International Law

The Great Toronto Street-Food Debate

Posted on March 19, 2009
While much of Toronto's media celebrates the imminent arrival of Biryani, Pad Thai and Bulgogi carts on the City's street corners, The Globe's Margaret Wente isn't so pleased.Ms Wente takes on Toronto City Hall for politically-correct over-regulation of street food in Toronto:Once upon a time, I used to think that the job of city government was to fix the potholes, police the streets, clear the snow and pick up the garbage...

B.C. Court Decides Competing Survivor Pension Claims Between Widow, Ex-Spouse

Posted on March 19, 2009
Stan Rule has another excellent post at Rule of Law today.  He reports on MacMichael v. Strocel, a January 2009 ruling of the B.C. Supreme Court that decided between the competing entitlement claims of a widow and a deceased's former wife to payment of federal survivor benefits under the Public Service Superannuation Pension Plan...

Son Abducted to Brazil, U.S. Dad's Hague Convention Application Languishes

Posted on March 13, 2009
MSNBC reports today on an American father's frustrating ordeal.  David Goldman's now-deceased wife abducted their son, Sean, to Brazil in June 2004 on the pretext of a two-week vacation. Upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro, she told Mr. Goldman their marital  relationship was over and unilaterally declared that she intended to maintain sole custody of their child...

On Unemployment Insurance in America

Posted on March 11, 2009
Did you know that unemployment insurance premiums paid by individual employers in the U.S. are "based on the amount of the benefits their workers collect?" The net result?Washington Post writer Peter Whoriskey discusses a disturbing phenomenon: More than a quarter of people applying for such claims have their rights to the benefit challenged as employers increasingly act to block payouts to former workers...

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Another Ontario Parental Alienation Case

Posted on March 10, 2009
An 18 year old Mississauga man has asked an Ontario Court Judge in Brampton to allow him to intervene in a Children's Aid proceeding that has emerged in a decade-long custody battle between his battling, estranged parents.  The youth seeks custody of his two younger siblings, aged 14 and 12, who now languish in foster care after refusing to participate in  a court-ordered parental alienantion "deprogramming workshop...

NYT on John C. Yoo

Posted on March 10, 2009
The New York Times considers the future of John C. Yoo, the controversial Bush administration lawyer whose "legal opinions" enabled the former president's radical torture policies: The notoriety that follows Mr. Yoo ? and to varying degrees half a dozen other Bush administration lawyers ? raises difficult questions: What is a government lawyer?s responsibility if legal advice he gives turns out to be, in the view of many authorities, grievously flawed? Can he be blamed for damaging, and arguably illegal, acts carried out with his imprimatur? Should he suffer any punishment??I think the legal profession in the United States has been seriously hurt by their conduct,? said Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University...

B.C. Government Moves to Reduce Restaurant Trans Fats

Posted on March 10, 2009
From CBC News:B.C. will become the first province in Canada to restrict trans fat in foods prepared and served at restaurants, Mary Polak, the minister of Healthy Living and Sport, announced Saturday.The province is hoping to squeeze out the majority of trans fat from restaurants, delis, bakeries, cafeterias, schools and health-care institutions by this fall...

WWE Wrestlers Lose Employee-Status Claims

Posted on March 10, 2009
Law.com reports on the dismissal of a lawsuit by several well-known professional wrestlers against the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).  The wrestlers had alleged that they were deprived of employee benefits by being improperly classified as independent contractors, as opposed to employees...

Professional Offices and Online Document Platforms

Posted on March 10, 2009
While the technological winds continue to guide us in the direction of online data creation and storage platforms, two articles today illustrate why we must remain extremely wary about their current utility for professional offices.  WebProNews reports on a security breach at Google Docs that allowed unauthorized access to users'  documents stored online:On Friday Google contacted some Google Docs users to alert them of a privacy issue...

The Example of Canadian Health Care

Posted on March 10, 2009
Wiith health care reform a key priority of the Obama administration, Canada's universal health care system has its admirers south of the border.  Writer Tom Leavitt, for example, takes a look at a paperless Canadian medical office, and likes what he sees...

American Dictatorship?

Posted on March 04, 2009

New York Court Refuses Parents' Claim to Dead Son's Sperm

Posted on March 04, 2009

Ontario Court Requires Disclosure of Facebook Content

Posted on March 04, 2009

Pants Suit Judge Loses $54 Million Appeal

Posted on March 04, 2009

Sorry, Rush

Posted on March 04, 2009

Globe and Mail: Professionalism and Legal Ethics

Posted on February 25, 2009
Kirk Makin canvasses the future of legal ethics in Ontario in a thoughtful article in today's Globe:The first task for proponents of the professionalism movement has been defining what they mean. By consensus, it appears to boil down to civility; mentoring; continuing education; maintaining client confidentiality; avoidance of conflicts; and maintaining independence...

