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Legal clinics facing significant reform

Kendyl Sebesta - Monday, May 14, 2012
Ontario’s 77 community legal clinics are facing significant changes to the way they do business, a Legal Aid Ontario paper suggests.

“In LAO’s view, no idea or proposal is off the table,” says LAO spokesman Kristian Justesen.

“It expects Ontario’s community law clinics to ask tough questions and make tough decisions about the basic assumptions, institutional arrangements, and practices that have shaped clinic law services in Ontario for decades.

The fundamental objective of the clinic law delivery system must be its ability to meet the needs of low-income clients and their communities.”

Released May 4, the LAO paper makes a number of suggestions on how clinics could improve their spending...
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Nortel privilege ruling smells like pyrrhic victory

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Written by Julius Melnitzer

Ontario Superior Court Justice Frank Marrocco’s ruling last week that lawyers for Nortel Networks Corp. executives won’t have to hand over the notes they took during their clients’ interviews with company investigators smells like little more than a pyrrhic victory for the criminal defence bar.

Lawyer took $1M from dad’s estate

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Written by Kendyl Sebesta

The Law Society of Upper Canada has made a finding of professional misconduct against a well-known Ottawa lawyer after a hearing panel found he misappropriated more than $1 million from his deceased father’s estate and misapplied more than $40,000 from the trust accounts of several Lang Michener LLP clients.

Editorial: Mental health and the justice system

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Written by Glenn Kauth

The mental-health strategy proposed for Canada last week included some useful ideas for dealing with the issue when it comes to the criminal justice system.

Bits and Bytes: Top finds at ABA Techshow 2012

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Written by Monica Goyal

Recently, I attended the American Bar Association Techshow in Chicago.

Speaker's Corner: Anti-bullying bill contains glaring holes

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Written by Sheila MacKinnon

Anti-bullying legislation directed at incidents in schools is getting a lot of attention in Ontario.

Apps fun but not always crucial to practice
Lawyers say key smartphone features are calendar, e-mail

Monday, May 14, 2012 | Written by Kenneth Jackson

In his circle of lawyers, Taro Inoue is known as the more technologically savvy of the bunch.

Other News

Editorial Cartoon - May 14, 2012

Inside Story

Monday, May 14, 2012

SETTLEMENT IN RACIAL PROFILING MATTER
The Ottawa Police Services Board and the Ontario Human Rights Commission have reached a settlement that will require police in the nation’s capital to begin collecting race-based data on traffic stops.

The settlement requires Ottawa police to begin collecting data for a minimum of two years. At the end of that two-year period, Ottawa police will share the information with the commission.

The commission will study the data and make recommendations to Ottawa police if necessary.
“This is another exciting step forward in our work with Ontario’s police services and is truly groundbreaking,” said Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the commission.

“Data collection allows organizations to measure what they do and then manage appropriately. People in every community need to feel confident in their police services. And collecting data can help police operate with transparency so that they can maintain trust in the communities they serve.”

The settlement stems from a human rights complaint...

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