Law Times

PAGE 16 WillBuilder Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com ntitled-2 1 The LSUC FEES RISE $33 The Law Society of Upper Can- ada has approved its 2010 bud- get providing for a $33 increase to the annual fee for both lawyers and paralegals. Next year, lawyers will pay an annual fee of $1,736, while paralegals will pay $933. The proposed fee increase, as well as growth in the number of lawyers and paralegals, will increase total fee revenue by $2.5 million, ac- cording to the law society. The LSUC has also allocated an additional $1.3 million to support expanded spot-audit and practice-review programs next year as well as an added $623,000 for the professional regulation lawyer budget due to increases in the volume and complexity of complaints. ACADEMY GETS $1M DONATION The secretariat of the Interna- tional Union for the Conserva- tion of Nature Academy of En- vironmental Law has received an anonymous donation of $1 mil- lion to be matched by the Uni- versity of Ottawa. The $2 million in funding will support the operating expenses of the secretariat along with the advancement of capacity build- ing in environmental law teach- ing and research at the IUCN Academy's member institutions in developing countries. It will also fund an annual $15,000 scholarship available to graduate students doing work in the field of environmental law or policy. CP SHIPS CLASS ACTION SETTLES FOR $12.8M Siskinds LLP reports that the parties to the CP Ships securities class action have entered into an agreement to settle the claims of class members. The agreement, subject to court approval in Ontario and Quebec, provides for a gross settlement fund of $12.8 million for Canadian citizens and resi- dents who purchased securities of CP Ships Ltd. between Jan. 29, 2003, and Aug. 9, 2004. The plaintiffs in the class ac- tions alleged that CP Ships and Reinventing the Will www 2/2/09 10:53:45 AM Inside Story certain officers and directors mis- represented the financial results of the company over a period of nine consecutive quarters and thereby caused market prices for the com- pany's securities to inflate. Claims in a parallel class ac- tion in the United States were set- tled for US$1.3 million following a dismissal of the action by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. U.S. FIRM EXPANDS CANADIAN PRESENCE American firm Legal Advantage LLC is adding a Toronto office to its Canadian operations. "Canadian demand for Legal Advantage's intellectual property services continues to increase," said Mirza Baig, CEO of Legal Advantage. "A presence in To- ronto will allow Legal Advantage to provide a higher and more per- sonalized level of service for cli- ents in the Toronto metropolitan region and Canada as a whole." The firm, which is focused on intellectual property law, has operated in Ottawa for five years. It's headquartered in the Washington suburb of Bethes- da, Md., and has offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Hyderabad, India. RBC EXEC WINS ACC AWARD The Association of Corporate Counsel recently presented its 2009 Excellence in Corporate Practice award to David All- good, executive vice president and general counsel for the Royal Bank of Canada, during its an- nual meeting in Boston. Established in 1996, the award recognizes an outstand- ing in-house lawyer who has made significant business and legal contributions in areas such as legal advocacy and counsel- ling, service to the legal profes- sion, law department manage- ment, and cost-control processes. Allgood joined the Royal Bank in August 1998. He became ex- ecutive vice president and general counsel in June 2000. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. "Of course I have the full LawPRO liability insurance! What on Earth makes you think I need more comprehensive coverage?" WHICH DIRECTION IS BEST FOR YOU? RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Untitled-7 1 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca www.lawtimesnews.com 5/29/08 1:05:49 PM TINKY WINKY ON THE LAM LONDON, Ont. — The Tel- etubby who once raised the ire of Jerry Falwell has again found himself at the centre of a me- dia storm, or at least someone dressed like Tinky Winky is. According to the London Free Press, a costume-wearing, gun-toting Teletubby con- fronted a woman just after midnight on Halloween and demanded cash. The woman in her mid-20s gave a description to police of a male between six-foot-two and six-foot-four and 200 to 240 pounds. He had a muscular build with short, dark hair, was clean-shaven, and wore a large purple Teletubbies suit. Sure enough, London's finest found someone fitting that description; however, it was more trick than treat as it turned out it was the wrong Teletubby. "He was deemed not to be the Teletubby we were look- ing for," Const. Kevin Lui said. "Unfortunately, Halloween provides [robbers] more cover than any other night." News reports do not men- tion if the mistaken Teletubby was Dipsy, Laa-Laa or Po. PRIZES FOR MORE WIVES KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Lawmakers in northern Ma- laysia's mostly Muslim state of Kelantan are being encouraged ™ November 9, 2009 • Law Times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James to marry single mothers to help care for their children. As part of the effort, the state's women, family, and health committee chairwoman Wan Ubaidah Omar said that legislators should be awarded prizes for increasing their "quota" of wives. "What I mean by quota is adding to the number of wives," Reuters quoted Wan Ubaidah, a female legislator, as saying. In Malaysia, polygamy is le- gal for Muslims, who account for 55 per cent of the country's 28 million people. Accord- ing to local media, there are 16,500 single mothers under 60 years of age. BAD RAP SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Four teenagers have been cited for disorderly conduct for rap- ping their McDonald's order, The Associated Press reported. The teens were in a Mc- Donald's drive-thru when they began imitating a popular You- Tube video. They rapped their order, which began with the words "I need a double cheese- burger and hold the lettuce," once quickly before repeating it more slowly. However, the humour was lost on the restaurant manager who called police after jotting down the vehicle's licence plate number. The teens were later found and cited by officers. Disorderly conduct citations are issued when someone does something to cause annoyance or alarm, police said. The cita- tion is an infraction similar to a speeding ticket. "It was not just that they were rapping, they continued to hold things up," American Fork Police Sgt. Gregg Ludlow said. IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE PORTLAND, Ore. — A hit- and-run driver says he didn't see a pedicab he slammed into during an accident that sent a cyclist flying despite the peddler wearing an orange rabbit cos- tume measuring six feet high. Kate Altermatt says her pedicab was lit up with reflec- tors and a blinking red light. According to the Oregonian, Altermatt said she lay stunned on the pavement for a minute, then walked over to the driver's side window of the car that struck her. She said she smelled alcohol on the driver's breath. "He was like '$100! $100, and I leave'", Altermatt told the newspaper. "And I was like, no. I started screaming. I said, 'You're drunk. You're going to go to jail. I don't want your money.'" The driver later testified in Multnomah County Cir- cuit Court that he didn't see the pedicab because he was fumbling for a dropped cell phone. Judge Karin Immergut found Edward Cespedes-Ro- driguez guilty of a hit-and-run driving offence for leaving the scene of the incident. LT Seen, heard, or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at viola.james@gmail. com.

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