Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS November 2, 2009 • Law Times Agreement with federal lawyers falls short: association BY TIM NAUMETZ For Law Times OTTAWA – An arbitration award establishing the first collective agreement between the federal government and its lawyers won't stem the loss of federal Crowns to higher-paying positions with the provinces, the association representing them says. Although the agreement increased Crown salaries modestly under the limits of a new federal expenditure restraint law, it failed to allow overtime for all federal lawyers and didn't meet the over- all pay increases the Crowns were seeking, says Marco Mendicino, acting president of the Association of Justice Counsel. Mendicino tells Law Times the association is reviewing the agree- ment dated Oct. 23 and is consid- ering an appeal in Federal Court. "This is our first collective agreement and as such is a sig- nificant milestone for the asso- ciation and federal lawyers. "We're getting compensated in a more fair manner, but we still lag far behind our closest provin- cial comparators, significantly." The association says salaries When it comes to IP in Canada, We're Well Read Ridout & Maybee LLP: Editors of the Canadian Patent Reporter it all starts somewhere www.ridoutmaybee.com for most "intermediate" level law- yers with the federal government remain roughly 60 per cent below the pay for their counterparts at the Ontario government. "That was the historical gap at its highest prior to the collec- tive agreement," says Mendicino. "The bottom line is while that gap has closed, it has only closed a fraction, and as a result we will continue to suffer from serious recruitment and retention issues." The federal Justice Department declined to comment on the agreement, referring questions to Treasury Board, which is legally the employer. A spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada noted it has mentioned in both of its past two annual reports that the retention of law- yers in its ranks is a priority. The arbitration panel that was established under the Public Service Staff Relations Act and chaired by Michael Bendel increased Crown salaries by 2.5 per cent for 2006-07; 2.3 per cent for 2007-08; and 1.5 per cent for the subsequent three fiscal years. Those were the maximum Ridout_LT_Feb9-16_09.indd 1 PLANNING 2010 your OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY source 2/5/09 10:52:55 AM increases allowed under the feder- al Expenditure Restraint Act that came into force last March. Bendel rejected an associa- tion argument that the terms of the act would have allowed a targeted pay increase to bring the salaries of all federal Crowns up to the level of federal lawyers in Toronto. They receive a dif- ferential of between $11,700 and $18,100 extra annually. "In the first place, it is difficult to believe that Parliament, having enacted a carefully crafted scheme to limit salary increases in the interests of restricting government expenditures, intended to autho- rize this board to make substantial increases to employees' pay by bringing all employees outside of Toronto up to the level of Toronto employees," Bendel wrote. The association had argued the Expenditure Restraint Act allowed for "additional remunera- tion" as long as it was not greater than the highest amount or rate applying to employees at the same position in the bargaining unit. Both sides objected to Bendel's findings on a system of overtime for the Crowns, and each request- ed inclusion of its objections in the official arbitration record. The association is unhappy because the award gave overtime pay only to junior and inter- mediate counsel and rolled back such benefits for lawyers who had previously been represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. Treasury Board objected because lawyers who will qualify for overtime under the agree- ment will also continue to receive performance bonuses. "Eligibility to both of these elements is essentially double- dipping," wrote the Treasury Board nominee on the panel, Jean-François Munn. The association nominee, James Hayes, concluded with an equally negative commentary on the agreement. "This award presents a most disappointing result, particularly where the salaries of federal law- yers, hamstrung by recent legisla- tion, have fallen so far behind lawyers employed in comparator provincial jurisdictions." LT Toronto lawyer found dead BY ROBERT TODD Law Times 61003-00 Brownline Calendar Pad Stand 7-1/4" x 8-1/4", Black was $7.45 8 45 8-1/4", B ck 5 /4 , Bllac / $4.99 61002-36 Brownline Jumbo Calendar Pad Daily 6" x 3-1/2", English was $2.54 /2",, En lishglis 54 4 $1.49 61074-01 Brownline Daily line Daily Eng 18 1.8 E glis h 81 Diary Twin Wire 8" x 5", English, Black was $11.81 h, , Black k $7.49 61020-01 Brownline Weekly Diary Twin Wire 11" x 8-1/2", English, Black was $16.06 ne Weekly 2", Engl g 6 glish, B Black $9.99 he first known incident of a Canadian lawyer being accused in an insider-trading case took a tragic turn last week when for- mer Dorsey & Whitney LLP counsel Gil Cornblum took his own life. The apparent suicide hap- pened the same week his part- ner T in 61122-00 Blueline Notebook Hard Cover Perfect Bound 9-1/4" x 7-1/4", Pink was $9.63 7- /4" Pin 71 63 63 7-1/4 ,, Pinki k $6.99 100% 61123-06 Blueline NotePro Nt N NotePro Notebook Hard Cover 9-1/4" x 7-1/4", Pink, Bilingual was $20.58 $6.99 l 61311-01 Blueline Daily Diary Spiral Bound Soft Cover 9 8" x 5", Black, Bilingual was $9.63 Black, Bi n u 63 B 3 k,, B lingual $6.99 Contact your Account Executive or view these items at dyedurhambasics.ca Prices are effective from Nov. 1 - Dec. 31 61243-36 Basics Daily Diary Wire Bound 8" x 5", English was $8.53 8.53 8 53. 3 $5.99 Since 1998 Untitled-8 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 10/26/09 3:07:58 PM the scheme, former Woodbridge, Ont., business consultant Stan Grmovsek, pleaded guilty to charges in Toronto and New York. Media reports suggested that Cornblum, who was 39 years old, was found dead beneath a bridge in Toronto's Don Valley. Cornblum and Grmovsek, who met as classmates at Osgoode Hall Law School in the early 1990s, carried out the insider- trading scheme over a 14-year period, according to agreed facts from a settlement agreement between the Ontario Securities Commission and Grmovsek. The plot involved Cornblum communicating material, non- public information on corpo- rate transactions to Grmovsek, who would use it to make securities trades. The scheme was used in advance of news releases in 46 corporate trans- actions between 1996 and 2004, the commission said. The pair planned to share more than US$9 million in prof- its at some time in the future, according to the commission. A death notice posted on the Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel web site says Cornblum died last Monday, leaving behind his wife Marilyn and their young son Max along with his parents and brother. The notice says Cornblum "was an avid art collector and had a keen eye for colour and style. His passions included reading, travelling with his family, and playing with his son." LT

• Cover
• Street Legal
• Roaming
• Focus On Real Estate Law