internet telephone service provider. The phones can be connected to any ordinary Internet connection in any of the staff member’s various locations, and yet all remain reachable through simple three digit extensions.

VIRTUAL FIRM We have an online branch office of our firm, www.heritagelawonline.com, which delivers only online legal services, directed toward moderate-income clients who struggle with affording traditional legal services. We have contracted with a company called DirectLaw that provides the secure online client portal.

We received permission from the Law Society of British Columbia on January 8, 2010 to practise online. That said, the Law Society of British Columbia is actively reviewing both cloud computing and the delivery of online legal services in B.C. A Working Group has been struck and further regulatory directives are likely forthcoming. In light of the regulatory uncertainty, Heritage Law is not currently accepting online clients at this time.

Nicole Garton-Jones, B.A., LL.B. Lawyer and Mediator of Wills, Estates, Elder and Family Law Matters DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 13

features ROB WOOD

eCourt A key enabler of court transformation.

O

ur ability to generate, process and store information has changed the way Canadians live and work. Emerging technologies have significantly impacted how legal matters are conducted – today, we have civil affidavits with hundreds of thousands of pages and criminal matters where data is measured in terabytes of information – yet how we handle information has been slow to keep up.

Faced with increasing demands and changing citizen needs, jurisdictions around the globe are seeking to develop electronic court solutions that will result in more efficient processes to help all of us effectively cope with the exponential growth in information and the associated paper that comes from our adoption of technology.

For the past several years, the Ministry of Attorney General’s Court Services Branch has focused on building the key elements required to support the creation of a digital court environment in British Columbia. Electronic case management systems, digital audio recording and video equipment and evidence presentation systems are now available in most of our court locations.

With much of the foundational work behind us, Court Services now stands poised to take a series of bold steps forward in the

14 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

establishment of the electronic courtroom. Court Services’ goal is a seamless environment, where counsel, judges, citizens and court staff interact with the justice system in a digital environment: a world where matters are conducted electronically from initial filing to disposition and all steps in between. Of course, Court Services recognizes that some citizens and jurists will prefer to work in a paper environment and that sometimes statutory requirements for paper will subsist, but, as far as possible, Court Services wants to move to a paper-on-demand model over the next five years.

Court Services’ goal is a seamless environment, where counsel, judges, citizens and court staff interact with the justice system in a digital environment.

Court Services’ next steps are to bring together the various electronic components into one seamless system that speeds up courtroom

processes and allows for broad information sharing with justice partners through electronic databases. Court Services wants to improve frontline services through the use of the Internet and specialized software. These innovations will be supported by a workforce that delivers electronic, citizen-centric court services from anywhere in the province.

Initiatives planned for the coming years that will be of particular interest to the profession include:

In partnership with the judiciary, developing a process for producing orders in the courtroom.

Launching an eHearing pilot where documents are submitted and shared electronically among the parties through monitors in the courtroom.

Identification of an appropriate electronic exhibit management system that can be implemented in B.C. courts.

Exploring opportunities for counsel to access the digital audio recording system (DARS) directly from their office desktop.

Court Services is focused on achieving an electronic environment. Clearly, this will not happen overnight, but we believe success is within reach. Court Services is committed to continuing to work with the judiciary and the profession to create an electronic environment that meets the needs of existing and future users and that enhances your interaction with the courts.

Rob Wood is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Court Services Branch.

CHRIS BREIKSS

Marketing Law Firms Through New Media

How social media can enhance business.

P

eople are smarter and more conscious than ever when it comes to choosing which companies they turn to for services such as legal counsel. With the Internet at everyone’s finger tips, law firms and lawyers are examining new ways to reach audiences and communicate with clients. As a result, law firms are utilizing new communication tools used by today’s pool of potential clients – social media.

It is a hot topic in almost every industry, and an increasing number of firms are joining networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with current clients and reach out to new ones. This is not a trend that will fade any time soon, so a keen understanding of social media and a strong strategy are key to effectively accomplishing the goals set for using this new platform.

The benefits of implementing a social media strategy: IMPROVE BRANDING – Social media is a highly useful tool for enhancing both brand awareness and brand image, and it allows a lawyer or firm to communicate its message directly to its audience.

LOWER

COST WITH HIGH RETURNS – The cost-per-thousand

impressions of a social media marketing campaign, as well as Internet marketing campaigns in general, are lower than almost any other traditional marketing or advertising campaign a firm will undertake.

BOOST IMPACT OF OTHER MAR-

KETING INITIATIVES – Social

media has proven its ability to significantly complement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and other marketing initiatives. With the ability for an audience to share information easily and instantly with “friends” and “followers,” a firm’s visibility online can increase considerably and result in additional traffic to its website.

