140Law - Legal Headlines for Thursday, March 28, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Thursday, March 28, 2013:

• Same-sex couple wed in Toronto at centre of challenge to U.S. law that creates ‘skim-milk marriage’ 
• California Judges Question Use of Cellphone Tracking Devices
• Knox case could pit extradition treaty against US Constitution - Toronto Sun
• CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin: ‘DOMA is in trouble’
• US Supreme Court posts audio and transcripts of DOMA arguments
• B.C. court libraries to offer free access to sentencing tool 
• Ontario Court rules that impatient justice’s dismissal of 68 cases was “draconian” and “intemperate”
• Colorado theatre shooting: Lawyers say suspect offers to plead guilty to avoid death penalty
• The DOMA Arguments at SCOTUS: Five Money Quotes 
• Police ‘carding’: Human Rights Commission offers help analyzing legitimacy of street checks
• Toronto Police board seeks public report on cops who lie in court 
• Supreme Court of Canada rules police need wiretap warrant to see text messages - CTV News 
• Globe wins court fight over anonymous sources in BCE takeover bid story - Globe and Mail
• The Supreme Court of Canada's welcome leadership on family law - The Globe and Mail
• HRTO orders reinstatement to employment,10 years of back wages and more in disability discrimination case
• Reading Tea Leaves in the Proposition 8 Same-Sex Marriage Oral Argument
• Most expensive divorce in history? Oil tycoon Harold Hamm could lose half of his $11.3 billion fortune
• Planned Parenthood’s president thinks abortion is headed back to the US Supreme Court
• Internal Supreme Court report calls for family law overhaul 
• Wiretap order needed to seize text messages, Supreme Court of Canada rules

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

Thursday's Practice Tip: Communications with Clients

In our column this week at SlawTips, David Bilinsky and I offer practical solutions to the oft-cited challenge of maintaining good communications with our clients:

Once a practice has matured, no lawyer can do it alone. The solution to the communications conundrum is probably as simple as this – develop good communications systems for your firm and recruit excellent staff to implement those systems.

...Clients who are in the loop are likely to be happy with their professional advisors. Those who feel excluded from their own cases or files are much less likely to feel friendly.

So set up systems that prioritize communications, and train your staff and colleagues to implement them religiously.

See: Solving the Communications Problem 

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Wednesday, March 27, 2013:

• Rob Ford: ‘Intoxicated’ Toronto mayor asked to leave military ball
• Property Managers Not Welcome at the Landlord and Tenant Board - licensed lawyers and paralegals only
• Rob Ford calls story about intoxication 'an outright lie'
• Amanda Knox must be retried following her acquittal, Italian Supreme Court rules
• How your movements create a GPS 'fingerprint'
• Top court in U.S. may duck same-sex marriage ruling
• LAWPRO Magazine archive: How Long Should You Keep Your Closed Files?
• Transcripts: US Supreme Court oral arguments on same-sex marriage
• Manitoba judge bans girl, 12, from Facebook - Manitoba - CBC News
• Lindsay Lohan Mug Shot Gallery, Part III
• LAPD to get tapes of defense lawyer talks with convicted ‘Charles Manson family’ killer
• The World's Fairer with Courtroom Tweets - Huffington Post Canada (blog) 
• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s pattern of behaviour tells a troubling story: Editorial
• 13 key moments in the US Supreme Court argument over gay marriage
• The 7 Worst Things Antonin Scalia Has Said or Written About Homosexuality (Adam Serwer/Mother Jones)
• Wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty under the ESA
• US judge: NY man's lawsuit claiming Facebook ownership should be dismissed - Macleans.ca
• Critics credit Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair for tough talk, but say sanctions must follow
• This week at the SCC
• US Supreme Court, Citing Ban on Unreasonable Searches, Limit Use of Drug-Sniffing Dogs
• Canadian Judgments Need Style
• US Supreme Court to hear Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case on Wednesday
• Text messages privacy ruling expected from Supreme Court of Canada
• The Proposition 8 Supreme Court Arguments: Standing and Standing
• North Dakota Governor signs law banning most abortions
• Supreme Court Sharply Divided On Whether States May Ban Gay Marriage (Sahil Kapur/Talking Points Memo)
• US Supreme Court Justices appear hesitant as they hear arguments over same-sex marriage
• Farber On Cdn Human Rights

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Tuesday, March 26, 2013:

• Ethical Concerns as Legal Blog Offers Cash for News Leads
• US Supreme Court to hear challenge to Michigan affirmative action law
• You Tube and Access to Justice - UK Supreme Court to Post Oral Judgments to YouTube
• Another Reason Google Reader Died: Increased Concern About Privacy and Compliance
• Mayor Ford calls in to radio show, offers opinion on Kachkar trial 
• Hunger Strike at Guantanamo Becoming More Serious
• Anthony Kennedy’s History Of Support For Gay Rights
• Another Hacker Hounded By The Feds
• Lawyers on Client Boards: Handle With Care!
• DealBook: Law Firm’s E-Mails, Revealed in Suit, Point to Overbilling 
• Source: Lohan lawyer probed over alleged witness tampering
• BLOG: Why your estate plan should include a power of attorney 
• US Supreme Court’s Favorable Rating Still at Historic Low 
• Victoria lawyer fined for offering client $11,000 to withdraw complaint
• Editorial: Government discriminates in chaplain cuts at jails - Law Times
• Canada's Justice spending up 66% in last 10 years 
• Justice Scalia says modern legal education is a "failure."

