Law Times

May 25, 2009

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Law TiMes • May 25, 2009 Con Black's Hail Mary baron Conrad Black landed the legal equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review his fraud conviction. Th e court will hear the ap- L peal from Black and two other ex-Hollinger International Inc. executives convicted in 2007 for stealing over $6 mil- lion from the company. Black, John Boultbee, and Mark Kipnis all are involved in the matter, which will consider "honest services" provisions in U.S. mail fraud laws. Black is currently in a Flori- da jail serving a six-and-a-half- year sentence for fraud and obstruction of justice charges. "I have always said the charges against me were un- founded and that justice would prevail," Black told Th e National Post in an e-mail. He also noted in the mes- sage to the newspaper that he was found guilty of just four of the 17 charges he faced. "Th e District Court threw out 85 per cent of them, and knowing the case as I do, I am hopeful that the Supreme Court of the United States will bring a happy and just ending to this onslaught." Lawyer Steven Skurka says the U.S. "white-collar bar" will eagerly await the decision on the honest services provi- sions. "It's really split court of appeals across the United States," he says. "Th ey're con- fl icting decisions. Th e whole notion of whether it should be expanded — it's intended use for public offi cials in- volved in public corruption cases to corporate executives like Conrad Black or Jeff rey Skilling in the Enron case." Skurka says he's not sur- prised the issue has ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, but he is surprised that Black's is the case that brings it there. "My prognostication is that ultimately he will be acquitted," says Skurka. Chicago securities lawyer Andrew Stoltmann, who has been following Black's case, says he is "shocked" by the decision to hear the matter. "Any appeal to the Supreme Court is an extraordinary long shot," he says. "So the fact that he got the Supreme Court to hear it is very surprising." Stoltmann says Black's Washington lawyer, Miguel Estrada, should be applaud- ed for getting his case to this point. "Estrada should get the lion's share of the credit. He made a good argument, he brought up a hot-button issue," he says. Black's determination also should be noted, however. "He's never given up, he took a long shot, he took a Hail Mary, and it's been caught." — Robert Todd MORELLATO_Aboriginal Law Since Delgamuukw (LT 1-3x4).indd 1 With the Supreme Court of Canada's 1997 seminal decision in Canadian jurisprudence on Aboriginal law continues to rapidly evolve. This text analyzes the major legal developments since legal landscape. , the complexity, nature and substance of Analyzes and investigates the issues with reference to the latest and leading cases and provides practical guidance for those who work in this quickly changing Reflects the varied experience and expertiseof the contributors Under the editorial direction of Maria Morellato, Q.C., leading practitioners and academics from across Canada provide insightful and authoritative comment in four critical areas: • Foundational Legal Principles and Outstanding Issues: The Path Before Us • Addressing Aboriginal and Métis Rights on the Ground: Legal and Pragmatic Considerations • Aboriginal Governance: Legal Rights and Customary Law • Treaty Making and Specific Claims Order your copy today! Hardbound • Approx. 540 pp • June 2009 • Approx. $115 P/C 0828010000 • ISBN 978-0-88804-486-0 egal analysts expressed shock last week when jailed former press NEWS PAGE 3 Firms take cautious approach to new hiring A BY ROBERT TODD Law Times s Ontario's economy continues to drag along in the midst of a global recession, law fi rms admit it's more diffi cult to make new hires, but say the downturn has not led to the type of catastrophic measures taken by many big U.S. fi rms that might give the current crop of law students pause. Norman Letalik, a partner and manag- ing director of professional excellence at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, says his fi rm has made "no fundamental shift" in their approach to student hiring in the midst of the recession. But while the fi rm's articling student hire-back rate has remained steady or increased in Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa, only 10 of 20 Toronto articling students have been kept on as associates. Letalik said the Toronto numbers sug- gest the level of caution being taken by the fi rm, with many waiting "for the other shoe to drop" in this recession. But he says that if the economy continues at the same pace it is currently at, the fi rm likely will go back and make off ers to the