REAL

TIME DELIVERY – Social media

enables more rapid sharing of information.

BETTER

SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS – The increase in

natural and permanent links achieved by a social media mar-

An increasing number of firms are joining networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with current clients. keting campaign is recognized

by Google and other search engines, which increases website rankings for targeted keyphrases and leads to more website traffic from the search engines.

When implementing social media strategies, lawyers and law firms need to set goals, select which media will best accomplish those goals and determine what they will communicate to their audience. This will allow the firm to measure the success of social media, which can be done in a number of ways.

On sites like Facebook and Twitter, a firm can measure the number of “friends” or “followers,” the number of “likes” and “retweets” whether people are engaging through comments and replies to information shared by the firm. As a firm continues to interact with an audience, the following on such sites will grow organically.

Tracking the traffic to a firm’s website, and using tools such as Google Analytics to determine where the traffic has come from, is a great way to discover which platforms are generating the most traffic and identifying whether it has translated into business opportunities and leads for the firm.

Social media provide businesses with the ability to connect with a wider audience, unlike traditional methods. The tools available have changed the way people communicate and provide the opportunity for firms and lawyers to increase awareness of the expertise and services they offer.

Chris Breikss is the Co-founder of 6S Marketing, a social media strategy consulting firm. www.6smarketing.com GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 15

guests HENRI ALVAREZ, QC

Highlights of the IBA Conference

Held in Vancouver October 3-8, 2010.

V

ancouver hosted another very successful annual conference of the International Bar Association (IBA), which more than five thousand participants attended. The IBA last came to Vancouver in 1998 and its return, within a relatively short period of time, reflects the success of the last conference and the attractiveness of Vancouver as a conference venue.

The conference was opened by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson, and was followed by a welcome address and prayer by Leah GeorgeWilson of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation on behalf of the local First Nations. The keynote address was delivered by the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Bob Woodward.

Mr. Woodward’s engaging address was followed by a lively session of questions and answers.

The conference featured a wide array of programs, which included many leading practitioners, academics and judges from around the world who addressed topics ranging from public and professional interests to human rights, the latest developments in commercial practice and law firm management.

The conference also featured a number of special showcase sessions. The Legal Practice Division sponsored a session entitled “Bailing In: The Legal and Regulatory Challenges for a New Approach

16 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

to Financial Institution Resolution Regimes.” As part of this showcase session, there was a discussion of the findings of the IBA task force on the financial crisis, which were distributed at the conference. This session featured speakers from important financial institutions and regulatory agencies as well a leading practitioners.

The Public and Professional Interest Division’s showcase addressed access to justice and the crisis facing legal aid in jurisdictions around the world. The IBA’s Human Rights Institute presented a program entitled “The Appointment of Judges to International Courts and Tribunals – Competence, Pragmatism, Reprisal?” The session featured speakers from the U.S. State Department, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and the International Court of Justice. Finally, a full-day symposium on the Rule of Law addressed the state of the rule of law in Canada and the U.S. and the reconstruction of the rule of law and of the judicial system in Haiti. This well-attended symposium, which was chaired by the Chief Justice of Canada, The Right Honourable Madam Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, was open to the public and attracted significant interest.

In addition to the general showcase sessions, a number of regional fora of the IBA and the IBA

Divisions hosted luncheons featuring prominent speakers. Among many examples, the North American Forum of the Legal Practice Division sponsored a luncheon at which Paul Ingrassia, author and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for automotive reporting in the Wall Street Journal, addressed the current state of the North American automobile industry. This address followed on from the North American Forum’s fullday session on the state of the global automotive industry and the emerging legal and regulatory challenges.

The Professional and Public Interest Division hosted a wide array of programs ranging from the risks and threats of corruption and the legal profession to money laundering and law firm management. It also hosted meetings of its various fora, including the Judges’ Forum, the Forum for Barristers and Advocates and the Rule of Law Action Group. The PPID’s luncheon meeting featured British Columbia’s Attorney General, The Honourable Michael de Jong, who spoke on the importance of the rule of law and access to justice.

The individual committee programs were very well-attended by practitioners from around the world. Participation in the various programs as moderators and speakers and attendance by Canadian lawyers was excellent and strongly supported by the Canadian Bar Association, the Federation of Law Societies and the Law Society of British Columbia. Next year’s conference will be held in Dubai from October 30 to November 4, 2011.

Henri Alvarez, QC Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

ASHLEY SYER

International Debate Championship 2010

Do actions speak louder than words?

