Twitter Moot a Success

Last week’s first-ever Twitter moot was a success, by all accounts. Although neither UVic nor UBC won the debate (those honours went to the Osgoode Hall team, although UVic did win a people’s choice poll), the event was big news here in BC and beyond, with the hashtag #twtmoot showing up as a Canadian trending topic mid-way through the moot.

Here’s a look at some local coverage:

• History Made in Twitter Moot (Skunkworks)
• Legal and Social Media History (Matthew Kalkman – member of the UBC moot team)
• Osgoode Hall law students win 1st ever Twitter Moot (Press release from West Coast Environmental Law, the event’s organizer)
• UBC students participate in world’s first Twitter mock court case (The Ubyssey)

Congratulations to all involved!

Upcoming Event: Strengths-Based Career Design

The BC Lawyers Assistance Program Options for Lawyers Workgroup is presenting a workshop on Strengths-Based Career Design, facilitated by Adam A. Kay, Founder and Owner of JD Strategist.

“Many lawyers find themselves in areas of practice that do not capitalize on their natural talents. As a result, they are constantly working against the grain, struggling to compete in areas to which they are poorly suited. Eventually, this wears them down, and their careers and personal lives suffer. This workshop uses some of the most advanced psychometric profiling technology available to help you discover what your natural talents are, why you should apply them, and how you might best make use of them. Participants who sign up at least one week ahead of time will receive their own personalized assessments (retail value of $200) free of charge.”

Time: 12:15-1:30pm
Date: Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Place: LAP office, 1080 Mainland Street, Suite 415, Vancouver, BC

For more details see the event brochure.

(Hat tip to The Trial Lawyers Association of BC for tweeting about this event.)

CBABC Disappointed by Latest Provincial Budget

In the midst of calls for increased funding for the legal aid in BC, the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch issued a press release indicating its disappointment in the 2012 provincial budget.

“The CBABC acknowledges the government’s previous allocation of $2.1 million in funding for family law legal aid which is continued in this budget.” said Sharon Matthews, CBABC President. “However, this funding was provided to avoid further cuts to family law legal aid, and does not address the status quo crisis in legal aid.”

Matthews called for immediate funding to clear court backlogs. For more information on the legal aid situation in BC, visit www.WeNeedLegalAid.com.

World’s First Twitter Moot Happening Today

As noted this past December on BC Law Watch, the world’s first Twitter moot (#twtmoot) takes place today!

Beginning at 10am PST, law students from Dalhousie, Ottawa, UBC, UVic, and York will debate a recent environmental case, 140 characters at a time. The moot’s judges are William Deverell, Omar HaRedeye, and Kathleen Mahoney, and the event is organized and sponsored by West Coast Environmental Law. (Learn more about the teams and judges here.)

Follow the action at West Coast Environmental Law’s live Twitter streaming page or directly at Twitter.

Best of luck to all the participants!

BC Pioneers Cloud Computing Usage Guidelines

The Law Society of BC recently issued its final report on cloud computing. BC’s is the only law society in Canada to examine this issue, and now the first to issue guidelines on use of cloud computing.

Here’s a quick look at some coverage from around the web:

• LSBC issues final report on cloud computing (Slaw)
• BC benchers get set to tackle the cloud (The Lawyers Weekly)
• Law Society of BC’s report to stay afloat of cloud computing (Canadian Technology & IP Law)
• Law Society of British Columbia Issues Final Report On Cloud Computing (Courthouse Libraries BC)

The LSBC’s initial report was issued in July 2011. According to the Law Society, “a related checklist and revisions to the Law Society Rules will be forthcoming”.

Last Chance to Apply for Distance Family Mediation Services

Mediate BC notes that its Distance Family Mediation Project will soon be drawing to a close. The project will end on June 30, 2012, and as such, new clients are only being accepted until May 15, 2012.

The organization’s Distance Family Mediation service allows those facing family law matters (custody and support issues, division of assets, and other concerns arising from separation and divorce) to work with a mediator by phone or email.

Anyone interesting in using the service is encourage to contact Mediate BC’s Mediation Advisor:

Mediation.Advisor@mediatebc.com (E-mail)
1.855.660.8406   (Toll free – Canada & US)
604.660.8406   (Vancouver local)
604.660.4177  (Fax)

See also the Distance Family Mediation Blog.

LSBC Discipline Alert: Standards Not Relaxed When Lawyer is Acting Pro Bono

As noted by Courthouse Libraries BC, the Law Society recently issued a Discipline Alert, reminding BC lawyers that “quality of service requirements are the same for pro bono or legal aid work”:

“It is important for lawyers to remember that just because they are not asking for, or receiving their usual fees for services, does not mean they are exempted from providing services that meet the expected standard.