articling students who were initially passed over. Th at's what happened in the 1990s when the economy turned for the better, he says. Letalik says BLG has not considered making deferred off ers to new hires, an approach used by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in the U.S. in which associates are paid a partial salary to not come into work. Th ere are unconfi rmed reports of big Toronto fi rms using a simi- lar approach to retain talent while getting through the current slow patch. On the bright side for Toronto fi rms, Letalik says he expects the bloodletting by U.S. fi rms to provide an excellent oppor- tunity for Bay Street to hire on high qual- ity students who otherwise would have been lured south of the border. Gowling Lafl eur Henderson LLP chair- man and chief executive offi cer Scott Jol- liff e says hire-backs are down at his fi rm, but he didn't have exact numbers available. He admits the economic situation has given the fi rm pause. "We're very concerned about not making com- mitments in terms of hire-backs that we may not be able to fulfi l, in terms of providing a full and robust career for the students as they graduate into lawyers," he says. He adds that hire- backs in the areas of business and commer- cial law are down, while intellectual property and litigation hire-backs "are pretty steady." Jol- liff e says the fi rm has fo- cused on keeping its ex- isting associates employed and busy with meaningful work. "To the extent that we fi nd that if we over-hire in terms of students, it may take away from the work available to our exist- ing associates," he says. Jolliff e says Gowlings has not considered deferred hire-backs. He says he recently spoke with a managing partner from Skad- den Arps, who noted the policy didn't turn out as the fi rm had hoped. "She was saying that that's had some positive and some very negative eff ects. What's happened is that they've had to lay off a number of people, particularly their staff , and to be off ering paid vacations and whatnot to associates is not going very well for them," says Jolliff e. "Th ese things have pluses and minuses. Th at certainly gained a lot of press, but at the end of the day it kind of backfi red on them." Jolliff e says Gowlings is trying to keep its associates "busy and engaged" by asking them to take on up to 25 hours of pro bono work for clients. Aboriginal Law Since Delgamuukw Explore the shifting legal landscape Dean Mayo Moran says she has concerns about the hiring pros- pects of graduate students. Meanwhile, Univer- sity of Toronto Faculty of Law Dean Mayo Mo- ran says students at the school have been "barely aff ected" in terms of ar- ticling and summer po- sitions. "Virtually 100 per cent" of the faculty's students again this year have landed spots, she says. However, she says she is keeping her eye on hire-backs, with reports suggesting fi rms being more conservative in their approach. While the school's JD students are in a good position, Moran says she has concerns about the hiring prospects of grad- uate students, who will be seeking employment in the academic job market. "I actually think the academic job mar- ket has seized up much more than the other job market for lawyers, because the thing is that lawyers are in demand, whether it's restructuring or mergers," she says. Moran herself had to hold off on the hiring process of two new law professors due to funding restrictions caused by the recession. Hiring the professors would have meant carrying a defi cit, something the school isn't in a position to do, says Moran. She says she knows of some students from her faculty who received deferrals from New York law fi rms they had arti- cled with, but says she's not aware of any Toronto fi rms making such off ers. "Th ey were quite happy, because they're going to do public interest internships for a year," she says. "And they're getting a pretty substantial salary for doing that, and many of them are looking at ways to do that and also qualify for the Ontario bar, and then they'll go back to the New York bar." LT For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.263.2037 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. www.lawtimesnews.com 5/20/09 3:35:37 PM LT0525 Editor- Contributors: Murray Browne, Gordon Christie, Allan Donovan, Anna Fung, Q.C., Anne Giardini, Peter H in- Chief: Maria Morellato Q.C. John H unter, Q.C., Peter W. H Louise Mandell, Q.C., Roy Millen, Rob Miller, Patricia Monture, James A. O'Reilly, Arthur Pape, Dr. James I. Reynolds, David M. Robbins, Brian Slattery, Jennifer Spencer, Jean Teillet, Ardith W utchins, Douglas Lambert, ogg, Q.C., alkem, Jack W oodward Delgamuukw v. British Columbia Delgamuukw

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