Law Times

PAGE 16 January 16, 2012 • Law Times u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James ACCUSED APPEARS WEARING CRACK JACKET FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It may be your right to wear a jacket depicting a recipe for crack cocaine in court but it's probably not a great way to impress the judge. According to ABC News Radio, Christopher Patterson, 25, arrived in court this month wear- ing a jacket with pictures of a box of baking soda, a pot over a fire, and a spoon with a white sub- stance. The end product was "rock," a slang for crack cocaine, ABC News Radio reported. "I was absolutely shocked," said defence law- yer Michael D. Weinstein, who was in the court- room that day. "I see someone charged with trafficking walking up to a judge who's going to determine your fate wearing a jacket like that. I was just blown away." But Patterson's lawyer, Joshua Rydell, defend- ed his client. "He was expressing his freedom of speech, just like any of us are entitled to do. It was his freedom of expression." BAN ON LUXURY LIFTED MALE, Maldives — A ban on luxury spas at ho- tels and massage parlours in the Maldives has been liſted under pressure from the country's key tourism industry a week aſter the government im- posed it as part of an effort to curb perceived vice. "We have liſted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters by telephone from the Maldives capital Male. "We wanted to give confidence to tourists." Nasheed said he ordered the ban in response to calls by the main opposition party that claimed the spas and parlours were fronts for prostitution and led to the spread of drugs and alcohol to lo- cals in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation. But former president Maumoon Abdul Gay- oom said the Progressive Party of the Maldives never asked for the ban. He claimed it was really aimed at leisure businesses owned by some op- position members, Reuters reported. The ban badly affected the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean island nation where pristine white-sand beaches and turquoise waters attract more than 800,000 tourists annually, including honeymooners and celebrities from around the world. ISRAEL MULLS PROHIBITION ON WORD NAZI JERUSALEM — Israelis are understandably sen- sitive about the term Nazi, but do they need to go as far as banning the word? According to BBC News, proposed legisla- tion would prohibit the word Nazi and make it a crime to use the term and other related symbols for purposes other than teaching. The ban includes similar-sounding words, epithets related to Nazism and the Third Reich, and yel- low stars resembling the ones Jews wore during the Holocaust. "Unfortunately, we have been witness in re- cent years to the cynical exploitation of Nazi symbols and phraseology, which is offensive to Holocaust survivors, their families, and many others among the Jewish people," BBC News quoted bill sponsor Uri Ariel of the National Union Party as saying. Critics, however, spoke against the proposed bill's implications for free speech. "Precisely be- cause of the importance and centrality of the Holocaust, the attempt to dictate when and in what context it can be referenced is very prob- lematic," the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement. "The bill seeks in effect to control the public debate, its content, and tone, with force, using criminal prohibitions and the threat of prison." According to BBC News, the ministerial committee for legislation has voted to support the bill. It would impose penalties of up to six months in jail and a $25,000 fine. It comes amid controversy over the actions of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel who dressed in concentration camp uniforms to protest alleged incitement against them, BBC News reported. LT u The INSIDE STORY OTTAWA LAWYER HEADS TO PARIS Changes are afoot at Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall LLP. The head of its international arbitration group, Andrew McDougall, becomes spe- cial counsel to the firm as he relocates to Par- is this year. In turn, he also becomes an inter- national arbitration partner with White & Case LLP. The Ottawa firm says the move gives it an added presence in Europe. Replacing McDougall as head of the international arbitration Barry Leon group at the Ottawa firm is Barry Leon, who has more than 30 years' experience as counsel and oſten acts as an arbitrator and mediator. "I look forward to this next stage in the growth of our interna- tional arbitration group," said Leon. NEW PARTNERS AT DAVIS Toronto lawyer Justin Mooney is among five new partners at Davis LLP. Mooney practices corporate/ commercial, real estate, and bank- ing law. The other new partners include Dean Dalke, Megan Filmer, and Richard Lord in Vancouver, as well as Colin Lip- sett in Edmonton. "Davis contin- ues to grow because the partners have worked hard to cultivate a solid foundation," said managing partner Robert Seidel. U OF T LAW PROF HONOURED The Law Foundation of On- tario has awarded University of Toronto law professor Ju- dith McCormack its 2011 Guthrie Award. The award recognizes recipi- ents for their contributions to access to justice or excellence in the legal profession. "McCormack is a vociferous and vocal advocate for increased legal aid services and improved access to justice and someone who has done a remarkable job train- ing the next generation of lawyers to remain loyally fixated on their professionalism and the public in- terest," wrote those who supported McCormack's nomination. "At the same time, she blends just the right amount of idealism with realism for the occasion." McCormack is executive di- "The supreme galactic warlord, Zargon the Merciless, says he's concerned that earthly compensation rates for certified conquest interpreters may be a tad on the stingy side." Recruiting? Post your position on GREAT RATES. GREAT REACH. GREAT RESULTS. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. www.lawtimesnews.com JobsInLaw 1-8 pg 5X.indd 1 2/15/11 4:12:27 PM rector at the university's Down- town Legal Services Clinic and has worked in private prac- tice in the past. She's currently on leave from the clinic post. She has also served as chairwoman of the Ontario Labour Relations Board. "Judith's distinguished career has been consistently guided by a strong commitment to accessible justice," said Mark Sandler, chair- man of the law foundation's board. "She has had an enormous impact because of her influence on law students entering the profession and because of her success in achieving systemic change in law schools, legal clin- ics, and the tribunal sector, all of which in turn benefits the public of Ontario." McCormack received sup- port in her nomination from judges, academics, and legal clinic practitioners. In the past, McCormack has played a leadership role in the university's Middle Income Ac- cess to Civil Justice Initiative that focuses on helping people who can't afford to hire lawyers and don't qualify for legal aid to ac- cess the justice system. BLG PROMOTES 11 TO PARTNERSHIP Borden Ladner Gervais LLP has promoted 11 lawyers from its offices in Ottawa and Toronto to partnership. In Ottawa, commercial liti- gation lawyer André Ducasse and commercial real estate law- yer Sybil Johnson-Abbott were promoted to partnership at the firm. In Toronto, insurance and tort liability lawyer Tamar Agopian, labour and employment practi- tioner Lisa Cabel, and corporate commercial lawyer David Faye joined the partnership at BLG. Other promotions to partner at the firm's Toronto office includ- ed commercial litigators Tyler Hodgson, Isabella Massimi, Brendan Wong, and Kather- ine Menear. In BLG's securities and capi- tal markets practice area, David Surat and Matthew Williams became partners. LT

• Cover
• IP Heavyweights
• Queens Park
• Focus On