Law Times

June 14, 2010

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STORE & SHRED Exceptional Quality at Reasonable Prices! COPY, SCAN, Call us today to fi nd out how much you can Save. TF: 1.888.781.9083 www.docudavit.com ocdavit_LT_June7_10.indd 1 $3.55 • Vol. 21, No. 20 6/4/10 9:22:44 AM Inside This Issue 3 Escalating Claims Covering Ontario's Legal Scene Billions of dollars invested, not a penny lost. ntitled-3 1 June 14, 2010 Few ready for Bill 168 Even law firms unprepared for new workplace violence legislation BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times 7 F Bylaw Reform 9 Focus On Real Estate Law Quote of the week "It's inconvenient when lawyers have to have some time off but it's one of those necessary things. It's certainly well worth it when they return. Anybody who is happy with what they do is going to do it very well." — Sharon Davis, Women's Law Association of Ontario, See Study, page 4 ew Ontario workplaces will have complied with new workplace vio- lence and harassment legislation by the time it comes into force this week, em- ployment lawyers say. Bill 168, which amended the Occu- pational Health and Safety Act, received Royal assent in December. It gave employ- ers six months to comply, but many have left it until too late. "Employers are having real difficulties with the amount of requirements and they won't be ready for June 15," says Meghan Ferguson, who has conducted Bill 168 workshops for clients at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP. Doug MacLeod, who is in charge of Bill 168 files for Barrie, Ont., firm Gra- ham Partners LLP, says some employers have no idea about their obligations. "I suspect many small- and medium- size companies are not aware that Bill 168 is coming into effect in less than two weeks and therefore will not be in a position to comply by June 15." Lisa Stam of Baker & McKenzie LLP 'People I think now are really scrambling,' says Ron Minken. The amendments require employers to says larger firms with their own human re- sources departments have a greater awareness about the bill's requirements but notes even they are struggling to comply. "Businesses are certainly turning their minds to it now, but I don't think everyone will have everything ready to go by June 15." conduct a risk assessment for violence and harassment in the workplace. They then must develop policies addressing the risks identified and train staff on them. "I do think most will have started with some of the basics, like getting their policy in place and figuring out how to do the assessment," Stam says. "Not everyone will have complet- ed their training and the assessment." Stuart Rudner, a partner at Miller Thomson LLP, says the proactive approach required by Bill 168 makes it unique but also more susceptible to breaches. "There are a lot of people out there who think this is another piece of legisla- tion where you can just adopt a wait-and- see approach. Many of them don't realize that Bill 168 requires positive steps on the part of employers. By waiting and seeing, they're breaching the legislation." Wayne De L'Orme, a provincial co-or- dinator with the Ministry of Labour, says he hopes employment lawyers have got it wrong. "I'm much more optimistic than most peo- ple about the level of compliance when we get to June 15," he says. "I hope I'm right." Premier Dalton McGuinty's govern- ment introduced the legislation in part in response to the murder of nurse Lori Du- pont in 2005. Dupont's former boyfriend, Dr. Marc Daniel, stabbed her to death at the Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Wind- sor, Ont. The facility was aware of repeated and escalating harassment by Daniel, an anesthesiologist, but failed to discipline him. The pair were scheduled to work to- gether on the day he killed her. The harassment issue hit the news earlier this month following criticism of the City of Mississauga's response to allegations of haz- ing in the workplace. Alex Juani, a worker in See More, page 5 about Canada's life sciences sector that domestic investors do not? According to BIOTECanada, Lawyers, U.S. firms filling Canada's biotech void W BY JULIUS MELNITZER For Law Times hat does the world's largest health-focused investment firm know a national non-profit association dedicated to building the bio- based economy, the country is home to 668 core biotechnology firms, the second-highest such concentration in the world. Af- ter considering the application of biotechnology to traditional in- dustries, the sector accounts 6.4 per cent of the country's GDP. It's no surprise, then, that life sciences cut a huge swath in Ca- nadian law firms. The difficulty, however, is that money has always been hard to come by for Cana- dian life sciences entrepreneurs, especially in recent years. Domes- tically, venture capital activity in life sciences fell by 41 percent in 2009 to just $215 million invest- ed through 39 transactions. That's where lawyers come in. "The added value our life sci- ences group brings to clients is an industry expertise that allows us to help them structure and strategize in a way that makes them attractive to investors," says Cheryl Reicin, the Toronto-based head of Torys LLP's life sciences practice group. Reicin, who spent two de- cades practising in the United States before moving to Torys in 2005, believes U.S. venture capital groups can be a good source of funds for Canadian life sciences companies. In fact, while biotechnology investment in the United States declined in 2009, the 19-per-cent drop was less than the decrease in the venture capital market as a whole. Biotechnology has also become the single-largest invest- ment sector for venture capital, drawing US$3.5 billion. Reicin points to the interest displayed by her client, OrbiMed Healthcare Fund Management, in the Canadian life sciences sector. The company, which has more than US$7 billion in assets under its management, has made its single-largest life sciences venture capital investment in a Montreal-based company, Eno- bia Pharma Inc., which develops #1 Untitled-2 1 5/4/10 2:49:21 PM therapies to treat serious genetic bone disorders. To be sure, OrbiMed part- nered with Canadian investors, including CTI Life Sciences Fund LP of Montreal, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and Desjar- dins Venture Capital, as well as U.K.-based Lothian Partners. But there's no doubt that OrbiMed, whose general partner Jonathan Silverstein is now Enobia's chair- man, was the largest contributor to the $90.1 million of investor capital that has made its way to the Montreal company so far. "OrbiMed is considered a thought leader in life sciences investing, so when they invest, other venture capitalists are like- ly to follow," says Reicin. See Taxes, page 5 Software application for Real Estate Law Offices in Canada. Used by over 6,000 professionals in 2,500 law firms. To find out more call or email us today 1 866.367.7648 I sales@doprocess.com ©2010 Do Process Software Ltd. The Conveyancer is a registered trademark of Do Process Software Ltd. All rights reserved. www.lawtimesnews.com 6/9/10 9:39:35 AM

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