Canada

New 2nd-Career Option for at Least One Lawyer: Kate Middleton Lookalike

The impending London wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has created new career opportunities for a lucky few who happen to resemble the royal couple. For those who wish to cash in, there’s money to be made by maximizing the similarities and taking gigs as lookalikes, the Wall Street…

Apr 21, 2011 9:02 PM CDT

FLDS Lawyer Compares Polygamy to Homosexuality in Constitutional Case

A Canadian law criminalizing polygamy is not unlike the country’s stance on homosexuality, which was decriminalized in 1969, a lawyer for members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told a British Columbia court yesterday. In the case, provincial and federal governments argued that polygamy is inherently…

Apr 14, 2011 7:28 PM CDT

Paul Weiss Steals 2 Corporate Partners from Shearman to Staff Its New Toronto Office

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison raided Shearman & Sterling for manpower to staff its new Toronto office. The new partners are Christopher Cummings, a capital markets and mergers and acquisitions practitioner who served as managing partner of Shearman’s Toronto office, and Adam Givertz, according to the Am Law Daily…

Apr 14, 2011 3:59 PM CDT

Associate Claims in Suit He Was Forced Out of Canadian Firm for Complaint About Groping Partner

A former associate claims in a $1.3 million wrongful dismissal suit that he was forced out of a Canadian law firm after he alleged a drunken partner groped a law student during a late-night party at a Toronto bar. Adrian Jakibchuk alleges that partners at Mathews Dinsdale & Clark refused…

Apr 6, 2011 2:16 PM CDT

Hackers Penetrated at Least 4 Major Canadian Law Firms in Recent Months, Expert Says

Sophisticated hackers seemingly based in China have penetrated four major Canadian law firms in a little over six months, in attacks intended to destroy sensitive data or obtain information related to mergers and acquisitions, a security expert tells the Globe and Mail. While it isn’t certain the hackers’ efforts were…

Apr 5, 2011 11:40 PM CDT

Lawyer Apologizes to His Wife, a Prominent Judge, for Pressuring Ex-Client to Have Sex with Her

A Canadian lawyer says he can never apologize enough to his wife, Queen’s Bench Justice Lori Douglas, for pressuring a then-client to have sex with her eight years ago when she was still in practice. Jack King says his wife, who is being investigated by the Canadian Judicial Council over…

Mar 28, 2011 7:45 PM CDT

Live Tweets of Biker Murder Trial and Others Raise Issues of Balance and Fairness

Especially when cameras aren’t allowed in the courtroom, live tweets are the next best thing to being at a trial for those with an interest in the case. But the stream-of-consciousness reportage of the ongoing courtroom drama can raise issues of exploitation and fairness, as was demonstrated on a daily…

Mar 22, 2011 8:04 PM CDT

DLA Piper Readies for ‘Musical Chairs,’ Talks to Potential Canadian Merger Partners

DLA Piper hasn’t given up on finding a law firm merger partner in Canada. The law firm talked to Canadian firm Fasken Martineau in 2008, but nothing came of the discussions. Now DLA Piper co-chairman Frank Burch tells the Lawyer that his firm is once again considering a Canadian tie-up.…

Mar 8, 2011 1:13 PM CST

Judge’s Comments About Rape Victim and Lack of Jail Time for Offender Spark Courthouse Protest

Despite the cold weather, dozens of picketers have been protesting outside the law courts in Manitoba, Canada, over a judge’s decision not to sentence a convicted rapist to jail and the judge’s comments about the conduct of the victim prior to the crime. After Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Dewar called…

Feb 25, 2011 9:24 PM CST

Cop Disciplined for Advising Law Students at Safety Session Not to Dress Like Sluts

A Toronto police officer is apologizing for his advice to law students on how to avoid sexual assault. The officer, speaking during a safety information session last month at Osgoode Hall Law School, told the women students that they shouldn’t dress like sluts, the Excalibur reports. Ronda Bessner, assistant dean…

Feb 18, 2011 1:45 PM CST

Law Firm Group Decides to Have a Ball, Lose It All in Flash Mob Dance (See Video)

Updated: Lawyers and staffers at the Toronto law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon got a good reception when they danced to a Black Eyed Peas song at their office Christmas party, so they decided to do it again. A group of nearly 50 people from the law firm staged a…

Dec 21, 2010 5:06 PM CST

Former Prosecutor’s Face-Making & Eye-Rolling Distracts Us, Jury Complains; Judge Dismisses Them

A retrial of a mother charged in a high-profile Canadian child-abuse murder case has hit a roadblock, after the jury complained to the judge that they couldn’t concentrate due to the eye-rolling and face-making of a blond man in the front row while the defendant was testifying. That man turned…

Nov 22, 2010 5:23 PM CST

Judge Axes Ex-Client’s Sex Suit Against His Lawyer, Upholds $25K Settlement

A former client’s much-publicized suit against a Canadian lawyer he accused of trying to pressure him into having sex with the lawyer’s wife, who is now a prominent judge, has been dismissed. However, the onetime client, Alex Chapman, vows to appeal. The suit against attorney Jack King, alleging that he…

Nov 17, 2010 1:16 PM CST

Mergers in Canada, South Africa Put Norton Rose in Top Ten

U.K. law firm Norton Rose is expanding into Canada and South Africa through mergers with two other firms. In Canada, Norton Rose is merging with Ogilvy Renault, according to Legal Week, the Am Law Daily and the Toronto Globe and Mail. In South Africa, it is merging with Deneys Reitz.…

Nov 15, 2010 3:58 PM CST

Randy Quaid Seeks Asylum in Canada; Wife Claims He’s on Hit List

Updated: Randy Quaid and his wife claim they are in danger and are seeking asylum in Canada after skipping a U.S. court hearing for allegedly squatting in their former California home. The Quaids claim the actor’s life is in danger because of “Hollywood Star whackers” who are secretly responsible for…

Oct 25, 2010 12:04 PM CDT