Law Times

March 3, 2014

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Page 4 March 3, 2014 • Law TiMes www.lawtimesnews.com NEWS case before a judge as they po- litely respected the views of their "learned adversaries" while making temperate, well-considered oppos- ing arguments. Some lawyers spoke of the law and how it applies to the case of Trinity Western while others evoked history or even personal anecdotes. Some spoke eloquently of the true meaning of religion. Several spoke as if they held their truth from God, having ob- tained it from Christian Bible readings. Both sides were careful not to insult the other. One of the speakers against dis- crimination on the basis of sexual orientation was Nova Scotia lawyer Amy Sakalauskas. She said the resolution that bans discrimination on the basis of gen- der and sexual orientation wasn't an attack on Christians nor on Trinity Western University or its right to have a law school. Supporters of the resolution, she said, have nothing against freedom of religion. ey support it entirely. She went a bit further, however, adding that they don't even oppose the right of those who run Trin- ity Western University "to promote and hold their heinous beliefs that homosexuality is a shameful act and against nature." She explained: "It is one thing to hold those beliefs and quite another to exercise a discriminatory act based on those beliefs." But, she added, it's yet another thing "for a professional regulator to sanction it." Before Christmas, the B.C. Min- istry of Advanced Education ap- proved the private, Christian-based law school at Trinity Western. Two days earlier, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada had given its preliminary approval. Sakalauskas said the proposed resolution wasn't an attack on Christianity but was against those who would use religion to deny gays and lesbians entry to and gradua- tion from the law school. Polite, well-mannered delegates said they had to act against gays and lesbians, as one delegate put it, "because we are not Christians who leave our religion at home." But Sakalauskas continued: "e freedom of evangelical preachers is not at risk. ey will still have the freedom to preach what they be- lieve in any way." Rather, it's the right of gay and lesbian students to a good law school education that's at stake, she suggested. "is is not an attack on Chris- tians, although it is a nice sound bite to say that it is and see it writ- ten up in e Globe and Mail. But that's completely wrong and quite disingenuous." e meeting heard that the cur- rent situation is bad enough for gays and lesbians that university law schools shouldn't be adding to it. A recent survey established, said Sakalauskas, that the No. 1 reason for bullying children in Canadian schools "is because of their sexual orientation, for being gay or lesbi- ans or just thought to be." Another delegate asked why a law school would want to make things worse for gays and lesbians than they already are. But others offered a different perspective. One delegate said the resolution says to Christians: "You're not worthy of practising law in this country. Your religion is not worthy of respect." Daphne Dumont of Prince Edward Island spoke with emo- tion about the need to uphold the values of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms instead of teaching against them. She evoked the plight of a female law student at a future Trinity West- ern law school "who finds a female partner in her 3rd-year law and will be asked to leave." "is is a B.C. issue," said a del- egate who argued the CBA has no business getting involved. To that, one pro-resolution del- egate countered: "is is a national issue. Quite frankly, every law school should be open to every- body." In the meantime, the issue also arose at Convocation at the Law So- ciety of Upper Canada on ursday. LSUC Treasurer Tom Conway said Convocation would debate whether to accredit Trinity Western University on April 10 with a vote on April 24. LT Resolution 'not an attack on Christians' Continued from page 1 Nothing suspicious about offering salary continuance have learned they'll receive their entitlements through salary continuance as opposed to a lump-sum payment. One staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says not receiving a lump sum puts her and her colleagues in a risky situation in case Heenan Blaikie files for bankruptcy. "What they're doing is really shady," she says. According to Danny Kastner, an employ- ment lawyer at Turnpenney Milne LLP, a part- nership as a whole can file for bankruptcy but he notes it's not unusual to pay out entitlements through salary continuance. "ere is nothing inherently suspicious about severance paid as salary continuance rather than as a lump sum," he says. "It's quite common and perfectly legal. Could it mean a lower severance recovery for former staff in the event of insolvency or re-employment clawback? Possibly. Howev- er, dissolving companies very oen take the route of paying severance as salary continu- ance because of limited cash flow." Some employees offered six to eight weeks of salary continuance feel they deserve more, a source tells Law Times. Aer Law Times published an article about support workers being "pissed off " at how the firm is managing its dissolution, more staff went online to air their frustrations. "I was assured at the town hall meeting that this downslide was only temporary and there were no planned lay offs, etc.," one commenter wrote on Law Times' web site. "I took out an RRSP loan which I am now responsible for and they only [g]ave me six weeks severance. Had they let me go any other time last year, I would have been entitled to four months' pay. "ey dropped us on our heads and then threw us under the bus." Another commenter wrote: "We were strung along and then treated worse than gar- bage." Staff also complained about having to pack files in boxes aer former Heenan Blaikie law- yers "ran out the door." Meanwhile, the Law Society of Upper Cana- da noted Heenan Blaikie's representatives have promised to manage client files with due dili- gence in response to questions about whether the regulator has an active oversight role in the wind down and transfer of client files. "Representatives of Heenan Blaikie have discussed the firm's plans with the law soci- ety. ey have indicated that its lawyers take their responsibilities to the courts, to clients, to the law society, and to other stakeholders seri- ously," said Roy omas, a spokesman for the law society. "ey are in the process of making the nec- essary transitional arrangements and they are fully aware of the need to do so in a professional, orderly, and businesslike fashion." LT Continued from page 1 'There is nothing inherently suspicious about severance paid as salary continuance rather than as a lump sum,' says Danny Kastner. Amy Sakalauskas spoke strongly in favour of the resolution on non-discrimination at law schools. Photo: Richard Cleroux CORRECTION The "Largest law firms in Canada" feature that ran on Feb. 24 contained two errors. First, the feature reported that the last firm on the list of the 20 largest law firms with offices in Ontario was Fogler Rubinoff LLP with 112 lawyers. In fact, Lerners LLP has 121 lawyers while Blaney McMurtry LLP, with a recent addition, has 119 lawyers. Second, the feature incorrectly noted there were 14 lawyers at Goodmans LLP in Ottawa. In fact, the 14 lawyers are in Vancouver. Law Times regrets the errors.

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