Monthly Archives: April 2013

Prof E Zweibel wins prestigious international teaching award

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For the original article and pictures on the University of Ottawa website, click HERE.

Additional note: Professor Zweibel was a pioneer in the field of teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution, piloting the first course over 15 years ago.  She was able to develop this into a mandatory course in our first year program and integrated ethics into it. 

Common Law Professor Ellen Zweibel  has been awarded the Desire2Learn Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning  for 2013, an international recognition of her exceptional dedication and genuinely innovative approaches to higher education.

“Ellen Zweibel is a true leader in her field and the University of Ottawa is fortunate to have her,” says Dr. Rose Goldstein, Vice-Principal, Research and International Relations at McGill University.  “So many students and teachers have benefited from Ellen’s innovative teaching and this award is extremely well-deserved.” Continue reading →

C Schmitz: “Supreme Court of Canada to look at issue of ex-judges representing clients in court “

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By Cristin Schmitz and posted in Lawyers Weekly, April 12, 2013.  For the original article on the Lawyers Weekly website and photos, click HERE.

Should ex-judges be forever banned from appearing as counsel in their former courts – or indeed in any courts?

Charles Huband of Winnipeg’s Taylor McCaffrey, who sat on the Manitoba Court of Appeal for 28 years before he retired in 2007, doesn’t think so. Manitoba’s Law Society takes the same position — although the opinion of legal regulators across Canada is not unanimous. Continue reading →

Killer officer’s lawyer owes Ont. thousands

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Published in the Windsor Star – for the website, click HERE
The Canadian Press| Apr 04, 2013 | Last Updated: Apr 04, 2013 – 7:10 UTCThe Canadian Press| Apr 04, 2013 | Last Updated: Apr 04, 2013 – 7:10 UTC

An assessment of the taxpayer-funded legal bills of a former Toronto police officer who killed his lover has found that one of his lawyers overbilled the province by nearly $200,000.

Richard Wills was convicted of first-degree murder in 2007 for killing Linda Mariani then stuffing her body in a garbage can and sealing it behind a wall in his basement. Wills was once a millionaire, but he systematically divested himself of his assets, then ran up a $1.2-million legal bill to Legal Aid Ontario and the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The ministry asked the court to assess the legal bills of two of the several lawyers Wills went through and the court found Wednesday that of the approximately $770,000 that Munyonzwe Hamalengwa billed, about $178,000 was “excessive.”

The government did not pay Hamalengwa, who represented Wills on many pre-trial motions, for the last bill he submitted, so that leaves Hamalengwa owing the province $86,000.

The bills for the other lawyer, Raj Napal, have not yet been assessed and a lawsuit launched by the government to recover money spent on Wills’ defence was put on hold until both assessment proceedings are finished.

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada v Attorney General of Canada 2013 BCCA 147

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http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/CA/13/01/2013BCCA0147.htm

Appeal dismissed. Reasons by Hinkson JA. concurred in by Finch CJBC and Neilson JA. Concurring reasons by Frankel JA concurred in by Garson JA

Introduction

[1] Money laundering and terrorist financing involve the process of disguising activities in order to make them appear legal. The objective of these activities is to mask financial resources and criminal conduct from the scrutiny of state authorities.

[2] Beginning in 1989, the federal government introduced legislation aimed at combating these activities. The application of the various forms of legislation to lawyers and notaries proposed by the Attorney General of Canada (“Canada”) has been the subject of disagreement between Canada, and the members of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (“FLSC”) and its member societies. Continue reading →

S Pitel discusses “Solicitor-Client Privilege for Ethics Counsel: Lessons for Canada from the United States”

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On Friday 15th March, the Schulich School of Law hosted a CALE sponsored Faculty Seminar delivered by Stephen Pitel on his forthcoming paper “Solicitor-Client Privilege for Ethics Counsel: Lessons for Canada from the United States”.

To watch the Faculty Seminar on YouTube, click HERE.

Support for the seminar was provided by Goodmans LLP, the Schulich School of Law and CALE.

22nd Annual F.B. Wickwire Memorial Lecture in Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics

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On Friday 15th March, the Schulich School of Law hosted  the Twenty-Second annual F.B. Wickwire Memorial Lecture in
Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics.

This year, they ran a panel discussion entitled “Contextualizing Legal Ethics” in which members of the faculty discussed, in 12-minute pitches, legal ethics in their fields of substantive interest.

The presenters were:

Philip Girard: the historical context

Sarah Bradley: Corporate Law

Brent Cotter: Government Lawyer

Meinhard Doelle: Environmental Law

Geoff Loomer: Tax Law

Rollie Thompson: Family Law

The rapporteur for the session was the indefatigable Stephen Pitel!

To watch the Wickwire panel discussion on YouTube, click HERE.