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Law Times • JuLy 12, 2010 G20 debacle demands public airing T he G20 summit may have been Prime Minister Ste- phen Harper's party, but the resulting stink is floating back to Queen's Park. With Premier Dalton McGuinty refusing to call a public inquiry into the heavy-handed police tactics on the streets, a position echoed by Chief Bill Blair, it was left to the Toronto Police Services Board to call an independent review that nevertheless stops well short of what various civil rights groups are calling for. The Canadian Civil Liberties Asso- ciation released an interim report June 29 noting that the 1,000 or more arrests amounted to "the largest mass arrest in Canadian history." "It is the opinion of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association that po- lice conduct during the G20 sum- mit was, at times, disproportionate, arbitrary, and excessive," the report concluded. "In our view, despite in- stances of commendable and profes- sional conduct, the policing and se- curity efforts, especially after 5 p.m. on June 26 and June 27, failed to demonstrate commitment to Cana- da's constitutional values." The affair was indeed messy, par- ticularly the 11th -hour revelation that the Liberals had secretly approved a regulation under the Public Works Protection Act on June 2 giving po- lice extraordinary powers of search and arrest involving anyone inside the security fence, a rule some appar- ently interpreted to be in effect any- where in Toronto. Sneakily, the amendment was pub- lished on the e-Laws web site on June 16 and not printed in the Ontario Ga- zette until July 3, when it had already expired. McGuinty now downplays that amendment, which he says gave po- lice no special powers and was "mis- interpreted." This begs the question: why were only 263 of those arrests for serious matters while the rest re- sulted either in no charges or the ubiquitous charge of "breach of the peace," a catch-all, one-size-fits-all ar- row in the police quiver often applied to any situation in which authorities want to intimidate or simply silence anyone who's a thorn in their side at an event. The CCLA, which is also calling for an update to the Criminal Code to better define breach of the peace, also noted: "Media, human rights monitors, protesters, and passersby were scooped up off the streets. De- tained people were not allowed to speak to a lawyer or to their families. Arbitrary searches occurred in count- less locations across the city, in many instances several kilometres from the G20 summit site. Peaceful protests were violently dispersed, and force was used. In an effort to locate and disable 100-150 vandals, the police disregarded the constitutional rights of thousands." Under pressure to review some of the more egregious events, the Toronto police board approved an independent civilian review but stopped short of an inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act. While the issue might appear to be Inside By Ian Harvey beyond the provincial government's sphere, the taint is creeping. For one, the province was complicit in passing the secret regulation. Secondly, it gird- ed for war by setting up special court- rooms and holding cells for the throng it expected. Following the arrests, there are lin- gering questions about the treatment of detainees and judicial procedures that banned spectators from the court- room and instead limited them to viewing proceedings on TV. While the technology is common in the Ontario Court of Justice, it surfaces only in the riskiest cases, such as a gang sweeps. Is it really necessary to apply it for a breach of the peace? As for the Toronto police board's actions last week, after a two-week submission period to determine the scope of the review, the turnaround period is 12 weeks for a report, which may not be enough to do it properly. That's because the board may limit the review to Toronto police officers' actions despite signs it wasn't Blair but rather the Mounties who were run- ning the show. The questions abound. Whose or- ders were in play? Who ran the show? Did police at street level act autono- mously or were they orchestrated? Given the 67 closed-circuit TV cam- eras saturating the core and the elabo- rate command post police had set up, it's conceivable authorities were operating from a war room. So again, who was in charge? Who gave orders on Saturday not to prevent damage to public property but to "protect the fence" even though many of the dis- ruptions were far from it? Why did things change on Sunday when peace- ful protesters were met with much more force? While it was shocking to see police cruisers burning and civil disorder in Toronto, bear in mind this was com- pletely predictable and perhaps over- blown. Indeed, clashes in European cities following soccer games or in Mon- treal after a Habs Stanley Cup win or loss are often more dramatic and dangerous. McGuinty's stand is that a public inquiry would be a waste of millions of dollars and is unnecessary. He says that while there was some "confusion," there's no need for an apology to any- one illegally searched, detained or as- saulted by police. That's not good enough. There are many questions about the law, civil rights, and police powers and actions. The stink will only grow until we get some answers. LT Ian Harvey has been a journalist for 32 years writing about a diverse range of is- sues including legal and political affairs. His e-mail address is ianharvey@rogers. com. Queen's Park COMMENT PAGE 