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Monday, March 25, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Monday, March 25, 2013:

• As we close in on 1500 followers, thanks to all on Twitter and in the blawgosphere for your retweets, mentions and support.
• Google Faces a Legal Challenge Over Search Snippets
• Social media in the changing landscape of litigation in Canada 
• Billionaire Bill Koch takes on alleged wine-fraudster with lawsuit 
• Twitter sued for $50 million for not naming authors of anti-Semitic tweets
• Regarding Religious Divorces.
• Same-sex marriage at the US Supreme Court this Tuesday and Wednesday
• Magnotta's lawyer wants more money from government for defence - Toronto Sun
• Does the Court Have Jurisdiction? A Common Question in Labour Relations
• A Titan of the Plaintiffs' Bar Crashes and Burns
• Convicted Maple Leaf Gardens abuser faces 15 new sex charges 
• Guide to Change Management at Law Firms (Robert Ambrogi - video)
• The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America
• Octogenarian widow becomes the face of the American legal fight for same sex marriage
• Perspectives on Practice Management: the Regulator and the Practitioner
• Wiarton Willie avoids legal action — unlike U.S. counterpart Punxsutawney Phil
• Spousal Support Guidelines & Financial Disclosure
• Starbucks' CEO Defends Same-Sex Marriage Stance Against the Haters
• North Dakota becomes first state to pass extreme ‘personhood’ anti-abortion law
• US Justice system's 'dark secret': Teens held in solitary
• Obama disappointed over withdrawal of Caitlan Halligan after U.S. court of appeals nomination blocked
• Lohan won't be charged for New York bar fight, "victim's" lawyer, Gloria Allred (!!) dismayed.
• Leave Denied by Supreme Court of Canada in Bank Class Action Cases
• Bank overtime lawsuits can proceed as class-actions, SCOC says | CTV News
• New York City Cop Testifies That He Was Told To Target Young Black Men for "Stop and Frisk"
• Baseball’s Suit Against Clinic Over Performance-Enhancing Drugs Cites Six Individuals
• Fired for being gay - legal in 29 US states 
• Divorce just as much a hurdle as marriage for the LGBT 
• ‘Vexatious litigator’ is suspect in courthouse bomb threats in five states
• The firms at Canada’s legal pinnacle
• Ontario Court Of Appeal Signals Greater Scrutiny Of Restrictive Covenants - Mondaq 
• Sarkozy Charged With 'Abuse of Frailty' Over Campaign Cash From Elderly Heiress
• Special judge will handle grand jury probe into alleged Steubenville rape cover-up

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Friday, March 22, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Friday, March 22, 2013:

• Smartphone hacking comes of age, hits US victims
• John Paul Stevens: ‘I definitely made the right decision to retire’ 
• Privilege and tax law advice: who gives the advice matters
• MLSE casts covetous eye at former L.A. Kings exec: Feschuk
• Gay Marriage Preview: Sizing Up Prop 8 Arguments 
• Appeals judge warns US Congress of ‘unsustainable’ impact of court budget cuts
• Famed tort lawyer Stan Chesley is disbarred for ‘unreasonable’ $20M fee in diet-drug case
• Unbundling Legal Information
• Massachusetts Court project testing social-media reporting shuts down as funds evaporate
• “For Lawyers, Joining the Supreme Court Bar is a Vanity Trip”
• Celebrity lawyers offer tips for dealing with narcissistic clients
• BlackBerry CEO calls iPhone outdated (!!)
• Why you should give a hoot about sloppiness in litigation practice 
• Heads up! Big changes to family law in B.C
• Will US Supreme Court say married couple is married?
• Judge: Louisiana law banning felons from owning guns is unconstitutional
• Federal judge: ‘Clipping’ news articles violates copyright law 

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

Dialogue with the "Law Society Guy"

My discussion with B.C. Law Society lawyer and practice management guru, David Bilinsky, continues today with this week's installment at SlawTips.  

See Perspectives on Practice Management: The Regulator and the Practitioner.

