Law Times

June 1, 2009

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PAGE 16 WillBuilder Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com ntitled-7 1 The McCARTHYS NABS FINKELSTEIN McCarthy Tétrault LLP has beefed up its litigation group with the addition of Neil Fin- kelstein, formerly of Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP. "We are pleased and proud to have such a prominent liti- gation join our team," said the firm's national litigation practice group leader Darryl Cruz. "As litigation becomes more multi-faceted, clients value litigators who can antic- ipate their needs in every area of law and jurisdiction." Finkelstein is a life bencher of the Law Society of Up- per Canada, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and an advocacy ad- viser to the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute. Finkelstein has been on the winning side of five of the six contested merger cases de- cided under the Competition Act. He has also worked on high-profile matters such as the Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Accord, for the government of Newfoundland, and co-counsel to the Gomery Commission. Cruz added that Finkelstein "is a pre-eminent litigator with a broad practice, from takeover bids to regulatory litigation. His specialized expertise in public law and competition law comple- ments our team's strength and en- hances our already great depth." Remarked the firm's chair- man and CEO Iain Scott: "Neil's expertise fits well with this approach, particularly his experience with competition liti- gation related to complex merg- ers involving both business law and litigation issues." LAWPRO ACTS ON FRAUD THREAT LawPRO has identified an ap- parent fraud scheme targeting lawyers valued at over $5 million. PracticePRO director Dan Pinnington reported on legal blog Slaw last week that calls started coming in from law- yers last month saying they had been targeted by a "bad cheque scam." Pinnington said the Reinventing the Will www 1/26/09 3:38:37 PM Inside Story lawyers "had been retained on a business loan matter in which it appeared the intent was to have them deposit a forged loan pro- ceeds cheque into their trust ac- counts and then disburse good funds from them." An e-blast led to calls from a number of additional lawyers re- porting similar concerns. Further e-blasts brought up even more reports of the fraud scheme, which Pinnington said could have led to up to $5.2 million in trust account shortfalls. He said it's still unclear if any lawyers were successfully target- ed by the scheme. "We are waiting for the sec- ond bank-to-bank verifications to happen, at which point we think at least some lawyers might be getting a call from their bank about shortfalls in their trust accounts," said Pinnington. BOOK HELPS FEMALE VICTIMS Ottawa personal injury lawyer Brenda Hollingsworth has written a new book that aims to help women guard their le- gal rights after being injured in car crashes. "When a woman is injured, very often her rehabilitation and compensation are sidelined by the demands on her time that don't stop because she is hurting," said Hollingsworth. "I see injured women every day in my practice who are strug- gling to meet their family's needs in the face of pain and disability. Add the impact of the legal process and insurance claims and it quickly becomes a recipe for disaster." The book, Crash Course: A Savvy Woman's Guide to Ontario Accident Claims, aims to offer important advice to women in plain, engaging language. Hollingsworth is a founding partner in the law firm of Au- ger Hollingsworth, and received the Ottawa Business Journal's 40 Under 40 award in 2008. The book is available at www. personalinjuryottawa.ca www.amazon.com. and LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com Court is in Recess 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 I AM NOT A CROOK SANTA ANA, Calif. — A for- mer Orange Unified School District trustee claims his politi- cal opponents set him up, after being found guilty of stealing a half-empty bottle of ketchup from Chapman University. Steve Rocco was sentenced to two years informal proba- tion, fined $150, and ordered to stay away from all Chapman campuses. This following a jury trial Rocco requested. Rocco, who clearly sees the bottle as half-full, says he was merely trying to recycle the bot- tle and was set up by his politi- cal enemies. He will appeal. A FOOL FOR A CLIENT DESTIN, Fla. — Litigator Robert Scott Whitehead, 38, was charged with DUI and refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test, says the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Additional charges included DUI with property damage and personal injury, and leaving the scene of a traffic crash. His law firm's web site says they specialize in civil litiga- tion and criminal and family law including drug cases — and of course, DUIs. DOG KILLS CAT AND . . . LENOIR, N.C. — A man is dead following a pet-fuelled rampage in North Carolina. Officials say it all started when the man's dog killed the neighbour's cat. The cat owner ™ June 1, 2009 • Law Times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James then shot the dog, causing the dog owner to shoot the cat owner, and the cat owner's eight-year-old daughter. The dog owner then shot two sheriff's deputies investi- gating the scene. More police arrived and eventually shot and killed the dog owner. The cat owners, and one of the sheriff's deputies were taken to hospital. The other sheriff's deputy was treated at the scene. "It brings up the feelings that we've had over the last eight months where we've had six officers in this county shot," said Deputy B.J. Fore. NEXT TIME TELL HIM TO STUFF IT MERIDEN, Conn. — A Connecticut Police Academy instructor has been charged with disorderly conduct after acting on a co-worker's request to "bite me." Francis Woodruff is accused of biting the arm of 42-year- old Rochelle Wyler, a licence and applications analyst at the academy. The arrest report says Wyler was left with teeth marks and bruising on her left tricep. Wyler filed a complaint al- leging Woodruff, 51, provoked her by calling her a clerk. She told him to "bite me." He did. KIDS TODAY NEVER LISTEN BANGOR, Pa. — A Pennsyl- vania woman is facing a num- ber of charges after she fired a gun into the ground near her son's feet because the teenager wouldn't listen to her. Police say Dawn Lynn Ho- gan was arguing with her son in front of her home. She went inside, got her 9 mm handgun, went back out, continued to ar- gue, then fired a shot near his feet, but did not injure him. She was charged with en- dangering the welfare of chil- dren, possession of instruments of crime, and recklessly endan- gering another person. HEY, THOSE ARE TEAMSTER JOBS AKRON, Ohio — An 81-year- old Ohio man has been charged with criminal damaging after clearing a pothole for repairs. An undercover police officer spotted James Stacy taking a pickax to a pothole. Stacy said he cleared the nearly metre- wide hole because he believed the repairs would last longer. Public works manager Paul Barnett said he also likes to clean potholes for repair, but they create a greater hazard until they are filled. Stacy is scheduled to appear in court this week and faces up to 90 days in jail. WHAT ABOUT NAMES? Rocks are too dangerous for some schools, according to an educational resources web log. In reaction to liability con- cerns, classes that featured rocks as learning tools will use posters of rocks instead. A school re- jected the rocks in favour of the posters because, "rocks take on the 'toxic' tag because they con- tain uncontrollable amounts of base elements found in nature." So rocks, along with sticks and stones, are on the list of things that can hurt. LT

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