Law Times

June 10, 2013

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Page 16 June 10, 2013 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James MISTRESSES TOUTED FOR ANTI-CORRUPTION PUSH BEIJING — With corruption a big issue right now, some Chinese citizens are touting a curious way of trying to root it out: relying on whistle-blowing mistresses. But China must not rely on whistle-blowing mistresses to expose corrupt officials, China's top newspaper has responded after a string of such incidents led to some people hailing the girlfriends as graft-busters. According to Reuters, President Xi Jinping has singled out corruption as a threat to the Communist Party's survival, and the keeping of mistresses in lavish apartments, which breaks party rules, has come to represent to many people the excesses of power in China. In a recent high-profile case, Liu Tienan, once the deputy chief of China's top planning agency, found himself in hot water after his mistress told a journalist that Liu had helped defraud banks of $200 million, state media reported. But the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, questioned the woman's motives and said China couldn't rely on such people to fight corruption. "Even though at times, for many reasons, mistresses are led by fallings out with corrupt officials to denounce them, at the root of the issue, both their motives are the same — to satisfy each other's greed," the newspaper said in an editorial. "Some directly solicit bribes or seek huge illegal profits. To pin anti-corruption hopes on them is to go in for evil attacking evil," it said. "It is not the right path for the will of the people." Some users of Weibo, China's version of Twitter, who joked that mistresses were the real heroes in the fight against graft, were skeptical of the People's Daily editorial. "In this very special country, mistresses make a bigger contribution to anti-corruption than so-called public security authorities," said one user. TIME TO TRADEMARK MARIJUANA BRAND? SEATTLE — It's only a matter of time before the first trademarked marijuana brand emerges, and one U.S. businessman wants to get a leg up with plans to create his own national pot label. According to Reuters, a former Microsoft Corp. executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico. He said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states. Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattlebased enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee. Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft ended in 2009, said he was soliciting investors for $10 million in startup money. The use, sale, and possession of marijuana remain illegal in the United States under federal law. Two U.S. states have, however, legalized recreational marijuana use and are among 18 states that allow it for medical use. "It's a giant market in search of a brand," Shively said of the marijuana industry. Joining him was former Mexican president Vicente Fox, who has been an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana. "What a difference it makes to have Jamen here sitting at my side instead of Chapo Guzman," said Fox, referring to the fact he would rather see Shively selling marijuana legally than the Mexican drug kingpin selling it illegally. Shively acknowledges that his business plans conflict with U.S. federal law. He said he wants to buy dispensaries that comply with local and state rules and are less likely to attract the scrutiny of authorities. "If they want to come talk to me, I'll be delighted to meet with them," he said of federal officials. "I'll tell them everything that we're doing and show them all our books." LT "Our Twitter trending index has tripled since they sent up a commercial arbitration lawyer!" FASKENS OFF TO THE RACES Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is off to the races. The firm announced last week that its Ottawa office had entered into an agreement to sponsor the Mark Motors racing team in this year's Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Series. The agreement includes having Faskens' name on the team's cars. The team competed in the first races of the series on May 18 and 19 at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ont., and will be competing in races over the summer in Montreal, Bowmanville, and Trois-Rivières, Que. It will then wrap up the series in races on Sept. 6-8 at Calabogie Motorsports Park in Calabogie, Ont. As part of the sponsorship, the firm will provide the team with a variety of legal services. "Fasken Martineau is thrilled to partner with Mark Motors racing team," said Stephen Whitehead, management lead partner at Faskens' Ottawa office. LAWYER APPEALS MISCONDUCT FINDING A disbarred Ottawa lawyer found to have misappropriated more than $1 million from his deceased father's estate is appealing the Law Society of Upper Canada hearing panel decision that found him guilty of professional misconduct. The hearing panel also found Leslie Vandor to have misapplied more than $40,000 from the trust accounts of clients of Lang Michener LLP, a firm the lawyer once worked with as an independent contractor. When the firm's managing partner at the time noticed the discrepancies, he went to the law society with a complaint about Vandor. Vandor is appealing the decision on several grounds. Among other things, he argues the panel erred in fact and law by, for example, failing to consider the fact that the Lang Michener transfers complied with client signed directions and LSUC bylaw No. 9. Vandor is also seeking to substitute the penalty with an order declaring the suspension as of May 1, 2009, the appropriate remedy. FEDS SEEK AUTHORITY TO DEMAND SAMPLES The federal government is proposing an amendment to the Criminal Code to authorize demands for bodily samples from people prohibited from alcohol or drugs as a condition of probation orders or conditional sentences. The proposed regulation would make it lawful to demand breath, urine, blood, hair, and saliva samples for the purpose of detecting alcohol or substances. In 2006, the Supreme Court outlawed the forceful collection of bodily samples given the lack of authority under the Criminal Code. The act as it currently stands "limits the specific types of bodily samples that can be collected to those stipulated by regulation," according to a statement on the impact of the proposed changes released by the federal government. "As a result, the provisions of the act would be inoperative without complementary regulations, as police and probation officers would not be authorized to demand bodily samples from offenders, thus limiting the enforceability of conditions to abstain from the consumption of alcohol or drugs and depriving Crown prosecutors of reliable and compelling evidence at trial where a breach is charged." POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. The numbers reveal mixed views on whether legal clinic mergers are the way to go after a Legal Aid Ontario report suggested clinics will be larger and fewer in number in the future. According to the poll, 50 per cent of participants agreed that mergers would likely mean more efficiency. The other half opposed the proposal. LT 2013-2014 ATLANTIC LEGAL TELEPHONE DIRECTORY CONNECT TO ATLANTIC CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK Order your copy today! | www.carswell.com | 1.800.387.5164 Untitled-1 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 13-05-28 11:29 AM

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