T

he opening of the courts is a tradition in Frenchspeaking parts of the world where, historically, the courts would have been closed for the summer and would then re-open in the fall.

While the courts no longer close for the summer, the tradition remains.

Every year, young lawyers from francophone countries around the world descend on Montreal for their celebrations. The festivities include numerous social and networking events, as well as an international debate competition. For the past seven years, as part of the opening of the courts celebrations in Montreal, the Young Bar Association of Montreal (YBAM) has hosted an international debate for young francophone lawyers from around the world. This year, for the first time, YBAM decided to sponsor the International Debate Championship in English.

The first ever Montreal International Debate Championship in English was held in the beautiful Quebec Court of Appeal building in old Montreal. The competition gave four young lawyers from North America and Europe the opportunity to test their oratory prowess in front of a jury that was composed of lawyers from both Montreal and abroad, as well as Mr. Justice Alan R. Hilton, of the Quebec Court of Appeal.

The competition, although called a debate, was actually designed to

be an oratory competition, where each participant took a position, presented his or her argument, and defended it when challenged. Each participant was given a topic in advance, together with the choice of arguing the topic in the affirmative

or the negative. Following his or her speech, each participant faced questions from the jurors.

David Freiheit of Montreal argued convincingly that if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. Adrien Tharin of Geneva had the audience giggling as he argued that women have a much better time than men in this world, because there are more things forbidden to them. Jason Sengheiser of Missouri provided an insightful argument that only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. B.C.’s own Ashley Syer rounded out the pack, arguing that, despite popular belief, actions do not speak louder than words.

Ms. Syer, drew examples from law, life and literature to sway the jury. She argued that, in law,

it is through our words that we as counsel persuade the court, and it is the words of the courts’ decisions that shape our laws. She conceded that actions are powerful in their own right, but that words have the power to define those actions, and that those words can live on long after the action is done. Ms. Syer was faced with several questions from the jury: What about Rosa Parks? What about Sidney Crosby’s goal? What if I cheat on my wife? Her responses satisfied the judges.

After the competition, the jurors

retired to their deliberation room to complete their unenviable task of selecting a winner. At the reception following the competitions, Frédérick Carle, Vice President of YBAM, announced that the jury had come to a unanimous decision: the winner of the first ever Montreal International Debate Championship in English was Ashley Syer. Ms. Syer was thrilled, and was honoured to be asked to return to Montreal as a judge for next year’s competition.

Left photo: Ashley Syer, associate at Taylor Veinotte Sullivan. Right photo (L-R): Joséane Chrétien, President of the Young Bar Association of Montreal, Ashley Syer (winner) and Frédérick Carle, Vice-President of the Young Bar Association of Montreal.

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 17

news&events NEWS

LEAF Launches a New Website to Monitor Equality Rights n The Women’s Legal Education

and Action Fund (LEAF) launched the new Equality Rights Central website, the first-of-its-kind online resource in Canada, which will monitor developments in equality law. www.equalityrightscentral.com \\ GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

NEWS

Stacey Handley Honoured n Congratulations to Stacey NATIONAL NEWS

Mid-Winter Meeting of Council in Charlevoix, QC February 18–20, 2011 n Just two hours east of Quebec

City, the town of Malbaie, located in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, will host the MidWinter Meeting of Council, February 18 – 20, 2011.

BUSINESS Council, the CBA’s governing body, will meet on Saturday, February 19 and Sunday, February 20 to hear reports and to debate and vote on resolutions on current legal issues, public policy and the governance of the CBA. ACTIVITIES Stay within the resort grounds of the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu 18 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

and skate, snowshoe, cross-country ski or take a sleigh ride. You can also explore the nearby towns with their shops and galleries or downhill ski at the nearby Mont Grand-Fonds or Le Massif. For the anglers and adventure seekers, ice fishing and snowmobiling are available.

A full agenda of business, networking opportunities and social events awaits you in Charlevoix.

For details, visit the website for the 2011 Mid-Winter Meeting. www.cba.org/cba/charlevoix2011/ \\ main/ GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Handley, Lang Michener LLP partner, who received the University of Alberta Alumni Association’s 2010 Alumni Award of Excellence.

The award celebrates outstanding, recent accomplishments of University of Alberta graduates.

This honour is the third such recognition Stacey has recently received. In 2009, Stacey was recognized in Business in Vancouver with that newspaper’s Top 40 Under 40 Award, and Stacey was also recognized by Lexpert magazine as one of the Top 40 lawyers in Canada under 40.

