Law Times

Sept 9, 2013

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Page 16 September 9, 2013 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James CHINA CRACKS DOWN ON MOONCAKES BEIJING — While Canada targets government waste on things such as premium orange juice for cabinet ministers, China is cracking down on buying mooncakes on the public tab. China is banning officials from using public funds to buy mooncakes, pastries offered as gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival, as part of President Xi Jinping's fight against corruption, the government announced. Officials can't use public money to send mooncakes as gifts or to arrange banquets not related to official duties during the festival that falls on Sept.19 this year, the ruling Communist party's central commission for discipline inspection said on its web site. "The Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day are approaching, we must resolutely put an end to using public funds," the commission quoted Xi as saying, in reference to gifts, eating and drinking, tours, and extravagant waste. Mooncakes are filled with ingredients such as lotus seed paste and salted duck egg yolk and symbolize the moon. The festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is marked by family reunions. The separate National Day holiday lasts a week from Oct. 1-7. Authorities will deal severely with anyone flouting the bans, the party discipline watchdog said. According to Reuters, Xi has made cutting back on extravagance and waste a main theme of his administration as he seeks to assuage anger over corruption and restore faith in the party. Last month, the government said it would ban officials from holding extravagant galas linked to official meetings that have hurt the government's image. According to Reuters, Xi has told officials to end elaborate and long-winded welcoming ceremonies for him and other top leaders and banished alcohol from military functions as he tries to project a man-of-the-people image. LITIGANT SUES OVER LADY JUSTICE STATUE NEW YORK — An angry unsuccessful litigant has launched a new lawsuit seeking to remove the Lady Justice statue from courthouses because it creates the illusion that justice is available there. "If federal judges have the right to take off their blindfold of impartiality and to pile on the trays of the scale of justice their own imaginings, removing from them facts and law adduced by the parties, then why are there images of impartial judging in our courthouses? Just to fool us?" asked New York litigant Lev Tsitrin in a statement announcing his latest legal action. Tsitrin's lawsuit states: "Being tools of deception, those statues and murals should be removed, and replaced with statements on the portals and walls of the courthouses describing the actual, substitutionary judicial process like: 'Judges have the right to substitute parties' argument with judges' own imaginings'; and 'Judges have the right to substitute parties' argument with its exact opposite.'" Tsitrin is angry after failing in his multiple legal battles against the Library of Congress. An author and small-press publisher, he challenged the Library of Congress' long-standing requirement that a publisher must publish the works of at least three different authors before it will catalogue its books. According to his statement, he was very unhappy with initial rulings that said he didn't have the right to participate in the program and left the three-book minimum in place. He then filed appeals and ultimately tried — again unsuccessfully — to sue the judges personally. Among the concerns cited in his statement, he's angry one judge substituted his legal arguments with its exact opposite in the decision. He calls the carving, statues, and images of Lady Justice misleading and deceptive. LT "Of course, when I was your age, we didn't have any of this texting and twittering. No sirree, Bob! We had watcha called e-mail. And we had to jump over wolves to get to it." NEW LITIGATION BOUTIQUE LAUNCHES Toronto has a new litigation boutique law firm after a group of lawyers left Black Sutherland LLP to found their own firm. Patrick Monaghan, Christopher Reain, Clarence Lui, and Heather Taylor are the partners of the new Monaghan Reain Lui Taylor LLP located at 18 King St. E. "I am delighted that we have been able to assemble a talented group of Clarence Lui advocates all of whom share the same mind set," said Monaghan. The firm is a result of the partners seeking "an environment suitable for the dedicated pursuit of clients' interests within a culture of like-minded professionals." The law firm will uphold a client-first principle, Monaghan added. "The professional requirements of the practice of law will be best met by putting the clients' interests first, the firm's interests second, and one's own interests third," he said. "This may not sound like a revelation but you would be surprised to see how often the priorities are reversed." Reain said the firm's strategy will include collaboration among partners on clients' matters. "The litigation marketplace has changed. Practice silos just aren't efficient or in the clients' best interests. While each matter will enjoy the leadership of one of the partners, all partners are available to any client at any time," he said. Black Sutherland lawyer Christine Matthews is also joining the new firm as an associate. NEW PARTNERS AT LENCZNER SLAGHT Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP has welcomed two new partners. Intellectual property lawyer Andrew Skodyn was formerly at Heenan Blaikie LLP and research partner Scott Rollwagen moved from Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP where he had worked for more than six years. "We are pleased to welcome these two exceptional lawyers to our firm," said Peter Griffin, managing partner of Lenczner Slaght. "Both Andrew and Scott play key parts in high-profile, often precedent-setting cases. Our clients will benefit enormously from their breadth and depth of experience, and their insightful, pragmatic advice." Skodyn's addition is a huge boost to Lenczner Slaght's intellectual property practice, said Marguerite Ethier, who deals with life sciences and biotechnology matters at the law firm. "Andrew has deep experience in patent actions in the pharmaceutical industry and in other sectors as well. With his strategic advice and proven courtroom skills, he offers clients the kind of specialized, highly effective advocacy that is our firm's trademark," she said. OBA TO HONOUR JOHN EVANS The Ontario Bar Association will honour lawyer John Evans for excellence in civil litigation. Lawyers say Evans, who has served as president of The Advocates' Society, the Hamilton Law Association, and the Medical-Legal Society, is a deserving recipient of the award. "No one is more deserving of this award than John Evans, who is one of the most respected and renowned civil litigation lawyers in Ontario's history," said Colin Stevenson, a partner at Stevensons LLP. Fellow lawyer Guillermo Schible said Evans is "a lawyer's lawyer and represents the very best of the civil litigation bar." The OBA says the award honours lawyers who have shown outstanding advocacy skills, professionalism, and integrity and have contributed to the enhancement of the practice. Evans will receive the award at a gala dinner on Sept. 17. LT A DAILY BLOG OF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS [ WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/LEGALFEEDS ] LegalFeeds-BB-LT-Apr23-12.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com POWERED BY CANADIAN LAWYER & LAW TIMES 12-04-16 11:56 AM

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