Here's a snippet:

Perhaps our regulators would do well to recognize – and dare I say learn from – the degree of dedication and determination so many of us have to getting it right, just as we must recognize how discouraging it must be for our Law Societies to so constantly confront situations where individuals in our profession fall short or are perceived by the public to fall short in delivering the most basic of client services.

When David so kindly invited me to join him for this ThursdaySlawTips adventure, I confess I was both flattered and extremely interested in seeing where this conversation between the practitioner and the “Law Society guy” might lead.  

And while we will get to the answers to the practice management questions above soon (I promise), my Practice Tip for the day is a simple one:  When regulators and practitioners dialogue, only good things are bound to happen.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Thursday, March 21, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Thursday, March 21, 2013:

• Perspectives on Practice Management: the Regulator and the Practitioner
• Managing Intellectual Property North America Awards - Congrats to @bsookman, Canada's Outstanding IP Practitioner.
• Cloud storage, privacy, and Megaupload 
• Attorney General Eric Holder reports for jury duty in cellphone robbery case
• Lawyer’s request for reprimand over her own Web comments nixed by top state court
• Strip search humiliation: Toronto woman, 24, launches million-dollar Charter lawsuit 
• Appeals Court: Louisiana Monks Have the Right to Sell Caskets
• More U.S. military join lawsuit over Fukushima exposure
• Lawyer iPad stories: Jeff Forbes
• One more year for law students? - Toronto Star
• Obama stripping CIA of drone powers: report
• UK declares new BlackBerry software 'not safe enough for essential govt work' - Yahoo! Finance
• Bill Introduced to Provide Some Mandatory Miniimum Sentencing Relief in US
• Bogus 'bingo' caller spared jail time, barred from saying word "bingo" for six months
• Euthanasia Ban Like Torture, BC Appeal Court Hears 
• Justice Safety Valve Act Would Give US Courts Flexibility On Mandatory Minimum Sentences
• Warrant issued for uncle of Maple Leaf forward Nazem Kadri over illegal gambling operation

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter on Wednesday, March 20, 2013:

• A friendly reminder to be careful who you "CC", especially when it comes to terminating employees
• How Activist Judges Could Save The GOP
• Drabinsky to face OSC over fraud charges - Advisor.ca
• Smartphones face risk of police search without password protection after Ontario appeal ruling
• Lindsay Lohan’s Lunacy: ‘Mean Girl’ Threatens to Kill Lawyer « Above the Law 
• Cyprus overwhelmingly reject tax on deposits to fund bailout 
• U.S. Probes Microsoft, Partners Over Bribery Claims (Wall Street Journal)
• Slighted son behind 'Ontario's longest running legal drama' - Toronto Star 
• US Supreme Court Plans Same-Day Release of Oral Argument Recordings in Gay Marriage Cases
• NYPD spent one million hours arresting marijuana users: report 
• US smokers spared graphic pics on packs
• Students sign petition against accrediting BC Christian law school over university's LGBT student ban
• B.C.’s new Family Law Act and division of pension rules now in force 
• Survey of top US law firm managing partners reveals confidence about the future 

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

Vexatious Litigants

I'm quoted in this week's Law Times in writer Yamri Tadesse's article on vexatious litigants - see Judge seeks end to 'longest running legal drama:'

While family law matters often lead to heated disputes, estates litigation “in some ways can be even worse,” says Toronto lawyer Garry Wise.

“Sibling rivalries go back to the beginning of time; they’re hugely entrenched,” he says.

“When parents make choices in the way they construct their wills and plan for their estates that leave one child or more than one child feeling out of the favoured circle, it’s just a prescription for this stuff to go on and on and on.”

There’s a cautionary tale for lawyers in cases like this one, says Wise. When they help clients draft a will, they should warn them about what could happen if they exclude someone or favour one child over others, he notes.

“The vast majority of their estate could get swallowed up by litigation if they don’t act in a way that is perceived as even-handed.”

Note that section 140.(1) of the Courts of Justice Act does not establish a process to absolutely bar vexatious litigants from engaging in further litigation.  Rather, it establishes a judicial triage process, invoked only after an individual has been deemed a vexatious litigant by a Judge, to require the court's approval before any further litigation may be continued or initiated by that person:

140.(1)Where a judge of the Superior Court of Justice is satisfied, on application, that a person has persistently and without reasonable grounds,

(a) instituted vexatious proceedings in any court; or

(b) conducted a proceeding in any court in a vexatious manner,

the judge may order that,

(c) no further proceeding be instituted by the person in any court; or

(d) a proceeding previously instituted by the person in any court not be continued,

except by leave of a judge of the Superior Court of Justice. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 140 (1); 1996, c. 25, s. 9 (17).

(2)Repealed: 1998, c. 18, Sched. B, s. 5 (2).

Application for leave to proceed

(3)Where a person against whom an order under subsection (1) has been made seeks leave to institute or continue a proceeding, the person shall do so by way of an application in the Superior Court of Justice. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 140 (3); 1996, c. 25, s. 9 (17).