CBA ADVOCACY

Changes Sought to Protect Public from Unqualified Immigration Consultants n The CBA National Citizenship

and Immigration Law Section welcomes legislative changes that would extend the prohibition against unregulated immigration consultants contained in Bill C-35, Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act. “These changes are essential to combat unauthorized or ‘ghost’ consulting,” says the Chair of the CBA’s National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section. “The lack of enforcement in this area has led to a proliferation of incompetent and unethical consultants with no accountability and no recourse for their victims.”

In its 11-page submission, CBA notes that the problems extend far beyond ghost consultants and rest firmly in the lack of proper regulation. “The social, financial and emotional costs to vulnerable immigrants, as well as the negative impact on the integrity of the immigration system and public confidence generally, can no longer be tolerated.”

The CBA suggests that in light of the experience of Canada and other countries in attempting to regulate consultants, the preferred approach is one that allows only members of provincial and

territorial law societies and the Chambre des Notaires du Québec to represent and advise immigrants. The CBA further recommends that if consultants are permitted to provide immigration services for a fee, it is imperative that they are properly regulated.

The CBA presented its views to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration for Bill C-35, on November 1, 2010. www.cba.org/CBA/submis\\ sions/pdf/10-72-eng.pdf

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION

NATIONAL NEWS

Judges’ Discretion: Preferable to Mandatory Minimums for Drug-related Offences n The CBA says Bill S-10, An Act to Amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, would create a complicated system of escalating mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences that would not be an effective deterrent to crime.

“The CBA suggests that public safety concerns can be met with existing laws,” explains Joshua Weinstein of Winnipeg, past Chair of the CBA’s National Criminal Justice Section. “The Bill could create unjust and disproportionate sentences and ultimately would not achieve its intended goal of greater public safety.”

“As lawyers in criminal courts across the country every day, we know that major drug

offences are treated very seriously by the courts,” notes the CBA submission. “Judges have effective guidance from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Criminal Code to determine a fit sentence for the individual offender given the circumstances of the offence.”

“Crown prosecutors highlight relevant aggravating factors to judges. Judges can give those factors appropriate weight in determining if and when incarceration ought to be imposed, and the length and venue of such a sentence.”

The CBA notes that some offenders are good candidates for rehabilitation. “Minimum mandatory sentences will result in

offenders who could have been rehabilitated remaining incarcerated long after their detention acts as either a deterrent, is required for public safety, or promotes rehabilitative goals.”

Bill S-10 would reduce the number of guilty pleas, lead to more trials and more delays, and require additional resources to prosecute and incarcerate more offenders, according to the submission.

Joshua Weinstein presented the CBA submission to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in late October. The submission is available on the CBA website: www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/ \\ pdf/09-27-eng.pdf

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 19

news&events PROGRAM

CLEBC Update “LAST KICK AT THE CAN” PROGRAM 2010 The Law Society’s deadline for CPD reporting is December 31, 2010. If you haven’t met your requirements for 2010 yet, you may want to take advantage of CLEBC’s “Last Kick at the Can” program. From December 6 to 13, CLEBC will be streaming webinars of 20 of CLEBC’s most popular programs in the past year. Courses are offered in most subject areas – family,

estates, litigation, real estate, tax and more.

Monday, December 13 is CLEBC’s Ethics Day, for those looking to satisfy the requirement for two hours of CPD in the areas of professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations and/or practice management. Throughout the day, you can view one or more CLE-TV programs on these topics.

If you participate in any of these programs, you will have the opportunity for live real-time interaction with your fellow registrants.

And don’t forget about CLEBC’s bursary program – if you are a lawyer in good standing

with the Law Society of British Columbia, or support staff, and you would not be able to attend a CLEBC course without financial assistance, then you qualify for a CLEBC Bursary.

For more information, or to register, check CLEBC’s online store at www.cle.bc.ca, or call CLEBC customer service at 604-893-2121.

For further information contact CLEBC customer service at 604-893-2121 (toll-free in Canada at 1-800-663-0437) or at www.cle.bc.ca.

MENTORING

COMMITTEE NEWS

Mentoring: An Accessible Way to Gain CPD Credits

Equality and Diversity: What Does It Mean to You?

n One of the most rewarding ways

to gain CPD credits is through mentoring. Lawyers can claim six CPD hours for mentoring (or 12 hours if they separately mentor two lawyers). Mentoring is particularly helpful for senior lawyers or lawyers practising in smaller communities who need more CPD hours.

Mentoring can be over the phone between lawyers in different communities. It must be for a minimum of 30 minutes per session and peer mentoring is also acceptable.

