Law Times

Page 16 January 26, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com OTTAWA DEBATE ON ABS OTTAWA — The County of Car- leton Law Association held a meet- ing at the Ottawa courthouse Wednes- day night to discuss alternative busi- ness structures and answer questions about the differing models. Approximately 45 lawyers and parale- gals attended the event. Those who spoke and asked questions all expressed a great deal of skepticism about the model. One panellist raised the notion that alternative business structures could weaken the bar. "In my view, if we introduce an ABS system that gives lawyers the right to sell a part of their practice to non-licensed lawyers, that will affect the independence of the lawyer," said James Scarfone, of Scarfone Hawkins LLP in Hamilton, Ont., a past president of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association who's also a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada working group on the issue. The OTLA's immediate past president, Charles Gluckstein, gave a presentation outlining the organization's research into the issue. "We're very concerned that there is not enough empirical evidence to suggest that ABS will actually work in our province," said Gluck- stein, a personal injury lawyer. "The examples in other jurisdictions where they've tried it are not proof enough that it's going to succeed here. It's essentially just making everything larger scale, but that doesn't mean they're going to do it better. The issues centred around access to justice have not proven that they have filled those gaps." LSUC Bencher Malcolm Mercer, who's also part of the work- ing group and a proponent of alternative business structures, said the concerns around access to justice relate to the large number of unmet civil legal needs in Canada. "The question for the profession and the law society is can we find ways to change that?" asked Mercer. "It can't be right in the end that nobody else can provide legal services but lawyers and paralegals if lawyers and paralegals don't provide those services." TWO DIET DOCTORS BATTLE IN COURT TORONTO — It's not often that we get a good lo- cal oddity, but in this case what makes the matter interesting is the parties themselves. Bernstein v. Poon set two popular diet doctors, Dr. Stanley Bernstein and Dr. Pat Poon, against each other in a defamation case. Bernstein sought damages for defamation after Poon criticized his competitor's diet as "akin to starvation," accord- ing to Superior Court Justice Graeme Mew's Jan. 19 decision in the case. Bernstein alleged Poon had defamed him and his company in two edi- tions of a book he authored, extracts from it pub- lished on a web site, and an interview he gave to a Chinese-language TV program, Mew noted. Among other things, Poon argued his state- ments were expressions of opinion. In his de- cision, Mew found Poon's words were prima facie defamatory but he also considered sev- eral defences, including fair comment. "With two exceptions, I detected nothing from what he wrote in his books or from his evidence and demeanour in court that would lead me to conclude that the words used by Dr. Poon in his books were not an honest expression of his opinion," wrote Mew, finding certain com- ments by Poon, including those about Bern- stein's vitamin injections, took them outside the protection for fair comment. In the end, Mew awarded Bernstein $10,000 in damages, a result he acknowledged "may seem anticlimactic." HIT MAN'S FRAUD NETS $1,600 FINE OSLO, Norway — If you're going to be a hit man, you better be willing to carry out the act lest you get a fine. Of course, in this case, a man's false prom- ise to do the job means a better result since he won't go to jail. In this instance, a 21-year-old Norwegian has received a fine of 10,000 crowns (almost $1,600) for fraud because he accepted a contract-killing job without intending to carry it out, police told Reuters. The man agreed to take cash to kill a 17-year-old youth, but authorities couldn't prove any intent to complete the task. As a re- sult, they could only charge him with defraud- ing his client, police said, confirming a report in local newspaper Varden. The man accepted the charge and paid the fine, police added. Another 21-year-old, who ordered the kill- ing, received a two-year sentence in prison. The court suspended most of the sentence af- ter he confessed, saying the teenager he wanted killed had rejected his romantic advances. He claims to have paid 60,000 crowns for the job, but the other man said he received only 40,000 crowns, according to Varden. ROBBER CALLS OFF HEIST AFTER RECOGNIZING VICTIM ARVADA, Colo. — It seems this robber didn't want to rob someone he knew. According to Reuters, police in Colorado are looking for a hooded man who was about to rob a convenience store but stopped after recognizing the clerk and then gave the startled employee a cheery thumbs-up. The Jefferson County sheriff 's office said the conscience-stricken suspect walked into a Quick Save in Arvada, a northwestern suburb of Denver, at lunchtime wearing a blue hoodie, jeans, and a blue bandana. "The suspect looked at the clerk and said, '(Ex- pletive), I was going to rob this place but I know you,'" the sheriff 's office said in a statement. The man then asked the store clerk whether he knew him, it said, to which the employee re- plied that he didn't. "The suspect then stated, 'Good,' and walked out of the store while giving a thumbs- up sign to the clerk." Police said the man drove away and shortly afterward a suspect fitting his description re- portedly robbed a 7-Eleven store nearby. LT legal expertise? 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CLLonline_LT_July7_14.indd 1 14-07-02 8:13 AM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story HONORARY DEGREE FOR APPEAL COURT JUDGE The Law Society of Upper Canada awarded Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Karen Weiler an honorary doctor of laws at its call to the bar ceremony last week. The LSUC said it was recog- nizing Weiler for "her initiatives to improve access to justice for litigants in need and for her eq- uity work to combat racism and discrimination." Law society Treasurer Janet Minor awarded the honorary degree to Weiler at a ceremony that saw 183 new lawyers called to the bar on Jan. 23. After her call to bar in On- tario in 1969, Weiler became the first woman to practise law in northwestern Ontario when she moved to Thunder Bay, Ont., for work. Before becoming a judge, Weiler served as policy counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General, where the law society says her work led to reforms in family law with the enactment of the Family Law Reform Act, the Children's Law Reform Act, and the Succession Law Reform Act. PAUL CARENZA JOINS GOWLINGS Former Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP tax lawyer Paul Carenza has joined Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. Carenza, whose practice fo- cuses on domestic and cross- border corporate acquisitions, reorganizations, and financings, joins the Toronto office of the firm as a partner. "Paul is a highly skilled tax professional who delivers creative solutions to meet the business needs of his clients," said Scott Jolliffe, chairman and chief ex- ecutive officer of Gowlings. "His particular expertise in executive compensation matters, including plan design and draft- ing, adds further depth to Gowl- ings' award-winning practice. We are thrilled to welcome him to the firm." LT "The beekeepers' class action is in Courtroom 4, but I'm not sure we can accommodate 38,753,195,055 spectators." Charles Gluckstein

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