140 Law - Legal Headlines for the Week of August 31, 2015

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter:

• Uber facing a gamut of legal challenges
• Christian law school fights B.C. law society's refusal to call grads to the bar - Hamilton Spectator
• High Roller’s attempt to avoid $11.1m casino debt spoiled by Canadian Court
• Judge: Current execution drugs may break Mississippi law
• Court Rules Clerk Must Issue Licenses for Same-Sex Marriages
• Supreme Court of Canada to decide fate of US$9.5B pollution judgment against .
• Former TV judge goes to jail: Contempt term went from 1 day to 5 days as Joe Brown kept talking
• Marc Rosenberg remembered for his big smile, brilliant mind, and love of teaching
• The Rights and Responsibilities of Self-Represented Litigants
• Corporations rule in Alberta’s oilpatch
• Doctor-assisted suicide survey stokes controversy
• More Blue Jays Number–Crunching (via @berger_bytes - Great writing; somebody hire this guy!!)
• Drivers seem confused over what distracted driving entails as stiff new penalties set to start in Ontario
• Toronto police G20 supervisor found guilty of misconduct
• When Must an Employee Mitigate With the Same Employer?
• Ashley Madison hack a bonanza for family lawyers: ‘Christmas in September’
• OSC orders former Bay Street lawyer Mitch Finkelstein to pay $575,000 for role in insider trading scheme

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net

140Law - Legal Headlines for the Week of August 24, 2015

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter:

• CBC sued for using YouTube video without permission
• Class action lawsuit alleges abuse at Ontario schools for deaf
• Nevada sheriff promises crackdown on Burning Man crime
• Lawyer plans charter challenge to Nova Scotia’s anti-cyberbullying law
• Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto sues man for $50M over similar website, alleged intimidation
• Google ordered to remove 'right to be forgotten' stories after 'right to be forgotten' ruling
• Women get the vote in Saudi Arabia
• Michael Jordan Awarded $8.9 Million for Store's Use of His Name
• Ontario urged to bring First Nations into Hydro One negotiation
• Toronto Marketing Blog: Practical law firm marketing tips directly from Google! (via @Sandra_Bekhor)
• Owners of http://AshleyMadison.com  hit with class action suit
• Teens awarded $26K for discrimination in Ontario human rights case
• Health Care Practitioners: Please Don't Keep Notes About Your Patients' Discussions With Their Law...
• 13-year-old Tulsa boy charged with child abuse murder in his 2-year-old cousin's death
• End solitary confinement for youth in custody longer than 24 hours, report urges
• Termination Clauses And Continuation Of Benefits: A Warning And Reminder
• Expert says 'dangerous' Alberta Court of Appeal precedent will promote government secrecy - CBC News
• 2015 ABA Tech Survey shows 60% of attorneys use an iPhone, 40% use an iPad
• Opinion: Russell Brown doesn’t belong on the Supreme Court
• Bits Blog: Hackers Say They Have Released Ashley Madison Files
• CBC sued for using YouTube video without permission
• New practicePRO resource: The litigation malpractice claims fact sheet
• Google launches smart, pretty router to improve home Wi-Fi
• N.F.L. Dispute With Tom Brady Heading Back Toward Court
• Toronto police curb disclosure of suicide attempts to U.S. border police
• SCOTUS Free-Speech Expansion Has Far-Reaching Consequences
• Deputy who complied with public defender’s ‘arrest me’ taunt may be liable, says 9th Circuit
• Can Boston Bruins (And Other Pro Sports Teams) Deduct 100% Of Meal Expenses At Away Games http://
• Strapped for cash to start a law firm? Crowdfunding may be permissible, NY ethics opinion says
• Exclusion of Blacks From Louisiana Juries Raises Renewed Scrutiny

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net

Health Care Practitioners: Please Don't Keep Notes About Your Patients' Discussions With Their Lawyers

Today’s tip is for health care practitioners whose patients are involved in litigation.

We recognize that it might be natural, and even good practice, for medical practitioners to ask their patients how their lawsuits are going.

Particularly for those practitioners who provide counselling, these discussions may be essential to your work.

Lawsuits can weigh heavily upon the psyches of those who find themselves involved in the legal system. The litigation itself can be very foreign and stressful. The future may in a very real way hinge on the outcome of their lawsuits. There may even be stressful issues between your patients and their lawyers. All of these issues can benefit from being talked through with a qualified health care practitioner.

It can be highly problematic, however, when practitioners include details of those discussions in their chart notes.

No I’m not talking about broad information about the patient’s litigation, here. I’m talking about specific nitty-gritty details of discussions with lawyers that are disclosed by your patients that shouldn’t ever find their way into a medical chart.

By that, I mean details about offers to settle, the patient’s financial expectations and the lawyer’s stated opinions about the value of a claim. Details about tactics and strategies. Information that no patient would reasonably want an adverse party to know.

Practitioners should be aware their their entire charts may at some point be producible in their patients’ litigation. If their chart notes include details of patient’ reports as to confidential discussions with their lawyers, those too may have to be disclosed. Solicitor client privilege could thereby be breached, and your patient’s legal interests could be compromised or prejudiced.

In keeping chart notes then, practitioners should exercise caution and prudence as to the details to be included. If a practitioner intends to include precise details in medical records, they should take care to ensure the patient is aware that such notes will be taken, and that informed consent is obtained.

But most importantly, practitioners should exercise caution and discretion.

Don’t unwittingly cause a harmful breach of solicitor-client privilege by charting details about litigation (and patients’ discussions with their lawyers) that have no genuine medical relevance.