The Mentoring Guidelines can be found on the Law Society website. The CBA website maintains a Mentoring Registry where lawyers may list themselves as potential mentors. For more info, contact Thelma O’Grady at tog@bht.com.

20 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

n What does equality and diversity

mean to you? For the Public Commission on Legal Aid, it means delivery of legal aid to those who need it. Access to justice, especially by individuals who are socially or economically marginalized, is a key concern for the legal profession at large. Does access to lawyers fully address the issue of access to justice? A quick glance at recent judgments from the B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal suggest that more lay litigants, especially in family law, are arguing their own cases, presumably because they cannot afford a lawyer. Is it too simple to suggest that access to the courtroom equates to access to justice? What does access to justice mean? The B.C. government is examining the Notaries Act in response to the request of notaries

public to expand the scope of their practices. Will expanded notarial duties ease some of the concerns behind access to justice? These are some of the questions to be explored by the CBABC Equality and Diversity Committee this year.

Other issues include increasing the profile of equality and diversity issues as well as identifying concrete recommendations to broaden the CBABC membership base. The Committee will continue pursuing the issue of self-identification of minority groups on CBA membership forms to provide baseline statistics on the involvement of minority lawyers in the CBA and whether any barriers to leadership exist. Please contact Jennifer Chow, Chair at 604-666-7792 or Jennifer.chow@justice.gc.ca to discuss equality and diversity issues.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

ACTS IN FORCE Current from September 2 to November 2, 2010 Legislative Update is provided as part of the CBABC legislative and law reform program. It is a service funded by CBA membership fees, and is, therefore, provided as a benefit of CBA membership.

The full version of Legislative Update is now only published online and available to CBA members exclusively at www.cba.org/bc.

ENERGY, MINES AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 9 (BILL 8) Sections 1 to 14 and 49 to 59 are in force October 4, 2010

FINANCE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 4 (BILL 6) Sections 39 to 42 are in force September 10, 2010

FINANCE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 2), 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 18 (BILL 19) Section 33 is in force October 8, 2010

FORESTS AND RANGE STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 11 (BILL 7) Section 2 is in force October 21, 2010

HEALTH PLANNING STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2002, S.B.C. 2002, C. 15 (BILL 19) Section 1(c), regarding the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Consultants and the Emergency Medical Assistants Licensing Board, is in force October 21, 2010

MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 3), 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 21 (BILL 20) Sections 193 to 203 are in force September 17, 2010. Sections 41 to 43 are in force September 10, 2010

OIL AND GAS ACTIVITIES ACT, S.B.C. 2008, C. 36 (BILL 20) Sections 1 to 123, 125 to 130, 131(a), (b) and (c), 143(b), 144 to 151, 152(a), (c) to (f) and (j), 153, 158 to 162, 164 to 170, 172, 173, 182 to 184, 186 to 189, 192 to 194, 195 (a), (c), (e) and (g) and 196 to 206 are in force October 4, 2010

PROTECTED AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AMENDMENT ACT, 2010, S.B.C. 2010, C. 13 (BILL15) Section 4 is in force October 8, 2010

BRANCH & BAR

Calendar

DECEMBER

10 New Westminster Bar Association Annual Christmas Party 11 Provincial Council 14 CBABC PD Webinar: How can Lawyers Benefit

from Social Media 15 CBABC/KBA PD Seminar: Ethics in Action: Practice

and Community 16 CBABC/SBA PD Seminar: Ethics in Action: Practice

and Community

JANUARY 28 CBABC PD/TRU Seminar: The Top Ten Causes of Claims Photo L-R: Nolan Charles, Joe Dion, Dr. John Borrows, NAAF President and CEO Roberta Jamieson, Mary Charles, CBABC President Stephen McPhee and Murray Porter EVENT RECAP

Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust Gala Fundraiser n The Aboriginal Law Student

Scholarship Trust was formed from a partnership between the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF) and the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBABC). The purpose of the partnership is to advance legal education for Aboriginal individuals through a trust fund that provides annual scholarships for Aboriginal individuals to attend law schools in British Columbia.

NAAF President and CEO Roberta Jamieson and CBABC

President Stephen McPhee joined more than 300 members of the Bench and Bar and guests at the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel on September 30, 2010 for an evening of fundraising for Aboriginal students to attend law school in British Columbia.

The gala’s festivities included live and silent art auctions featuring leading Aboriginal artists, entertainment and a west-coast inspired menu. The gala raised more than $80,000 for the Trust.

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 21

news&events Health & Wellness TIP Be Sociable Being involved in something greater than ourselves is a powerful antidote to stress, and can improve emotional well-being. This could mean, for example, regular volunteering with a community group, helping a church or a charity or joining a choir or theatre group.