Leave to proceed

(4)Where an application for leave is made under subsection (3),

(a) leave shall be granted only if the court is satisfied that the proceeding sought to be instituted or continued is not an abuse of process and that there are reasonable grounds for the proceeding;

(b) the person making the application for leave may seek the rescission of the order made under subsection (1) but may not seek any other relief on the application;

(c) the court may rescind the order made under subsection (1);

(d) the Attorney General is entitled to be heard on the application; and

(e) no appeal lies from a refusal to grant relief to the applicant.

Abuse of process

(5)Nothing in this section limits the authority of a court to stay or dismiss a proceeding as an abuse of process or on any other ground. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 140 (4, 5).

This is a rarely-invoked procedure, and is quite properly reserved for the most egregious of cases.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Update:

I also contributed comments on vexatious litigants in this Toronto Star article by Wendy Gillis - see Toronto judge moves to end 40-year war over Forest Hill man’s estate

Toronto civil lawyer Garry Wise said Morgan’s decision to designate Assaf as vexatious is a rare move reserved for the “very, very, very, very, tiny, tiny little class of people who abuse the courts.”

“There are certain people who simply do not understand the system at all and are constantly coming back and kicking at the same can over and over and over,” he said.

- GJW 

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

140Law - Legal Headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Tuesday, March 19, 2013:

• Daniel Pearl murder suspect nabbed, official says
• LawZam App Enables Video Consults with Lawyers via iPhone
• Case stayed after cop fails to disclose accused's counsel was his own lawyer - Law Times 
• Judge seeks end to ‘longest running legal drama’ | Headline News | Law Times News
• Mitigating Wrongful Dismissal Damages After Evans v. Teamsters (Doorey)
• Constructive Dismissal Pendulum Continues to Move the Way of the Employer
• Federal judge overturns Missouri law blocking Obamacare contraception mandate
• BC's new family law means big changes for cohabitating couples - CTV News
• Supreme Court judges would do us a justice if they wrote books - The Globe and Mail 
• Logging permits can be issued on First Nations land: Ontario Appeal court - CBC.ca
• Researcher gets 41 months in jail for revealing AT&T’s iPad security hole
• US Supreme Court Justices Appear Divided on Arizona Voting Law
• Young Women Thriving In BigLaw
• Lindsay Lohan takes plea deal, sentenced to 90 days in rehab 
• No Legal Relief for Player Cut From Team
• Being a Hells Angel could mean no bar licence for London strip club owner: Ont. Ct of App - Toronto Star
• Clock starts with act of fraud: U.S. Supreme Court confirms five-year limitation period for enforcement 
• Protecting the vulnerable still the goal, says government lawyer in B.C. right-to-die case 
• Faulty info in feds' Khadr file suggests he killed 2 Afghans\
• US Supreme Court upholds $220,000 fine against Kazaa dowloader for music piracy
• An apology from Ezra Levant - Sun News…

-Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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

140Law - Legal Headlines for Monday, March 18, 2013

Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Monday, March 18, 2013:

•  It’s all in the attitude: insolence & insubordination
• No glut of lawyers - just a "miserable fit" between economics of practice and the unmet needs of the poor
• Ontario couple loses their fourth child due to father’s past as a 12 year old sex offender
• Americans top list of illegal workers apprehended in Canada
• Sen. Rand Paul introduces 'fetal personhood' bill to outlaw abortion (Eric W. Dolan/The Raw Story)
• Man had right to insult Sarkozy, court rules via Telegraph
• Any casino deal for Toronto might be changed by OMB
• Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby to appeal Rob Ford conflict-of-interest decision - Globe and Mail
• Med-Arb: The Adjudication Perspective
• What’s the upshot of the Google Reader shutdown for bloggers and the rest of the (not) free world?
• First Peoples Law Blog
• "Are you a Jew?" No lament for Doug Christie
• Limiting and Controlling Picketing During a Lawful Strike
• B.C. prisoners' rights group protests non-Christian chaplain layoffs
• Right to a Lawyer Often Eludes the Poor 
• Unpaid internships: experience or exploitation? - Toronto Star
• Lawyer asks why police union funded her assaulter's defence - Toronto Star 
• Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles
• Native American tribe approves measure recognizing same-sex marriage
• Toronto Mayor Ford case appealed to Supreme Court | Canada
• Anti-marijuana New York assemblyman busted for weed possession
• Maryland lawmakers ban death penalty 
• North Dakota Senate passes extreme 6-week abortion ban 
• Political Animal - The Anti-Choice Olympics
• Federal judge bans ‘unconstitutional’ national security letters 
• FBI phone and email snooping tactic ruled unconstitutional 

- Rachel Spence, Law Clerk

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