Law Times

PAGE 16 WillBuilder Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com ntitled-2 1 The LEGAL AID APPLICATIONS RISE Legal aid applications increased in Ontario for the fi rst time in three years last year, according to Statistics Canada's annual snapshot of the system. Following two years of decline, the report showed 350,000 people applied in the 2008-09 fi scal year, up fi ve per cent from the previous year. Th e pattern was refl ected na- tionwide, with applications up four per cent overall to 780,000. Legal aid plans spent about $730 million in the period, with Ontario accounting for almost half of the total at $356 million. Meanwhile, the number of lawyers providing legal aid assistance in Canada sank to about 10,000 from 11,000. Th e decline is due almost en- tirely to the drop in the num- ber of private lawyers in On- tario, many of whom stopped work in advance of the offi cial legal aid boycott that began last June, just after the reporting period. TRANSFORMATION ACCELERATES: REPORT Th e recession has transformed the relationship between law fi rms and their clients as the push for better value and great- er effi ciency accelerates, ac- cording to a report from U.K.- based Eversheds LLP. Th e international law fi rm surveyed 130 general counsel and 80 law fi rm partners from around the world to produce the report, which found that 78 per cent of respondents be- lieve the economic downturn will have a lasting impact on the profession. Th ree-quarters of general counsel said they now occupy a far more senior commercial advisory role in their compa- nies compared to before the re- cession. Bryan Hughes, chief executive at Eversheds, said that represented a key shift in power to the client. "Th is will prove to be a real shakedown for the legal sector Reinventing the Will www 2/2/09 10:53:45 AM Inside Story and its workings, and law fi rms will need to really prove their worth as in-house teams ex- pand their expertise," he said. FIRMS LAUDED FOR DIVERSITY Two of Canada's largest fi rms have been named among the country's top employers for promoting diversity in 2010. Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP were among 45 compa- nies honoured by Mediacorp Canada Inc. for programs and policies promoting diversity in the workplace. Brock Gibson, the chair- man of Blakes, is celebrating the fi rm's third consecutive year on the list. "Diversity strengthens the fi rm and makes it more eff ec- tive in competing in an in- ternational marketplace," he said. Stikeman Elliott was singled out by judges for maintaining an in-house diversity commit- tee to review recruitment and career development practices, among other initiatives. FMC HONOURED Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP has been recognized for a unique program designed to help internationally trained lawyers fi nd work in Canada. Th e Toronto Region Im- migrant Employment Coun- cil presented the fi rm with one of fi ve awards honouring lead- ership in the recruitment and retention of skilled immigrants at its annual Immigrant Suc- cess Awards on Th ursday. FMC won for introducing a six-month paid internship for lawyers trained abroad, the fi rst scheme of its kind in Canada. Together with the University of Toronto, the fi rm is now working to expand the pro- gram by establishing a bridging program that will help interna- tionally trained lawyers make the transition to employment in Canada. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. "Relax! They're not family members. Only law society benchers who voted for the mandatory legal-education program." It's back Canadian Lawyer's 2010 LEGAL FEES SURVEY Fill out our short survey for a chance to win a Motorola H790 Bluetooth Headset. Canadian Lawyer's most requested survey takes just mintues to complete, at www.canadianlawyermag.com/surveys, and will provide valuable information about what the nation's lawyers are charging for many common transactions and legal services. Survey closes April 16. www.lawtimesnews.com Survey Ad_2010.indd 1 3/26/10 10:12:28 AM FAKE GOBLINS GIVE AWAY FAUX WITCH HUNTER HARARE, Zimbabwe — For the fee of US$7 and three chickens, self-styled exorcist Morris Mbofana promised to cleanse Fatima Tauro's house of evil spirits. According to the Zimbabwe Telegraph, Tauro consented and Mbofana, 24, "allegedly re- moved some hairy objects with beads from Tauro's daughter's stomach and another from a clay pot and told her that the objects were goblins." Presto! Th e evil spirits were gone. But then, according to the report, he said Tauro's farm- house needed a much more se- rious spirit cleansing at the cost of an ox and three goats and threatened her with serious harm if she refused to pay. In a second incident, Mbof- ana allegedly approached Mir- iam Chiringidza and told her he wanted to remove evil spirits that were haunting her father's family. Her father was reluctant to pay the US$23 that Mbofana allegedly demanded, but his two daughters ponied up. Th e witch hunter allegedly removed a hairy object similar to the one in the fi rst incident but again made threats of violence and demanded more payment, in the form of sugar, blankets, and cooking oil, after the fact. Police eventually nabbed him when they found the two ™ March 29, 2010 • Law TiMes Bizarre Briefs By Viola James fake hairy goblins in the blan- kets Mbofana was sleeping in. He has been charged with three counts of fraud. WHY TAKE CASH WHEN THERE'S CHICKEN? HILLSDALE, N.J. — Th ere was $200 sitting in the cash register at the Matsu Sushi Grill in this town northwest of New York City. But it didn't interest the burglar, who chose chicken over greenbacks. Police say the unidenti- fi ed culinary thief broke in through an exhaust fan in the back wall of the restaurant. Th e burglar then raided the freezer and took some chicken before cooking it with rice in a frying pan. He didn't take the money in the till or anything else in the restaurant but also didn't wash his dirty dishes, leaving a trail of DNA for the cops. "He just wanted food, that's it," Det. Robert Francaviglia told the Record of Bergen Coun- ty. "After he ate, he left." Police say the break-in is similar to one at a nearby fried-chicken fast-food restau- rant last year. No one has been arrested over the incident. IT DOES NOT ALWAYS PAY TO BE PREPARED FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Th ey may have thought it would make for a quick getaway, but calling ahead to have the money set aside for your bank robbery isn't so wise. When Albert Bailey, 27, and his 16-year-old accom- plice arrived at the People's United Bank in Fairfi eld, there were cops, not cash, waiting for them. "You can't make this stuff up," Sgt. James Perez, a Fair- fi eld police spokesman, told the Connecticut Post. "Th ey lit- erally called the bank and said to have the bag of money ready on the fl oor because they're coming to rob the place. "I would classify these in- dividuals as not too bright. Th ey should have spent time in school instead of trying to rob a bank." Both robbery suspects were charged with fi rst-degree rob- bery and fi rst-degree threaten- ing. Th e 16-year-old was sent to an area juvenile jail, police said. WITCH DOCTOR JAILED OVER GHERKINS GUILE BERLIN, Germany — A jobless hairdresser claiming he was a mystic healer fed a desperate blind biker gher- kins laced with LSD, a Ger- man court has heard. Patrick Baecker, 35, told Axel Pfeff er he could cure his blindness for about $30,500. Th e court in Fehmarn, Germany, heard how the for- mer motorcyclist had tried everything to restore his sight after losing it in a crash. It also heard how Baecker fed him the mini-pickles laced with powerful hallucinogenic drugs to induce visions. "You are a hairdresser, not a shaman," Judge Markus Faer- ber told Baecker after jailing him for eight months. LT

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