COURTESY OF

PPC CANADA www.ppconline.info

EVENT RECAP

NEWS

LGBT Working Group Social

Enhancements to B.C. Superior Courts Website

October 6 – CBABC and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference (SOGIC) proudly sponsored the IBA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Working Group (LGBT) social event at Vancouver’s J-Lounge.

CBABC President Stephen McPhee welcomed delegates to our tolerant and accepting city. The event was wellattended and entertainment included a surprise appearance by a Lady Gaga impersonator. Also in attendance were Executive Director Caroline Nevin, SOGIC Executives Brian Yuen, Chris Ellis and Preston Parsons, and SOGIC members Ken Smith, Rob Hughes and Dennis Dahl.

The B.C. Superior Courts are pleased to unveil two enhancements to their website: Site Search RSS feed for Reasons for Judgment and Announcements, including Practice Directions Since the launch of the redesigned website in January 2009, requests for a Site Search and an RSS feed for Reasons for Judgment have topped the list of requests from visitors to the SCJ website.

To subscribe to the RSS feed simply click on the orange RSS button on your screen. www.courts.gov.bc.ca \\

EVENT RECAP

CBABC/LSBC Bench and Bar Dinner in Vancouver n More than 350 members of the Bench and Bar attended the 26th

Annual Bench and Bar Dinner on November 3, 2010 in Vancouver.

The event was co-hosted by Stephen McPhee, President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association (CBABC) and Mr. Glen Ridgway, QC, President of the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC).

Photo: Walley Lightbody, QC receiving the CBABC Georges A. Goyer, QC Memorial Award from Stephen McPhee 22 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

announcements LAW FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Prospera Credit Union Law Foundation Chair, Mary Mouat, commends Prospera Credit Union for its commitment to paying a lead rate of return on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts. Continuing to value the relationship it has with members of the legal profession, as well as recognizing the overall negative impact of protracted low interest rates on the Law Foundation’s revenues, Prospera Credit Union agreed to a new interest rate agreement of prime less 1.75 per cent, with no service charges, effective August 2010.

Thanks go to Bruce Howell, President and CEO of Prospera Credit Union, for the leadership shown in making this new agreement possible.

Increased revenues enable the Law Foundation to fund programs that make the justice system accessible to the people of British Columbia. The funded programs include professional legal education, public legal education, law reform, legal research, legal aid and law libraries.

The B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society and the Law Foundation encourage lawyers to consider which financial institutions provide the best support to the Law Foundation when deciding where to place their trust accounts.

Law Foundation of British Columbia Graduate Fellowships 2011/2012 VALUE: Up to five (5) Awards of $13,750 each (subject to change).

CLOSING DATE: January 7, 2011 by 3:00 p.m.

FIELD OF STUDY/ ELIGIBILITY: Full-time graduate studies in law or a law-related area. Please note that the pursuit of a Juris Doctor (JD), as a first law degree, does not constitute graduate studies for the purposes of the Law Foundation Graduate Fellowships.

WHERE TENABLE: Recognized universities in Canada, the U.S. or abroad. NOTE: The Law Foundation Graduate Fellowship is not available for the graduate programs of the Faculties of Law at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria as the Law Foundation makes separate grants to the Graduate Fellowship programs at these universities.

APPLICATIONS: Please visit the Law Foundation of B.C. website, www.lawfoundationbc.org or contact them at Law Foundation of B.C., 1340 – 605 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5J3 / Tel. 604-688-2337 / Email lfbc@tlfbc.org for an application form or further information.

2011 Projects Initiative The Law Foundation has established a 2011 projects budget of $750,000 for one-time projects of up to $75,000. For more information about who can apply, the areas of encouragement, application process, including deadlines, and obtaining the required forms, please visit the Law Foundation of B.C. website, www.lawfoundationbc.org or contact them at Law Foundation of B.C., 1340 – 605 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5J3 / Tel. 604-688-2337 / Email lfbc@tlfbc.org.

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 23

professionaldevelopment EMAIL: PD@BCCBA.ORG

WEBSITE: CBA.ORG/PD \\

The B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association is recognized by the Law Society of British Columbia as a provider of professional development activities. CBABC is committed to providing relevant and cost-effective ways to obtain your mandatory professional development hours. CBABC provides conferences, workshops and webinars designed to meet the needs of lawyers while still maintaining the opportunity to network and to advance your career, your practice and your business.

Attendance at any of the seminars listed below will provide you with 100 per cent of the required two hour professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and practice management component for Law Society of British Columbia reporting.

