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PAGE 16 Enabling Lawyers through Technology Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 Real Estate • Corporate • Estates www doprocess com The Inside Story BOMBARDIER EXEC TAKES CCCA AWARD Daniel Desjardins has won the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association's top award. Desjardins picked up the 2010 Robert V.A. Jones Award for his work at Bombardier Inc., where he heads up a team of 135 lawyers spread across 17 countries around the world. He was presented with the honour last week in front of del- egates at the CCCA's national spring conference in Montreal. Judges praised his international renown and constant promotion of the profession. Since joining the Montreal- based transportation giant 12 years ago, Desjardins has taken over responsibility for envi- ronmental matters, health and safety, and insurance and risk management in addition to his extensive legal duties. TORONTO FIRM AMONG 75 BEST WORKPLACES Gardiner Roberts LLP has been named one of the best workplac- es in Canada for the second year in a row. The Toronto firm was the only law firm to make the list of the 75 best workplaces compiled by the Great Place to Work Institute. "This acknowledgment con- firms our ongoing commitment to our employees and recognizes their dedication and efforts, which have been vital over the course of the last year," said Da- vid Fine, managing partner at Gardiner Roberts. Contributing to the firm's success are the Tiffany gifts the firm presents to workers on key anniversary dates, an annual company party, generous pro- fessional development funding, and a relaxed and professional culture. OBA HONOURS INSURANCE LAWYERS The Ontario Bar Association has announced that Thomas McGrenere and Kristopher Knutsen will receive its 2010 Award for Excellence in Insur- ance Law. For the first time, the awards, now in their fifth year, will be presented at separate dinners in the hometowns of each lawyer. McGrenere, a mediator and arbitrator with ADR Chambers, will get his award on April 27 in Toronto. He spent more than 30 years acting as counsel for major investment brokerage firms. Knutsen will be honoured on May 19 in Thunder Bay, Ont. He has extensive experience in the personal injury field and represented victims of the 1989 Dryden, Ont., air crash, a case that resulted in major aviation- safety changes in Canada. "Thomas McGrenere and Kristopher Knutsen practise at different ends of the province but both have reached the top of our profession. We are look- ing forward to paying tribute to their careers at our upcoming award dinners in Toronto and Thunder Bay," said John Aikins, chairman of the OBA's insurance law section. OTTAWA LAWYER RECEIVES LENNOX AWARD The Ontario Justice Education Network has awarded its inau- gural Lennox Award for Innova- tion in Justice Education to Su- sheel Gupta, an Ottawa lawyer. Brian Lennox, the former chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice for whom the award is named, was on hand to present the honour last week as part of the OJEN's Law Day celebrations at the Ottawa courthouse. Gupta was singled out for his enthusiastic commitment to promoting justice education to young children. He played an active role in organizing Law Day events and helped with the OJEN's summer law institutes. "He has dedicated a lot of his personal time to educating the public on various areas of our justice system and takes pride in encouraging people to get in- volved and be proud of the Ca- nadian legal system," said Kevin Phillips, who nominated Gupta for the award. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. HE'S AN 'ASSHOLE' BUT NOT GUILTY CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Chief Provincial Court Judge John Douglas couldn't find junior hockey player Chris Doyle guilty of assault. Instead, he gave him a tongue lashing. "If he was charged with be- ing a colossal asshole, I would find him guilty," the CBC quotes Douglas as saying. "Of assault causing bodily harm, I find him not guilty." Doyle had apparently shown up trashed at his girlfriend's apartment last fall and then took out some aggression on a door. He'd shoved and swore his way into the apartment unin- vited, apparently expecting to find another man in there. Testifying in his own de- fence, he admitted to punching a door, which then hit his girl- friend's roommate in the face and broke her nose. But he said he didn't know she was there, and it was an accident. Doyle had already pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief in connection with breaking a lap- top at the apartment. He will be sentenced for that offence on June 7. NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED ROCKVILLE, Md. — In 1998, now-retired judge Edwin Collier spared Rene Fernandez, who was charged with drunk April 19, 2010 • lAw Times The ingenious scheme fell Bizarre Briefs By Viola James driving, from serving jail time. In August 2009, Fernan- dez once again was driving drunk and crashed into a car driven by Collier and carry- ing his wife Ellen. Both were injured in the crash. "He hasn't had a drink since this happened," John Severt, Fernandez' lawyer, told The Washington Post. Fernandez pleaded guilty to causing a life-threatening injury while intoxicated in relation to Ellen's injuries. He was visibly upset and shaken at his hearing. Severt said Fernandez had completed 26 weeks of alco- hol treatment and regularly attends Alcoholics Anony- mous meetings. He will be sentenced on June 8. PUT A STAMP ON IT WARSAW, Poland — A good plan just takes some organiza- tion, a little patience, and some quality time in a cardboard box. First-class Polish thief Stan- islaw Muchy pulled off a series of heists by bundling himself into large parcels and mailing himself to businesses. Once the business closed up shop in the evening, he'd climb out and burgle them. Muchy, 39, would then make his getaway by sealing both himself and his booty in another box addressed to his Warsaw home. apart, as these things do, after a fallout with the accomplice whose role was to deliver the box-o-burglar to the courier firms. The accomplice contacted police and gave them the skin- ny on the whole scam. After being tipped off, police said: "We arranged a special de- livery of our own." Take that to mean what you will. HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP THESE DAYS HARARE, Zimbabwe — Even though unemployment in the country has been pegged at 95 per cent, the hangman's job at the Chikurubi prison outside Zimbabwe's capital has re- mained unfilled for more than five years. The job is reserved only for men. It demands strength and unwavering focus. It's surely not for the faint-hearted. Candidates need not have previous experience. If a hang- man is found, jail officials would teach him how to tie the noose and train him to maintain the correct posture while executing, a vital skill. It's not the mechanics of the job that seem to be the prob- lem, though. "A hangman should never have second thoughts. If he does, he should be retired," a former principal prison officer told The Daily News. The last hangman hung up his ropes in 2005. Since then, there has been no taker for the job. Human rights groups have been circulating petitions call- ing for the abolition of the death penalty. LT "Listen to this, Sweetie! 'A man or woman whose identity cannot be revealed might have been charged with an undisclosed offence against a possible person who may or may not have an identity which is being withheld.' Isn't that weird, Sweetie? Sweetie?" [LegalSTEPS® – the new conveyancing application designed by you. 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