Effective August 31, the fee is removed. Further details about the fee removal is available in a PDF document on the Court Services Online website.

Registration information and program brochures are available on the TLABC website.

More information about Hebrew University, the faculty exchange program, and the scheduled lectures is available in the UBC Law news item.

The Fax Filing Pilot Project was originally scheduled to end on July 31, 2003, but had been extended since then and is now extended to July 1, 2012. This allows time for further evaluation of the service. Following the completed evaluation, a decision will be made as to whether to expand the service to all registries throughout the Province.

With thanks to CBABC.

The UBC Mentorship Form is to be submitted by Friday, September 3, 2010, and the UVic Mentorship Form is to be submitted by Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

Further contact information is available at on the CBABC Mentoring page.

The B.C. Superior Courts is pleased to unveil two enhancements to our website:

• Site Search
• RSS feed for Reasons for Judgment and Announcements

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 our website.

With the Site Search, you will be to search all of the non-judgment content on our website. You also have the option of searching the Practice and Procedure sections for either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. The process for searching judgments is not affected in any way by the site search.

The RSS feed allows those who subscribe to see what Reasons for Judgment and Announcements have been added to the website using your feed reader rather than having to visit our site. To subscribe to the RSS feed simply click on the orange RSS button on your screen.

The following is a screen shot of the site search box:

• Madam Justice Shelley C. Fitzpatrick at the Vancouver Law Courts on Monday, September 13, 2010 at 9:15 a.m. and
• Madam Justice Jennifer Power at the Nanaimo Court House on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 9:15 a.m. in Courtroom 232.

Members of the public are invited to attend the Welcoming Ceremonies.

Last week the BC Supreme Court announced the following judicial transfer:

The Supreme Court of British Columbia announces that the Honourable Mr. Justice Geoffrey R. J. Gaul has transferred from New Westminster to Victoria effective August 5, 2010.

Justice Gaul sat in New Westminster since his appointment to the bench in 2008.

In support of the Benchers’ strategic objective to retain more Aboriginal lawyers in the legal profession, the Law Society is assisting a Legal Services Society initiative. LSS is creating a list of Aboriginal lawyers and articled students who are interested in supporting each other and improving access to legal services for Aboriginal people in BC.

According to research commissioned by LSS, First Nations people prefer to speak with an Aboriginal person and, if they are unable to do so, may not seek the legal help they need. Pamela Shields, the Aboriginal Services Program Manager for LSS, says, “one of the tools we need to improve legal services for First Nations people is a list of Aboriginal lawyers. We’re looking for people with either practising or non-practising status who are willing to, now or in the future, work with Aboriginal communities or individuals and consider being part of a network to support each other and possibly mentor other Aboriginal lawyers, articled students and law students.” The list is voluntary and there is no obligation to take on legal aid clients or articled students if you choose to sign up.

To join or get more information, contact Pamela Shields at pamela.shields@lss.bc.ca or 604-601-6298.

• Justice Education Society of British Columbia

There are currently volunteer positions available on the board of the Justice Education Society of BC (www.justiceeducation.ca).
The CBABC appoints one representative to the Board of the Society. The Society provides education programs and services about the justice system in Canada and British Columbia. The appointment is for a two-year term.

• Immigrant PLEI Consortium Family Law and Domestic Violence Media Campaign – Lower Mainland

The People’s Law School currently is seeking qualified volunteer speakers who specialize in the area of Family Law and Domestic Violence to speak about issues over the radio at community radio stations across the Lower Mainland. The interview range from 30 minutes to 1 hour with time to answer calls from the public. Qualified speakers who do not speak the radio-broadcasted language will have an interpreter.
As part of the Immigrant PLEI Consortium pilot project the media campaign delivers information about Family law to immigrant communities via radio and newsprint.

• S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Family Law Workshop in Mandarin or Cantonese – Burnaby/Vancouver

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. currently seeks one Mandarin or Cantonese speaking volunteer lawyer to speak about Family Law at an upcoming workshop in Burnaby or Vancouver. The workshop is flexible to meet your time and schedule.

• “Contact with the Justice System” Volunteer Speaker – Langley

The People’s Law School seeks one lawyer to present criminal justice information to youth who have criminal records at a Community Skills Centre in Langley.
Youth with criminal records face barriers to employment and the Centre is focused on developing their employability skills and work experience. The Centre is under agreement with Service Canada to deliver a 15 week Customer Service Employability Skills Training program and the Centre identifies knowledge about the Justice System imperative for youth to learn and how it applies to their work experience.

For more information on these opportunities, including contact information, see the CBABC notice.

Madam Justice Power received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (Political Science and Economics)in 1983 as well as a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1986 from the University of Victoria. She received a Master of Law (LL.M.) from the University of Cambridge, London, England in 1990. She was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1987 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006.