Upcoming Seminars

Thompson River University Law School and the CBABC Present: THE TOP TEN CAUSES OF CLAIMS: BUMPS, POTHOLES AND FLATS ON THE ROAD TO AN ACCIDENT-FREE PRACTICE

CBABC Presents: HOW CAN LAWYERS BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA WEBINAR Speaker: David J. Bilinsky and Doug Jasinski Date: December 14, 2010 Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

The Kelowna Bar Association and the CBABC Present: ETHICS IN ACTION: PRACTICE AND COMMUNITY Speakers: Tom Fellhauer, Bencher and John Hannah, Local Lawyer Date: December 15, 2010 Time: 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Location: Royal Anne Hotel, 348 Bernard Avenue, Kelowna, B.C.

The Surrey Bar Association and the CBABC Present: ETHICS IN ACTION: PRACTICE AND COMMUNITY Speakers: Robert Brun, QC, CBA Second Vice-President, LSBC Bencher and James Hanson, Local Lawyer Date: December 16, 2010 Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Compass Point Inn Hotel, 9850 King George Hwy., Surrey, B.C.

Speakers: Susan Forbes, QC, Lawyers Insurance Fund and Margrett George, Lawyers Insurance Fund Date: January 28, 2011 Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Thompson River University Law School – 900 McGill Road, Kamloops, B.C. Reception to follow hosted by Thompson River University Law School.

\\ Don’t forget to visit our new one-stop PD resource site www.cba.org/pd/ to create a personalised account based on your PD needs! Go to www.cba.org/bc for updates on Professional Development seminars.

memberservices EMAIL: MEMBERS@BCCBA.ORG

Member Services has seasonal promotions and special offers to our members. Visit the CBABC website for links to various activities and promotions on the MEMBER SAVINGS page under MEMBERSHIP. CBABC Members receive discounts of 15-25 per cent off for Kelowna: Big White Ski Resort, Kamloops: Sun \\

Peaks Resort, Vancouver: Whistler Blackcomb and Vernon: Silver Star Mountain Resorts. Select BC Ski Resorts on the MEMBER SAVINGS page under MEMBERSHIP. Travelling for the holidays and need a place to stay? CBA members receive exclusive savings when they book \\ hotel rooms through meetingmax. Select Accommodation on the MEMBER SAVINGS page under MEMBERSHIP. For your next gift-giving occasion, consider giving the gift of warmth and security. Select CBABC Fleece \\ Blanket on the MEMBER SAVINGS page under MEMBERSHIP.

24 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

displayads EMAIL: ADS@BCCBA.ORG

BarTalk Gets Results Summer Positions for 2nd Year Students Applications Now Being Accepted

Visit the REAL section at cba.org/bc for the complete list of jobs.

DISPLAY AD RATES

INSERT (all of B.C.)

FULL BACK PAGE $5,000

CBABC Members/Firms $1,250

FULL INTERIOR PAGE Commercial Organizations $3,500 $2,500 1/3 INTERIOR PAGE $1,620

Next deadline: Jan. 14 Next mailing: February 4

1/6 INTERIOR PAGE $1,000

Direct BarTalk advertising inquiries to:

CBABC Members/Firms

CBABC Email: ads@bccba.org Tel: 604-646-7856 or 1-888-687-3404

50 per cent off above rates

Next deadline: Jan. 7

WCB & CPP

GC 390 Howard Ave. Burnaby, B.C. V5B 3P8 Canada

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GOSAL & COMPANY BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

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info@gosalandcompany.com www.gosalandcompany.com

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2010 CBABC/UBC AND CBABC/UVIC FACULTY OF LAW MENTORING RECEPTIONS

LEFT to RIGHT: The CBABC/UBC Faculty of Law Mentoring Reception was held in Vancouver, B.C. Photo 1 (L-R): Diana Dorey, Dean Mary Anne Bobinski, CBABC President Stephen McPhee and Kristen Brewer. Photo 2: CBABC President Stephen McPhee (right) presented the $4,000 UBC CBA Law Student Scholarship to Kimberley Fenwick (left). The CBABC/UVic Faculty of Law Mentoring Reception was held in Victoria, B.C. Photo 3: CBABC President Stephen McPhee (right) presented the $4,000 CBA Entrance Scholarship to Burke Vindevoghel (left). Photo 4: John Waddell, QC (right), member of the CBAF Board of Directors, presented the $500 CBA Financial Services Corporation Law School Achievement Award to Emily Dixon (left).

