Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS augusT 24/31, 2009 • Law Times tion, died of Parkinson's disease in Kingston, Ont., last week. He was 75. Lawford was a pioneer of legal research H BY SIMON CHESTER For Law Times ugh Lawford, a pioneer in Canadian legal pub- lishing and automa- Lawford's imagination and acumen built a dream into a suc- cessful business, and transformed legal practice and information. Th e genesis of QL Systems was modest, but his vision never was. From it stemmed not merely the Canadian content of LexisNexis, but the initial platform for West- law in the United States. Lawford was born in Smoky Lake, Alta. on Sept. 8, 1933. He held a BA and LLB from the University of Alberta. While there he edited Th e Gateway, the university newspaper, and was the founding editor-in-chief of the Alberta Law Review. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1955, studying at Wadham Col- lege at the University of Oxford. For the next fi ve years, Law- ford was a young legal academic, teaching administrative law, in- ternational law, evidence, and labour law at the newly estab- lished Queen's University law school in Kingston. In the mid-'60s, he focused on public policy, working on the A wake-up call for forensic labs Continued from page 1 extremely sophisticated equipment and a "very talented" scientist. "What it probably implies is that as the tech- nology to replicate DNA becomes more readily accessible, then the idea that your DNA can be in a variety of locations is going to become more commonly accepted," he says. Rose suggests there are much easier ways to frame someone using DNA than the technique outlined by the Nucleix study. "It's a lot easier for someone to follow you around, grab a Coke can you've had, perform a bank robbery, and leave the can of Coke at the crime scene. Bingo, your DNA's at the crime scene." Adler says what's most shocking about this fi nding, however, is that it deals with the manu- facturing of DNA. He suggests the fi ndings are a wake-up call to forensic science labs. He says labs must guard against any presump- tions on evidence, noting that Ontario's justice system has been rocked by poorly scrutinized ex- pert evidence — most notably involving forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Smith. While there is plenty of certifi cation and ex- amination for lab technicians, Adler says "the real test" for them comes when the authorities come and say they have DNA that belongs to a specifi c suspect in a murder case, and request a test. Th at could prompt tests based on po- tentially faulty assumptions. "Th is is simply another fi eld, and there has been too much idol worship, if you will, about DNA," says Adler. "I long ago said there are go- ing to be ways that DNA will be defeated, or that DNA can be used to fool people — and this is what's happening." Adler says labs must conduct their tests free of any assumptions and techniques must be devel- oped to assist that process. Ricardo Federico, a co-chairman of the an- nual Canadian Symposium on DNA Forensic Evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School, says the fi nding is "disturbing and worrisome." He is eager to see a peer review. Federico says the discovery also prompts questions about privacy and the international exchange of such evidence. "When it comes to fabricating a crime scene in a foreign jurisdiction, the level of competence for other countries is important," he says. Adler says there is clearly a need to reassess the power of DNA evidence. "Every time that we think we're so smart be- cause we have a foolproof system, somebody shows us that we're not," says Adler. "It's an excel- lent lesson to always remember." LT Glassco Royal Com- mission on Govern- ment Organization looking at federal administrative tri- bunals, and how to publish regulations and rules. He be- came special assistant to the president of the Privy Council, and later special ad- viser to prime min- ister Lester B. Pearson. Lawford was embroiled in the politics of the fl ag debate and parliamentary reform. He returned to Queen's in 1966. At the law school, Lawford was known for his focus on inter- national law, serving as associate editor of the Canadian Yearbook of International Law. Lamenting the disorganized state of Canada's treaties, he em- barked on a project to systematize the treaties of the entire Common- wealth. Since there were 18,000 documents, Lawford wondered whether emerging technologies of data processing might help. By today's standards, the tools were crude, but the experiment was suffi ciently promising that in 1968 he put together an am- bitious project known as QUIC/ LAW, combining the resources of IBM and Queen's University, with some federal funding, to explore the use of computerized systems for legal information retrieval. QUIC/LAW stood for "Queen's University Institute for Computing and Law." Lawford became a world leader in