If a lawyer does not have the capacity to give a client matter the proper attention necessary to ensure that the services meet the expected standard, then the lawyer should decline to act for the client, regardless of whether the services will be paid for by the client, by LSS, or provided pro bono.”

(Discipline Alert, February 1, 2012)

For more discipline alerts, visit the Law Society of BC website.

Roundup of Reactions to BC’s New Justice System Reform Initiative

On Wednesday, the government of BC announced it was launching a justice reform initiative, starting with a Green Paper (discussion paper) entitled Modernizing British Columbia’s Justice System.

Some groups were pleased to hear the news. Others were cynical. Here’s a quick roundup of reactions – swift and mixed – to the announcement:

Legal Organizations

• The TLABC issued a press release saying, “Legal aid requires immediate action, not further study. There is nothing left to investigate.”
• The Law Society welcomed the news, saying “we support a broad-based approach that involves all stakeholders.”
• The Superior Courts of BC issued a joint statement, saying “We always welcome the opportunity to engage in dialogue with Government and other justice system participants on the issues and challenges facing the justice system. [...]  Any recommendations for reform must respect the constitutional framework in which we operate.”
• In a press release, CBA BC President Sharon Matthews commented that “The CBABC is particularly pleased to see the emphasis on an evidence-based review.”
• Legal Services Society executive director Mark Benton said he “hopes this review will move the system forward more efficiently, giving people early resolutions at a lesser cost.”

The Media

• Ian Mulgrew of the Vancouver Sun said “The Liberals, in my opinion, are counting on more goodwill for reform than exists.”
• Michael Smith of The Province  said “These are not new problems, and the government has had over a decade in power to deal with them. So why the sudden urgency on a file that’s been festering for years? Politics.”
• Les Leyne of the Times Colonist said “They’ve assigned Geoffrey Cowper, QC, to chair a review. His job is to find the explanation for all the confusing inconsistencies. Bond’s job is to make sure the answer involves spending as little new money as possible.

Political Parties

• The BC NDP said the review “lacks concrete measures”.
• John Martin, BC Conservative Justice Critic said “What BC’s justice system needs is action, not more reports.”

Hat tips to @theCLBC and @TLABC for pointing us to several of these items.

Mock Trials and More from the Justice Education Society

The latest Justice Education Society (JES) newsletter is full of interesting information, helpful resources and society news, including:

• Mock trials for class groups are available again
• Resource of the month: Being an Active Citizen
• Website of the month: LawProject.ca – teaches students about BC justice issues
• JES’s current projects: a revamp of provincialcourt.bc.ca; development of a new website called lawlessons.ca; an upcoming series of teacher workshops; development of guides and video to assist with filling out ISO forms; and more content for AdminLawBC.ca and FamiliesChange.ca, etc.
• JES upcoming events: free professional development for teachers; court information for Vietnamese immigrants
• International program project updates
• Courtlink Program testimonials
• Employee arrivals/departures

To see the full newsletter, visit the JES website.

Name Requests at BC Registries

As noted on our Industry News page, BC Registries has issued a message regarding examination of name requests:

“Although Registries strives to examine name requests within two business days due to volumes and other circumstances it could take up to five business days for processing. Our office monitors daily and should this happen it is a short-term issue and will be resolved soon.

Should you have a BC OnLine deposit account when you enter a request the Name Requests Online application does provide you with the date and time of the name request currently being examined by Registries staff. Before contacting Registries regarding a name request previously submitted please review this information which will then allow you to judge where your request is in the queue.

Registries continues to accept priority requests and will process them within 24 hours.”

More industry news, along with Dye & Durham company news and our Litigation Calendar, are available on the Dye & Durham news page.

The Battle for Legal Aid Continues

The Trial Lawyers Association of BC announced that Phase 2 of the duty counsel [legal aid lawyer] withdrawal is now in effect until February 14th. The withdrawals are being made to raise awareness about insufficient legal aid funding in BC.

“Approximately two-thirds of BC’s provincial courthouses will be impacted by a full withdrawal of duty counsel, while other courthouses will operate with limited availability. The full withdrawal involves 53 courthouses, up from 38 during the initial withdrawal phase (carried out from January 1-7).”

The third phase will take place March 1-21; and the final phase will see duty counsel withdraw their services for the entire month of April.

These service withdrawals are part of  The Battle for Legal Aid, and aim to “get government to inject about $50 million more in funding to legal aid to bring it to 1990s levels.”

CBABC Aboriginal Lawyers Forum News

The CBA BC Aboriginal Lawyers Forum (ALF) recently released the Spring 2012 issue of its newsletter, Forum Drum. Included in this issue:

• Overview of ALF activities over the past year
• Update on the CBABC Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust
• Thoughts on the Specific Claims Tribunal
• Info on the First Nations Financial Management Board
• Upcoming ALF events in 2012
• Recap of the ALF/TRU law student lunch

Past issues of the Forum Drum are available here.