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 25

barmoves Who’s Moving Where and When Scott Harcus

Jill Pereira

has joined Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP’s Insurance Practice. His practice is litigation based with a focus on insurance defence and coverage matters.

joined Lang Michener’s Real Estate and Banking group as associate counsel. Jill comes to Lang Michener from McCarthy Tetrault where she was a partner.

Greg Sexton

Kathy Wang

has joined Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP’s Insurance Practice. His practice is litigationbased with a focus on ICBC defence.

joined Lang Michener’s Tax group as an associate. Kathy was a law clerk with the Federal Court 2008/2009 and completed articles with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP prior to joining Lang Michener in 2010.

A. Ola Rennebohm

Navnit Duhra

has joined the firm of McQuarrie Hunter LLP as an associate. Ms. Rennebohm practises at McQuarrie Hunter LLP’s New Westminster office in the areas of general civil litigation, corporate and commercial litigation and employment law.

joined Lang Michener’s Real Estate and Banking group as an associate after completing her articles with the firm. Navnit completed her LL.B. at the University of Victoria in 2009.

Mohammad Manki

Arman Ghanipour

has rejoined Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP’s Vancouver office as an associate. Mohammad rejoins the firm’s Corporate Commercial, Securities and Corporate Finance and Banking practice groups.

joined Lang Michener’s Business Law group as an associate after completing his articles with the firm. Arman completed his LL.B. at the University of Victoria in 2009.

Nicholas Hooge

Katie Turriff

has rejoined Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP’s Vancouver office as an associate. Nicholas was an associate before taking a year out to complete his Master of Laws at the University of Toronto. He rejoins the firm’s Litigation practice group.

joined Lang Michener’s Litigation group as an associate after completing her articles with the firm. Katie completed her LL.B. from the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law in 2009.

26 BARTALK / DECEMBER 2010

newmembers SPACE IS AT A PREMIUM AND AVAILABLE ON A FIRST-COME FIRST-SERVED BASIS SO SEND YOUR BAR MOVE (MAX. 35 WORDS) AND PHOTO TO CBA@BCCBA.ORG NOW. FOR MORE BAR MOVES GO TO BARTALK ONLINE

Altaf (Al) Jina of Park Place Seniors Living has been appointed by the British Columbia Law Institute as an advisor to its three year project to review and strengthen legislation with respect to seniors assisted living in B.C.

September & October 2010 Regular Members

Articling Students

Wai Yen (Millie) Chan

Christopher Filipchuk

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Vancouver Heming Cheng

Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP Kelowna Michael Fink

Wood Wind Law Office Vancouver Elaine Cheung

Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP Vancouver

Pavan Dhillon

Linnsie F. Clark

has joined Larlee Rosenberg as an associate. She practises exclusively in Canadian Immigration Law and is able to service clients in English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.

Bosa Kosoric

Ashley E. Harrison

Stephanie Markovich

Campbell Burton & McMullan LLP Langley

David H Doig & Associates Vancouver

Caleb Klassen

Shannon Mather

Kearns & Company Surrey

Jennifer Lau has moved from Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP to join the UBC Faculty of Law as the Associate Director of the Career Services office.

Straith & Company Victoria

Rachelle Mezzarobba

Jo McFetridge

Clark Wilson LLP Vancouver

Lawson Lundell LLP Vancouver

Gillian K. Oliver

Sonya Parkin

Morelli, Chertkow LLP Kamloops

Ramsay, Lampman, Rhodes Nanaimo

Timothy Senko

Bilkey Law LLP Kamloops

Benjamin Ralston

Vancouver

Gregory Sexton

Lui Carvello, MCIP has resigned from the municipal law firm of Staples McDannold Stewart to launch Carvello Law Corporation. Focused on Planning, Development and Environmental Law. lui@carvellolaw.ca

Robert Burns formerly of Hamilton Duncan Armstrong, has joined North Shore Law LLP to practise in their Personal Injury and Litigation Defence group.

Gale Sham

Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP Vancouver

Michael Mathew Stephens

McCarthy TĂŠtrault LLP Vancouver

Nick Uzelac

Teck Resources Limited Vancouver

Corinne Taliunas

Benjamin C. Warren

Erin Thommeny

Timothy James Wedge

Miller Titerle LLP Vancouver

Jennifer C. Yong

Vancouver

Guild Yule LLP Vancouver

To view all new \\

Associate Members Pamela Donison, J.D.

Donison Law Firm, PLLC Phoenix Emily Finn

members, including Law Students,please visit www.cba.org/BC/

bartalk_06_10/12_10/ membership.aspx.

GO ONLINE FOR MORE INFO

DECEMBER 2010 / BARTALK 27