de- veloping the legal tools for late 20th century. When the funding dried up in 1972, Lawford and Dick von Briesen put their own resources behind the project and launched QL Systems. Ontario Education Legislation 2009 - 2010 Hugh Lawford Th is was a bold, even reckless, leap of faith. Lawford and von Briesen were convinced, not mere- ly that technology could manage legal information, but that a profi table business could be built on it. Assembling the corpus of Canadian law, page by page and fi le by fi le was a daunting task. Lawford was indefatigable. His tenacity in persuading govern- ments, courts, and law societies to share his vision and contribute cash and documents to QL Sys- tems was as vital to its success as the quality of von Briesen's code. When West Publishing decid- ed it needed an electronic system to compete with Lexis, the execu- tives came to Kingston to license QL's innovations. Westlaw is built on QL code. In 2002, he was awarded the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada, and alumni awards from both Alberta and Queen's, as well as the Cana- dian Association of Law Librar- ians award for excellence in legal publishing. In 30 years, Lawford changed the face of Canadian law and of legal research. He infl uenced advocacy in the courts by democratizing access to legal information. He built QL into a profi table business, which was bought in 2002, by LexisNexis Butterworths Can- ada, integrating its content into Lexis' global legal data- bases. He retired in 2004. His legacy will endure in law fi rms, law libraries, courthouses, and law schools — his vision transformed all of them. LT Torys stands firm behind its lawyers Continued from page 1 This consolidation gives you the complete and up-to-date education statutes and regulations all in one source, including: • • • • • • • • • • June 03/09) • and regulation • Policy/Program Memoranda Nos. 128, 141, 142, 144, 145 & 147 ORDER your copy today Perfectbound • 1,028 pp. • Published August each year Standing order • $38 • P/C 0949140000 Current edition • $48 • P/C 0949010000 • ISSN 1480-6576 and regulation and selected regulations (updated to and selected regulations New in 2009 • New regulation under the Trans Fat Standards, O. Reg. 200/08 • New S.O. 2008, c. 15 Re-enacted regulations for the "2009-2010" school board fiscal year: • Calculation of Average Daily Enrolment, O. Reg. 154/09 • Calculation of Fees for Pupils, O. Reg. 156/09 • Grants for Student Needs, O. Reg. 155/09 , the payments; and what was the appropriate tax treatment for the payments," according to the notices. Th e law society also suggests the lawyers were in confl ict when they helped Black renounce his Canadian citizenship. It alleges that Black's renunciation could hurt Hollinger. Th e law society noted that s. 19 of the Income Tax Act prevents advertisers from deducting advertising expense in media controlled by a non-Canadian. It also pointed to, "Th e potential breach of the National Post partnership agreement with Canwest." Les Viner, managing partner of Torys, also issued a statement sup- For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. LT0809 www.lawtimesnews.com porting the lawyers. "Torys is committed to the highest standards of practice and pro- fessionalism," said Viner. "Th e fi rm and its lawyers have co-operated fully with the law society's investigation, and the process of the law society now provides an opportunity for Beth and Darren to ad- dress the allegations. "Beth and Darren are principled and ethical lawyers. We believe they acted in good faith and with integrity in accordance with profes- sional practices prevailing at the time. Whatever view the law society now takes on how its rules should have then been interpreted and applied, we do not believe Beth's and Darren's good faith and integrity can be doubted. Th e fi rm continues to support them." A closed pre-hearing into the matter continued last week. A date for the full hearing will be set Aug. 31, and it should begin next year. Defence lawyers for Black criticized Torys for off ering poor ad- vice on the disclosure of the non-compete payments during the sale of the newspapers to Canwest. Th e fi rm never admitted any wrong- doing in the matter, but in 2005 agreed to pay Hollinger $30.25 million to settle allegations that the fi rm provided improper advice and did not act in the company's interests. LT Consulting Editor: Fay Faraday Colleges Collective Bargaining Act Education Act: Education Act Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, 2008 Education Quality and Accountability Office Act, 1996 Immunization of S 2008, Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 Municipal Conflict of Interest Act Provincial Schools Negotiations Act Sabrina's Law, 2005 chool Pupils Act Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Teachers' Pension Act Teaching Profession Act

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