Law Times

Page 20 July 13, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com LINDA FUERST JOINS NORTON ROSE Linda Fuerst has left Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP to join Nor- ton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. Fuerst joins the firm's Toronto office as a partner in the litigation, regulation, and investigation teams. Her experi- ence includes working as senior counsel at the Ontario Securities Commis- sion, where she also serves as a member of the securities proceedings advisory committee. "Linda is a tremendous addition to our litigation and regulation and investigations teams," said Roger Smith, Norton Rose Fulbright's national practice head of litigation in Canada. "She is recognized as one of the top litigation lawyers in Canada in securities litigation, class actions, and regulatory matters. Regula- tion is a complex and growing area and a top concern for our clients and Linda will serve them extremely well." LIE-DETECTOR TESTS FOR SENIOR EMPLOYEES BOGOTA — It appears Colombia's laws on ad- ministering lie-detector tests are less restrictive than in Canada given its plans to subject senior government workers to them. According to Reuters, Colombia's govern- ment plans to carry out lie detector tests on senior civil servants who allocate contracts to private companies as it tries to clamp down on widespread corruption and embezzlement of public funds. The government will initially use polygraphy to test executives in the 72 departments that have so far signed up for a transparency pact, Reuters reported. It will test the executives before and after concluding contracts for the provision of goods and services. The Andean country's vice president, Ger- mán Vargas Lleras, is promoting the lie detector tests as a means of boosting investor confidence as the government allocates contracts to up- grade the national road network at an estimated cost of more than $20 billion. In one of Colombia's most shocking public corruption scandals of the past decade, a fami- ly with links to a former mayor of Bogota made off with up to $1 billion after its company won contracts it barely executed amid claims it had run out of cash. WHEELCHAIR ROBBER ESCAPES WITH $1,200 NEW YORK — It seems wheelchair robberies happen more often that you'd think. According to Reuters, police are on the case of a man in a wheelchair suspected of robbing a New York bank and rolling out of the building with $1,200 cash to make a clean getaway. The man, who wore a gray hoodie and ap- peared to be about 30 years old according to surveillance video, allegedly passed a note to a Santander Bank teller in the New York City borough of Queens demanding money, said a New York Police Department spokesman. Despite never showing a gun to bank work- ers, no one intercepted the man as he exited the bank in his wheelchair with the loot, Reuters reported. The New York incident isn't the first time a person in a wheelchair has robbed a bank. Last year, police stopped a 60-year-old Ida- ho man in a wheelchair for holding up a First Federal Bank as he attempted to f lee the scene in a taxi. In 2010, a terminally ill California man in a wheelchair hoping to get medical care in prison held up a Chase Bank with a BB gun. He was arrested outside the building and received a 21-year sentence. MEDITATING PASSENGER MISTAKEN FOR TERRORIST PARIS — It seems terrorism fears have gotten out of hand when police start detaining people expressing their spirituality on a plane. According to Reuters, police removed a Por- tuguese actor humming a prayer as he medi- tated to a sacred Tibetan text onboard a plane awaiting takeoff from Paris after alarmed pas- sengers mistook him for a terrorist. "Police told me that I had been denounced as a terrorism suspect aboard the plane because I was reciting the Koran aloud, that I was read- ing a text involving words death and bomb," the man, Heitor Lourenco, said in remarks aired by SIC television. Lourenco, 47, said his text, which he was reading on a tablet device, contained Tibetan characters and the device had the timer on to tell him how long he had meditated, something that probably caused associations with a bomb. Police released him after six hours of ques- tioning during which they watched videos of him on the Internet showing that he's a theatre and TV actor. They also checked his profile on Wikipedia that states that he's a Buddhist. LT legal expertise? Looking for Find exactly what you need at www.CanadianLawList.com It's fast, It's free, s fa , s f and it's available to you 24 hours a day ay. s available y availabl y Starting a business, making a will or buying a house? Declaring bankruptcy, dealing with a personal injury, insurance claim or job loss? If you're in the midst of one of life's big events, help is as close as your smartphone, tablet or computer. Simply go to www.CanadianLawList.com to find the right lawyer for your particular legal need. www.CanadianLawList.com is Canada's most comprehensive online directory of lawyers and law firms. And it's easy to use! You can search by city, legal specialty, or name for listings and contact information. Find the legal expertise you need at www.CanadianLawList.com. Untitled-3 1 2015-06-22 4:32 PM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story STUDENT LAW CLINIC OPENS A new legal clinic has opened with the launch of Lakehead Legal Services last week. The service at Lakehead Uni- versity that opened its doors last Monday is Ontario's seventh stu- dent legal aid service society and the first in northern Ontario. "We look forward to this ex- citing opportunity to provide our students with a dynamic, hands-on learning experience, while at the same time provid- ing a much-needed service to the Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation communities," said Kimberley Gagan, founding director of the clinic. The initial services offered will cover minor criminal and Highway Traffic Act offences. Four summer students have been working since May to begin serv- ing clients this month. Once the clinic officially opens in Septem- ber, second- and third-year stu- dents at the Bora Laskin Fac- ulty of Law will be able to work at the clinic for course credits. DENTONS U.S. MERGER TAKES EFFECT While the big news last week was about merger activity involving Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, there were happenings on other fronts this month as well. On July 1, Dentons completed its merger with U.S. firm McKen- na Long & Aldridge LLP. The merger under the Dentons US LLP banner creates a U.S. team comprising 1,100 lawyers and pro- fessionals at 21 locations. Leading the U.S. firm are Jeff Haidet, who served as chairman of McKenna Long, and Peter Wolfson, previously managing partner of Dentons US. "Just in the first half of this year, we have significantly advanced our global strategy, with a unique polycentric approach that high- lights the importance of being in and of communities around the world," said global chairman Joe Andrew. "Today's milestone fur- ther supports that strategy with an enhanced presence in the U.S." POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. According to the poll, there's big support for regulating law firms in addition to individual lawyers with 80 per cent of respon- dents saying they favour it. The poll follows the Law Society of Upper Canada's move to launch a task force to look at compliance- based entity regulation. On June 25, benchers voted to put together a task force to study and make recommendations on compliance-based entity regula- tion, an approach touted as being more proactive that's already in use in Australia as well as England and Wales. The approach is at- tracting increasing interest in the United States and other jurisdic- tions. In Canada, the Nova Sco- tia Barristers' Society is in the process of implementing it. Compliance-based regulation shifts the focus from responding to complaints and enforcement through discipline to setting out goals and expectations so lawyers can ensure they have the proper systems in place. The decision to look at the issue ref lects the law society's desire to keep up with changing times, according to Treasurer Janet Minor. LT Linda Fuerst "Maybe we could sell our customers insurance against future catastrophic accident-benefits cuts!"

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