Madam Justice Power has been Regional Crown Counsel in Victoria since 2001; Deputy Crown Counsel (North Island 1997-2001); Administrative Crown Counsel (1995-1997) and Crown Counsel (1990-1995). She was also legal counsel for the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (1988-1989). Her main areas of practice were supervision of all prosecutions on Vancouver Island and providing legal advice to Crown Counsel, the police and other justice partners. She was also responsible for legal, operational and policy decisions regarding most complex cases.

Madam Justice Power has been an organizer and panellist for the Annual Crown Counsel Conference (2005-2008). She is a member of Métis Nation of Greater Victoria.

And according to the BCSC news item, a public Welcoming Ceremony for Madam Justice Power will be held on a date to be scheduled.

Last fall Trial Lawyers Association of BC joined Twitter, and last month we informed you that they set up a Facebook page. The organization has now completed its social media presence on the major networks by joining LinkedIn.

If you are on LinkedIn, you can find TLABC’s group profile here.

The meeting will be hosted by UBC Law professor and Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, David Duff.

When: Thursday, September 9th (5pm to 6:30pm)

Where: UBC Robson Square, Room 1050 (Plaza Level)

As space is limited, please contact Simmi Puri at 604 822 4172 or email at puri@law.ubc.ca to confirm your attendance.

If you are unable to attend, we encourage you to view the draft plan and provide feedback online on the Faculty website.

We’ll be collecting feedback over the next few months. The final plan will be released in late 2010.

Drivers who provide a failing breath sample above 0.08 per cent blood-alcohol content (BAC) or refuse to provide a breath sample at the roadside will face an immediate, 90-day driving ban and a $500 fine. As well, they will have their vehicle impounded for 30 days. Criminal charges may also be laid.

…

Drivers caught once in the “warn” range (between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent BAC) in a five-year period will face an immediate, three-day driving ban and a $200 fine; a second time, a seven-day ban and a $300 fine; and a third time, a 30-day ban and a $400 fine. Research shows a BAC in that range means a driver is seven times more likely to be in a fatal crash than if they have no alcohol in their body.

In addition, drivers who blow once in the “fail” range, or three times within five years in the “warn” range, will be required to participate in the rehabilitative Responsible Driver Program. They must also use an ignition interlock device, which tests a driver’s breath for alcohol every time they operate their vehicle, for one year.

For more information on the new impaired driving penalties, see the impaired driving information page on the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles website.

• Calgary-Toronto Wine & Cheese Reception
  Monday September 20, 2010
• Calgary-Toronto Law Firm Reception
  Tuesday September 21, 2010
• Calgary-Toronto On-Campus Interviews
  Wednesday September 22, 2010
• Interview Week in Vancouver
  Monday October 18, 2010
• Interview Week in Vancouver
  Tuesday October 19, 2010

More information about locations and dates for each event is available by clicking on the UVic Law calendar entry for each link above.

• September 20 – Williams Lake
• October 4 – Nanaimo
• September 21 – Prince George
• October 5 – Victoria
• September 23 – Terrace
• October 7 – Vancouver
• September 27 – Kamloops
• October 8 – Surrey
• September 28 – Kelowna
• October 12 – Chilliwack
• September 30 – Cranbrook

The Public Commission also announced that it is now accepting

both written submissions and expressions of interest to make in-person presentations. Submissions can be made by organizations or individuals who have had dealings with, thoughts on, or innovative ideas about the provision of legal aid in British Columbia. In-person presentations of selected submissions will be made directly to Commissioner Doust in each of the 11 communities the Commission visits. Hearings are open to the general public, though scheduling considerations mean that a limited number of submissions will be selected for presentation.

Further information, including a submissions guide and times and exact locations of the hearings in each community, is available on the Public Commission website.

The Chair is designed to enrich the education of lawyers, advance legal writing in Canada, and properly and permanently remember the name of Nathan T. Nemetz [former nationally and internationally renowned Chief Justice of British Columbia]. It was made possible through the generosity of members of the legal profession and community and the Province of British Columbia through the World of Opportunity Campaign.

While he holds the Nemetz Chair, Professor Harris will continue to write and teach in the areas of property law, legal history, fisheries law, and Aboriginal rights. To date, his written work includes articles on the legal relations between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian state in early British Columbia, and on the title registration system.

TLABC’s rules committee has prepared papers corresponding to specific areas of the new Supreme Court Rules, which take effect July 1. The papers are a result of their scrutiny of certain aspects likely to be of interest to TLABC members. You can call up this information at www.tlabc.org/CourtRules.

More information about these and other TLABC initiatives can be found on their website.

The Law Society summarizes the interaction among the GST, HST, and PST in the following news release about CLEBC’s Practice FAQ:

Effective July 1, 2010, PST is eliminated and lawyers are instead required to collect HST. However, collection of PST continues under rules established for transition to HST. When billing for legal services provided before and after July 1, lawyers must charge PST and GST (but not HST) if 90% or more of the services are performed before July 1. If less than 90% of the legal services are performed before July 1, lawyers must charge PST, GST and HST based on the proportion of services performed before and after July 1. PST collection requirements continue under the transition rules until December 31, 2010.