(Cross-posted at Slaw Tips)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net

140Law - Leading Legal Headlines for the Week of August 17, 2015

Here are the current leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter:

• Class action lawsuit alleges abuse at Ontario schools for deaf
• How Netflix subscribers may be unwitting tax evaders
• ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape
• LawyerLocate becomes Google’s first Canadian legal industry partner
• Nigel Wright leads courtroom through the Mike Duffy scenario inside PMO
• Pan Am Games manager sues former Ontario premier for sexual harassment
• Ontario leads cross-Canada panel on doctor-assisted dying
• Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin challenges profession to embrace innovation as CBA conference begins
• NHLPA Grieves L.A. Kings Termination of Mike Richards Deal. So What Now? via @forbes
• How to Avoid a Dead Cell Phone When Travelling
• Chelsea Manning could face solitary confinement over Vanity Fair with Caitlyn Jenner
• 10 Things No One Tells You About Hanging Out Your Shingle
• Colorado appellate court rules against bakery owner who refused to wedding cake for same-sex couple
• Nigel Wright’s payment described as ‘deliberately deceptive scenario’ plotted by PMO, Duffy trial told
• U of T law professor to lead human rights commission - Toronto Star
• 7 key quotes in the Mike Duffy-Nigel Wright emails - Politics - CBC News
• Canadian Supreme Court's top judge dismisses activist label | Canada | Reuters
• Drew Hasselback: Why that proposal to let non-lawyers own Canadian law firms is probably toast
• Five themes from the emails released in the Mike Duffy trial
• Mississippi Ban on Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples Is Challenged
• Judges may not refuse to perform gay marriages, Ohio ethics opinion says
• So you want to be a judge? 4 members of the bench answer the questions you need to ask before making your move
• Justin Trudeau accuses Stephen Harper of turning parliament into a ‘partisan swamp’
• CTV journalist Tom Walters charged one year after Ferguson protests
• Autonomy Seen as Goal of Restructured Google
• Law Society shares details on ex-lawyer with police
• Nigel Wright, star witness for Crown, aims to leave Duffy trial with reputation intact
• When Innocence Is No Defense
• CanLII Names Beauchamp-Tremblay as New President
• CBA Futures Twitterchat: Leveraging Mindfulness for Professional Gain
• Is It Safe to Serve on a Client’s Board of Directors?
• Ontario Superior Court offers some hope for employers defending a constructive dismissal claim
• Log your CPD Hours online
• Ad blocking support on Apple's iOS 9 could cost publishers billions
• California governor signs bill removing term 'alien' from law - Times Union 
• Harper's proposed ‘terror tourism’ ban might not be legal, says expert

-Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net

140Law - Leading Legal Headlines for the Week of August 10, 2015

Here are the current leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter:

• Strengthening Your Team (via @Sandra_Bekhor)
• An Old Songbook Could Put ‘Happy Birthday’ in the Public Domain
• Health Canada's latest nutritional label reforms leave sour note with food experts
• Ontario judge denies successful litigant costs because of ‘uncivil’ trial tactics | Financial Post
• Former Conservative staffer ordered to pay rights lawyer $10,000 for defamation | Ottawa Citizen
• Accountability needed: Why Justice Russell Brown to the top court? - The Globe and Mail
• Law Society Tribunal moving Sept. 4
• Littler Mendelson lands in Canada with new office in Toronto - Financial Post
• CRA likely to impose more adviser penalties in light of SCC decision
• Lawyer George Rust-D’Eye dogged by conflict claims in Brampton case | The Toronto Star
• Vaping: Do Ontario laws go too far?
• A Duty To Be Competent in E-Discovery? California Says Yes
• Wanted: Zamboni Driver in Brooklyn. Must Use Care in Icy Conditions.
• Windsor immigration lawyer on trial over allegedly false refugee claim accuses prosecution of unfairness
• Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane hires lawyer amid police investigation - Toronto Star
• Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane Facing Criminal Investigation
• Texas man's choice: Marry her or jail
• Bill Cosby Ordered to Testify in Second Sexual Assault Case
• Appellate Panel Says Texas ID Law Broke U.S. Voting Rights Act
• Stephen Harper raged against Supreme Court rulings, new book says | The Toronto Star

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net

140Law - Current Leading Legal Headlines for the Week of August 4, 2015

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter:

• US Federal Judge orders NHL to turn over injury and concussion data
• Crime rate not main reason US prison population exploded: It was sentencing policy
• Abortion pill RU-486 approved in Canada
• Glare of Video Is Shifting Public’s View of Police
• Supreme Court of Canada to decide Friday if ‘adviser penalties’ are penal or administrative
• Shrinking number of U.S. law graduates boosts employment rate for class of 2014
• Long-term expats turning to Supreme Court over voting ban amid strong support - CTV News
• Woman alleges discrimination by U.S. employer for being Canadian
• University of Virginia grads sue Rolling Stone magazine over campus rape story
• US increasingly uses malware in law enforcement, expert says; should a warrant be required?
• Chimps aren’t people, New York judge rules in animal rights case
• Statue: Macdonald as young lawyer unveiled
• MacKay declines to give specific reasons for Supreme Court choice - The Globe and Mail
• Oklahoma Supreme Court refuses to re-hear Ten Commandments case, monument must be removed
• Legal Aid Ontario gives clinics $3.9-million boost to help vulnerable workers
• Conan O'Brien accused of lifting jokes off Twitter
• Boy Scouts ends ban on gay troop leaders, but allows religion-based exceptions
• N.Y. prison worker pleads guilty to helping killers escape
• Brown brings 'open mind' to SCC bench
• For Transgender Americans, Legal Battles Over Restrooms
• PM names judge from Alberta to Supreme Court

-Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

Visit our Toronto Law Office website: www.wiselaw.net