Law Times

Page 16 January 7, 2013 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James PRISONERS ESCAPE HIGH-RISE JAIL CHICAGO — The FBI was still searching last week for one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last month from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street. According to Reuters, Kenneth Conley, 38, and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Centre early on the morning of Dec. 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening, and lowered themselves to the street. Banks was captured two days later, but Conley remains at large. The two convicts, who had been awaiting sentencing in the federal detention facility, made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports. NO CONTACT ORDERED FOR HELICOPTER PARENTS CINCINNATI — A successful music student has won her stalking case against her parents. According to cincinnati.com, Aubrey Ireland had supportive parents who wanted her to succeed at the College-Conservatory of Music. They were so eager to help her that they paid her tuition to the University of Cincinnati even though she had offers of full scholarships to other schools. However, in a case that demonstrates the pitfalls of overly doting parents, the relationship deteriorated to the point where Ireland won a stalking order against her parents last month. "It's just been really embarrassing and upsetting to have my parents come to my university when I'm a grown adult and just basically slander my name and follow me around," Ireland said during a court hearing. According to reports on cincinnati.com, David and Julie Ireland often drove hundreds of kilometres from Leawood, Kan., to visit their daughter unannounced. They accused her of using illegal drugs, promiscuity, and suffering from mental woes. She insisted none of that was true and asked them to stop, but their accusations escalated, cincinnati.com reported. The parents admitted to installing monitoring software on their daughter's laptop and cellphone. It was "like I was a dog with a collar on," said the daughter, a dean's list student. The parents became such an issue that the school hired security guards to keep them out of their daughter's performances, according to cincinnati.com. When the parents stopped paying her tuition, the school gave her a full scholarship for her final year. Eventually, the daughter decided to seek a civil stalking order to keep her parents away from her. She filed a Sept. 24 stalking order against her parents, cincinnati.com reported. Because the daughter is an adult, she can live her life as she chooses, a judge ruled. Her parents must stay at least 150 metres away from her and have no contact with her until at least Sept. 23, 2013, according to cincinnati.com. BUMPER-CAR LAWSUIT TOSSED SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court has rejected a rider's lawsuit over a bumper-car injury. The ruling involved a lawsuit by rider Smitri Nalwa. She fractured her wrist in 2009 following a head-on collision while riding a bumper car, the Los Angeles Times reported. Her lawyer, Mark D. Rosenberg, argued the company, Great America, had failed to ask patrons to avoid head-on collisions, the Times reported. "This is a victory for anyone who likes fun and risk activities," said Jeffrey M. Lenkov, an attorney for Great America. But Rosenberg said the decision was bad for consumers. "Patrons are less safe today than they were yesterday," Rosenberg said. The court said the injury was the result of a collision with another bumper car, a normal part of the ride. "Those who voluntarily join in these activities also voluntarily take on their minor inherent risks," wrote Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar. LT "And this one's for work and this one's for Hotmail and this one's for online gambling and this one's for porn and this one's for Skyping with our competitors and this one's for mitigating the damage if I get fired." OTTAWA FIRM CELEBRATES 50 YEARS Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP marked its 50th anniversary on the first day of 2013. John Nelligan founded the law firm, the largest locally owned firm in Ottawa, on Jan. 1, 1963. Before justice Denis Power left to become a Superior Court judge in 2000, the firm was known as Nelligan Power. John Nelligan Later, the partners voted to add Allan O'Brien and Janice Payne's names to the firm's brand. On the occasion of the anniversary, partners spoke of the firm as a family unit. "John Nelligan has always perceived this firm as his family. As a demanding partner and mentor, he set a high standard," said O'Brien. "We, as his adopted family members, strove to meet or exceed his expectations. No one wanted to disappoint John Nelligan. Happily, he says he is proud of his family." The firm now boasts more than 60 lawyers at offices in Ottawa, Vankleek Hill, Alexandria and Kingston, Ont. 14 LAWYERS JOIN COX & PALMER Cox & Palmer welcomed 14 new lawyers on Jan. 1 after New Brunswick law firm Barry Spalding was dissolved on Dec. 31. The majority of Barry Spalding's lawyers —  partners John P. Barry, Hélène L. Beaulieu, Bruce M. Logan, Duane M. McAfee, Brenda G. Noble, David G. O'Brien, Howard A. Spalding, Deirdre L. Wade, and Peter T. Zed; associates Jack M. Blackier, Talia C. Profit, Colin A. Fraser, and Patrick Dunn; and counsel Richard E. DeBow — moved to Cox & Palmer's offices in Moncton and Saint John, N.B. But not everyone made the move to Cox & Palmer. Former Barry Spalding partners Michael D. Brenton, William C. Kean, Maria G. Henheffer, and Donald V. Keenan, along with three associates, started a new law firm called BrentonKean. Although the offer to join the firm was extended to everyone, Brenton says some lawyers were concerned about conflict issues. "We went our own way primarily to serve our long-standing clients who would've been conflicted in a significant way had we joined Cox & Palmer," says Brenton, adding the firm wasn't dissolved for financial reasons. George Cooper, Cox & Palmer's New Brunswick managing partner, says service improvement and specialization necessitated the closure. "As the consolidation in the legal market in Canada and Atlantic Canada has continued, this is a really good fit for both the lawyers joining and for Cox & Palmer," he says. There have been waves of consolidations, Cooper says. "This is part of a trend that I think is driven by client needs for greater specialization and enhanced levels of service, which larger platforms are generally able to provide." ROLE OF B.C. PARALEGALS BOLSTERED A new British Columbia pilot project will allow paralegals to make certain appearances in court on behalf of clients. The Law Society of British Columbia, the British Columbia Provincial Court, and the Supreme Court of British Columbia have implemented a two-year project that will see paralegals appear in some family law matters. In the provincial court, paralegals may appear in the Cariboo/ northeast district and Surrey. They may also appear in the Supreme Court in Vancouver, New Westminster, and Kamloops. Paralegals will deal primarily with non-contentious procedural applications. "Together with the courts, we're trying this out for two years to see whether paralegals can provide these services in an effective and competent manner," said Doug Munro, a policy lawyer with the law society. "It is our hope that the project succeeds and can eventually be expanded into other areas of law." LT Recruiting? Post your position on Great rates. Great reach. Great results. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. www.lawtimesnews.com JobsInLaw 1-8 pg 5X.indd 1 2/15/11 4:12:27 PM

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