Canadian Law Blog Hall of Fame

2015 Canadian Law Blog Finalist

2014 Canadian Law Blog Finalist

2013 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

2011 Canadian Law Blog Finalist

2010 Canadian Law Blog Finalist

2009 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

2008 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

2007 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

2008 InnovAction Awards



  • Categories
  • Archives
    Archive for September, 2010
    Take aways from the Cdn Forum on Court Technology
    Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

    Listen, let’s make, it national
    I want the whole world to know…♬

    Lyrics and music by: Tim Mosley, Missy Elliott, Craig Brockman; recorded by Missy Elliott.

    CCCT Logo

    CCCT CCTJ logo

    (Cross-posted from slaw.ca and ODR and Consumers 2010.org). There is a saying that you only see the tip of an iceberg. Last week, the 2010 Canadian Forum on Court Technology hosted by the Canadian Centre for Court Technology wrapped up in Ottawa. This Forum provided several glimpses of icebergs floating in the Canadian Judicial System. All this was to be expected; after all this was a very insightful forum on the implementation of court technology and clearly showed the challenges that lie ahead. However, underlying all of this was the sometimes quietly spoken statement that the courts are losing market share to private settlement regimes.

    The parties who attended – particularly the judges – are to be commended.  They demonstrated a real concern on how the system can be advanced by the adoption of technology to ensure its relevance in an increasingly online world.  Ultimately, whether this was a conference that results in all players embracing the future and realizing that the only way any real change can occur is if all the players collaborate and work together on reshaping the judicial and legal system, or whether it was just another signpost along the highway that the keynote speaker Richard Susskind calls: “The End of Lawyers” remains to be seen. The fact that eBay already settles the vast majority of its 60 million disputes in 14 languages annually using Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and mediation techniques may provide the clearest picture yet of the future. (more…)

    Posted in Business Development, Change Management, Issues facing Law Firms, Leadership and Strategic Planning, Technology, Trends | Permalink | 1 Comment »
    Change Begins with You
    Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

    ♬ Be the change that you wanna see in the world, just like Gandhi… ♬

    Lyrics, music and recorded by MC Yogi.


    This “Leadership Moment” post is another great guest post from Beth Flynn at the Ohio State University Center:

    If you expect change in others and in the culture of your organization, then buckle your seatbelt and get ready to change yourself – first. Your change is the pivot around which culture change swings. If you keep the work of culture change at arm’s length, then real, lasting change won’t occur. The reason is simple: everyone else in your organization is sitting around with their arms folded, doing nothing too – just like you.

    Culture change is a show-up, stand-up, participative, put-yourself-on-the-line personal process. Culture isn’t an object or system out there. It’s internal. You are in the culture, and the culture is in you. It’s a meaning-making interpretation process that you and others perform for survival. We want you to take that personally. Sustainable and durable change begins and ends with you and your commitment (McGuire & Rhodes, p. 20).

    From: McGuire, J. B. & Rhodes, G. B. (2009). Transforming your leadership culture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Transforming Your Leadership Culture is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.

    Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is inspiring others to take a leadership role that empowers the world at: http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu. You can subscribe to the Leadership Moments list by sending an e-mail to Beth at: flynn.61@osu.edu.

    Thanks Beth for another great post and for demonstrating that you are an example of the change that you want to see in the world.

    Posted in Change Management, Issues facing Law Firms, Leadership and Strategic Planning, personal focus and renewal, Trends | Permalink | 1 Comment »
    Want an App with That?
    Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

    ♫ Eggs and sausage, now a side of toast
    Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
    Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
    And now what kind of pie?..♫

    Music, lyrics and recorded by Tom Waits.

    Torys' iPhone and iPad app

    Torys' iPhone and iPad app

    The iPhone and iPad have taken the world by storm. One of the strongest appeals of these devices is the ability to download an app from the iTunes store onto your iPhone or iPad. While there are many apps for lawyers to use, there are (as yet) few apps offered by lawyers for their clients (and potential clients). Here is a survey of the Canadian, UK and USA apps that I have found: (more…)

    Posted in Adding Value, Business Development, Issues facing Law Firms, Law Firm Strategy, Technology, Trends | Permalink | No Comments »
    Come Together – Right Now!
    Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

    ♫ Come together ..right now..over me..♫

    Words and music by Lennon & McCartney

    CCCT Logo

    CCCT CCTJ logo

    The 2 day Canadian Forum on Court Technology is taking place today and tomorrow in Ottawa, Ontario.

    This is a multi-track look at how to apply technology at all points of the judicial dispute resolution system.

    Follow the Twitter tweets by following #CFCT.

    Come together electronically and follow the discussion! (cross-post with www.slaw.ca).

    Posted in Adding Value, Issues facing Law Firms, Law Firm Strategy, Technology, Trends | Permalink | 1 Comment »
    Turbulence in the Cloud…
    Friday, September 3rd, 2010

    ♫ Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
    Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
    All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
    Couldn’t put Humpty together again…♫

    Nursery Rhyme, composer unknown.

    Humpty Dumpty

    Channel Insider on their Blog reported this week on how Intuit/Quicken has shut down their cloud-based users in an article entitled: Cloud Fears: Quicken Online Users Shut Down.

    As of August 29, Inuit cut off the cloud-based users with this message:

    No action is required on your part. Your account and all the data stored in it will be deleted and securely removed from all Intuit databases. If maintaining a record of your data is important to you, you can export it to a CSV file before August 29.

    If maintaining a record of your data is important to you! Imagine if these were legal accounting records!

    Now Quicken has also acquired Mint.com, another cloud-based provider. Intuit wants their users to move to Mint.com. However, there is just a tiny problem. (more…)

    Posted in Issues facing Law Firms, Law Firm Strategy, Technology, Trends | Permalink | 1 Comment »