Law Times

PAGE 16 The Inside Story ANNE KENNEDY TO HEAD PALLETT VALO Mississauga, Ont., law firm Pal- lett Valo LLP has appointed Anne Kennedy as its managing partner. Kennedy takes the role for a second time following an earlier stint between 1997 and 2000. She succeeds Anna Esposito, who held the position for the last five years. Esposito will now head up Pallett Valo's construction law group. "I am looking forward to help- ing Pallett Valo become the pre- eminent business law firm in Peel Region," said Kennedy. "We have been gaining momentum toward achieving this goal since 2005." HEENAN BLAIKIE GETS 6 NORTON ROSE PARTNERS Heenan Blaikie LLP has add- ed 16 lawyers to its Paris office a year after establishing a pres- ence in the French capital. Jean-François Mercadier, T. Alexander Brabant, Pascale Gallien, Anne-Sylvie Vassenaix- Paxton, Ali Boroumand, and Karen Leclerc all joined as part- ners en masse from the Paris of- fice of U.K.-based international firm Norton Rose Group along with 10 new associates. Heenan Blaikie's Paris office will focus on areas such as com- mercial law, mergers and acqui- sitions, private equity, financing and restructurings, litigation, and international arbitration. Firm chairman Roy Heenan said Heenan Blaikie's increased focus on Europe and Africa demanded a stronger presence in Paris. "This expansion repre- sents an important step of our international growth strategy. It will enable our clients to benefit from the services of 16 experienced lawyers who will assist them in their operations and development in Europe and Africa. In addition, French clients will now be in direct contact with one of the largest law firms in Canada." Mercadier, meanwhile, be- comes managing partner of the Paris office. "Heenan Blai- kie has a lot going for it," he said. "The firm's entrepreneur- ial spirit gives it the ability to relentlessly explore new mar- kets. The French and English cultures, as well as civil law and common law traditions exist in harmony at Heenan Blaikie; our integration to the firm will help reinforce these qualities." EDWARD KERWIN APPOINTED TO OSC The Ontario Securities Com- mission has appointed Edward Kerwin to a two-year term as commissioner. Kerwin spent 30 years as a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP until he retired in 2009. "Edward Kerwin's tremendous legal expertise, knowledge of the capital markets, and experience as a director will serve the commis- sion well in carrying out its regu- latory, adjudicative, and opera- tional responsibilities," said OSC chairman Howard Wetston. CASSELS BROCK BOOSTS TAX GROUP Paul Carenza has joined Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP's tax and trusts group as a partner. Carenza provides income and commodity tax advice in domestic and cross-border cor- porate acquisitions, reorganiza- tions and financings, and the taxation aspects of e-commerce transactions. Brandon Hodge has also joined the group as an associate. The firm says it has doubled the group's size since 2007 by adding three new partners and eight new associates during that period. "There's an increasing need for sophisticated and timely tax expertise, especially with respect to cross-border transactions, transfer pricing, tax dispute reso- lution, and commodity tax," said group chairman Ken Snider. TORONTO LAWYER DISBARRED Toronto lawyer Michael Har- old Kimberley has been dis- barred by the Law Society of Upper Canada. A panel found the 1999 call guilty of misconduct for misap- plying or misappropriating more than $400,000 in trust funds. It also found he had failed to co- operate with several law society investigations and disobeyed two panel orders, including a previous costs award. In addi- tion, Kimberley failed to inform clients he was suspended as a re- sult of previous disciplinary pro- ceedings and continued to act for them while suspended. The panel ordered Kimber- ley to pay $17,500 in costs, plus another payment of $390,000 to the compensation fund. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. Recruiting? Post your position on GREAT RATES. GREAT REACH. GREAT RESULTS. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. www.lawtimesnews.com "Make our day! Appeal THIS wind farm!" JUDGE STRIKES DOWN %#!$ BAN RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina judge has struck down a ban on using profane language in public. The ban, which is nearly 100 years old, decreed that using indecent or profane lan- guage within hearing range of two or more people on North Carolina's public roads was prohibited and would garner a misdemeanor charge for of- fenders. According to The Associ- ated Press, the latest move comes after a woman, while standing just off the curb on a North Carolina road, told a cop to clean his "damn dirty car." She was charged with the use of profanity on a public road. The woman then brought her case before the Superior Court, where Judge Allen Bad- dour dismissed her charge and ruled the law was too broad. Baddour found the lack of a consensus on which words in modern language are indecent or profane was cause for strik- ing down the law. COPS RESCUE MAN, THEN LAY B&E CHARGE BELLEFONTE, Del. — When police in Delaware were called to a New Castle County home, they found a strange situation. January 17, 2011 • Law Times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James A 44-year-old man, drunk as a rat from a three-day binge, was trapped inside. It wasn't his house, however. Earlier, in April, John Finch had allegedly broken into the house. The annoyed own- ers then changed the locks so that a key is required to enter and exit the house. This time around, Finch was forced to break in through a window. According to The Associ- ated Press, Finch allegedly spent the next three days help- ing himself to three bottles of gin and two bottles of whis- key while the family wasn't home. Since he didn't have a key to exit the house through the door, Finch tried to leave through the same window that he had entered through. He was too drunk to get out, however. While trapped inside, Finch called 911. After police freed him, they arrested him and took him to hospital. He now faces charges for both break-ins. FARMERS HOG-TIE BARE-BUTT THIEF CALGARY, Alta. — After having fallen victim to theft a few times before, a father and son farming duo decided to take justice into their own hands. According to QMI Agency, Tim Lynch and his son Kris found a suspicious truck on their property that was alleg- edly the same one stolen from them in the past. They appre- hended the man inside, ejected him from the vehicle, and hog- tied him before police arrived. The thief's pants fell dur- ing the squabble, leaving him partly bare in the cold. Police arrived less than an hour later and have charged him with several offences. As Kris said, "You have to be pretty dumb to steal from a farmer in the middle of the day." LAWYER THWARTS TSA BODY SCANNERS ERLANGER, Ky. — Do you love to travel but hate those creepy Transportation Security Administration pat-downs and X-ray scanners? Are you worried your goodies will be splashed over the Internet before you even board your flight? Well, fear not. American lawyer Marcus Carey has got your back and anything else you want covered. Late last year, Carey presented his scan- ner shirts to the world. Em- blazoned with special ink over your special parts, these T- shirts, panties, and boxers will create a blur over your privates when you enter the scanning machines at airports. All cotton and American- made, these products found at scannershirts.com are intended to be worn as comfortable and discreet undergarments for the weary traveller. LT Seen, heard, or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at viola.james@gmail. com.

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