7 What traits separate the best young lawyers from the herd? BY JEROME SHORE For Law Times marketing yourself and how to get off to a good start in the first year of law firm employment. Law firms are very concerned with in- tegrating newly minted lawyers into the organization. But do those new lawyers know what they need to do to succeed in the organiza- tion? In most cases, the answer is no. I asked 11 senior E lawyers to tell me what they're look- ing for in order to feel comfortable enough to involve new lawyers in their best files. In other words, what traits separate the best ju- nior practitioners from the herd? • Park your ego at the door. Don't go crazy trying to be a winner or a hero or show your genius. David Levy, a partner at Howie Sacks & Henry LLP, suggests young lawyers "get to be known for completing your work on time, with a little more than is asked for, every time." • Get into a practice area you're pas- sionate about. It's so much easier to be enthusiastic when you're not swimming uphill. "Enthusiasm in a young lawyer is contagious and will be noted by others and rewarded with the best files," says Harvey Hab- er, a senior partner at Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP. • Learn how to talk to clients in meet- ings and social situations. Marshall Green, a founding partner at Graham Partners LLP in Barrie, Ont., admires young lawyers who can "bring the knowledge and keenness they have at the office to the client arena." Have a look at this wonderful book, The Knack of Selling Yourself, by James T. Mangan. Originally published in 1938, it's still relevant today. • Learn how to connect by phone. Bill McCullough, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, sees an opportunity for young lawyers to use the appro- priate technology for different situ- ations. "It's fine to focus on e-mail and [instant messaging] with your own cohort, but clients and partners from other generations may want to establish a more personal relation- ship, which needs the phone." (I sup- pose if I had written this article 20 years ago, the lesson would have been about learning how to connect with a handwritten note.) • Know what your boss knows and why. "When I was young, I read my mentor's files like a book and tried to get into his head," says Michael Henry, a founding partner at Howie Sacks & Henry. "When I knew why he did what he did, I was way ahead of the game." • Find your target market. "Identify the lawyers in your practice group that you need to become your cli- ents and then rise to the occasion when you have a chance to do work for any one of them," says Georges Dubé, a partner at Fasken Martineau www.lawtimesnews.com xperienced lawyers have told me repeatedly that law schools miss two very important subjects: DuMoulin LLP. Rising to the occa- sion requires making the sacrifice to do your very best at this particular time. It's also about seeing a situation as a unique opportunity and figuring out how to go the extra mile. Speaker's • Learn what you're talking about. Ac- cording to Renée Vinett, a partner at Howie Sacks & Henry, "Associates need to spend less time talking to impress and more time listening to learn." She also believes learning the law is the easy part and notes it's "de- veloping advocacy skills that takes Corner time and experi- ence. The greatest teachers are those who have gone before you. Don't discount the value of senior counsel's expertise. Observe them in action and listen carefully. They will teach you the art of lawyering." • Choose an area of the law and write articles about it. Doing so builds your public profile. At the same time, it "gives you a great reason to collabo- rate with a senior lawyer in a way that will show you in the best light," says Shari Elliott, a partner at Graham Partners. • Get it done on time and without drama. "Don't make work for me," says John Willms, senior partner at Willms & Shier Environmental Law- yers LLP. By that, he means, "Don't be a lawyer that needs lots of over- sight to get delegated work done cor- rectly and on time." It's OK to ask questions as a way to stay in touch on the file; but it's not OK to rely on partners to give you answers you can find on your own elsewhere. You also shouldn't rely on partners to edit your first draft. Bring them your ver- sion of a finished product. As you learn more by researching informa- tion elsewhere, the experience will serve you well. • As much as is reasonably possible, say yes to work assignments and ask for a briefing. Be willing to fit any new assignment into your work plan and save lots of time by asking at the out- set for a briefing about the file and the tasks you are to do. This will help you as you avoid unrelated tangents. Marc McAree, a partner at Willms & Shier, suggests young lawyers re- member "that when partners pile on the work, it's because they've got their own pile to get done, and get- ting it all done to meet the clients' timing is the business we're in — the client service business." • See things in shades of grey. Adam Wagman, managing partner at Howie Sacks & Henry, wants associates to tell him how he might be able to win his case, not why he's going to lose. "It's the search for novel solutions to dif- ficult problems with imagination and creativity that moves the law ahead." In fact, I suppose that prevailing in a case that didn't look too winnable is the greatest pleasure of law. LT Jerome Shore is the managing partner of the Coaching Clinic. You can reach him at 416-787-5555 or coach@coaching clinic.com.