Law and Technology

Posted on February 19, 2009
From the wonderful Courtoons:- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Psychologist: Don't Marry A Lawyer

Posted on February 17, 2009
Via Robert Ambrogi at Legal Blog Watch, a Columbus, Ohio psychologist apparently doesn't see much of Cupid at the counsel table - or the dinner table:Marry a Lawyer? Are You Crazy?Valentine's Day has come and gone, but the question psychologist Fiona Travis raises is a perpetual one: Would someone have to be crazy to marry a lawyer? "It's not that lawyers lack relationship-building skills," she writes in a post at the blog Lawyer Avenue...

Getting the City to Pay for Pothole Damage To Your Vehicle...

Posted on February 17, 2009
Our old friend Pseudo tackles Toronto's pressing pothole problems today.  See his article, How To Get Compensated If Your Car Is Damaged By A Pothole in Toronto- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Ontario Smoking Law Encounters "Glitch"

Posted on February 17, 2009
Via the Toronto Star, a 20 year-old Port Hope man has been nabbed under Ontario's new smoking laws. His offence? Smoking in his vehicle in the presence of a 15 year-old smoker:A curious situation arose Saturday, when 20-year-old Port Hope resident Tory Ashton was given a $155 ticket for smoking in his vehicle with a person under the age of 16 present...

Supreme Court of Canada Hearings: Now Online in a Web-Browser Near You

Posted on February 09, 2009
Via Slaw, videocasts of Supreme Court of Canada hearings will be available online, effective today.  From the Court's Policy for Access to Supreme Court of Canada Records: In addition to the records already listed in this policy, members of the public shall have remote access to those court records, or portions thereof, listed in this subsection:* the electronic version of any factum on an appeal filed on or after February 9, 2009, subject to the following conditions...

Video: "Don't Divorce Us"

Posted on February 09, 2009
Via Andrew Sullivan, couples and families urge the California Supreme Court to preserve same-sex marriage in the Golden State:"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www...

More on Dr. Richard Warshak and "Deprogramming" Parental Alienation

Posted on February 08, 2009
Family Workshop, Dr. Richard Warshak's counter-parental alientation programme, was at the centre of last month's controversial Ontario Superior Court decision on parental alienation in A.G.L. v. K.B.D. (our previous reports are here and here).The Dallas-based clinical psychologist, continues to attract the attention of Ontario's media and courts...

Judicial Watch: They're Back...

Posted on February 08, 2009
Remember Larry Klayman and Judical Watch, back in those heady days when the only thing that mattered was Monica? Allow me to refresh your memory, via SlateIt's Larry Klayman, the Clinton-hating, polymorphously litigious chairman and founder of Judicial Watch...

Osgoode Labour & Employment Law Society Blog

Posted on February 08, 2009
A quick note to point our readers to an excellent new employment law blog from Osoode Hall Law School students. The Osgoode Labour & Employment Law Society Blog is now featuring a recap of 2008's ground-shifting law decisons by the Supreme Court of Canada...

New Jersey Court Permits Divorce of Same Sex Couple, Married in Canada

Posted on February 08, 2009
Canadian Press reports, via CTV, on a a New Jersey Superior Court's groundbreaking decison Friday, permitting the divorce of a lesbian couple that had been married in Victoria, B.C.: TRENTON, N.J. -- Gay marriages performed elsewhere are recognized in New Jersey for the purpose of divorce, said a ruling Friday by a judge presiding over a case in which a lesbian couple married in Canada are seeking to split...

Ontario's Ban on Smoking While Driving With Children

Posted on February 04, 2009
Our friends at Overlawyered are not amused:Ontario bans smoking in cars with children presentBecause the government, unlike your parents, has your best interests at heart.Meanwhile, Ontario's proposed ban on use of hand-held cell-phone while driving has passed second reading, but remains in Committee...

"Scooped"

Posted on February 04, 2009
The blawger definition of a news scoop:I got to my RSS feeds before you did...:)- Garry J. Wise, Cancun Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

"Deprogramming" the Children of Parental Alienation

Posted on February 04, 2009
Following up on the Ontario Superior Court's recent decision on parental alienation in A.G.L. v. K.B.D. (our report from last week is here), the Globe and Mail takes a critical eye to American counselling centres that purport to provide treatment to the "children of alientation...

Study Released: 2008 Litigation Trends in Canada

Posted on February 04, 2009
Canadian law firm Faskin Martineau has released the results of its 2008 Litigation Trends in Canada Study.According to news release by the firm:Canada is more litigious than most believe, according to a study commissioned by leading Canadian law firm Fasken Martineau...

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