Law Times

Page 16 August 8, 2016 • LAw times www.lawtimesnews.com INVESTORS CLINIC LAUNCHED An Osgoode Hall law professor is set to launch a free investors clinic, thanks to a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario. Poonam Puri is starting the Investor Protection Clinic and Living Lab, which will help individual investors who suffer loss because of wrongdoing. The clinic is a joint project with FAIR Canada. "Canadian investors who be- lieve they have been wronged or suffered a loss deserve a single point of contact to help them with their investment complaint," says Puri. "Our clinic, the first of its kind in Canada, will fill this gap. I'm really excited to be able to offer this unique hands-on learning op- portunity to Osgoode Hall law students." Law students will staff the clinic, heralded as the first of its kind in the country. The clinic will collect information and data on complaints, and will develop a plain-language grievance guide for investors who have fallen prey to fraud. The Law Foundation provided Puri with a $98,959 grant to launch the clinic through its Access to Justice Fund. The foundation announced a total of $700,000 for eight different initiatives that all look to help vulnerable investors. Other winners who received grant money from the Law Founda- tion included the Canadian Centre for Elder Law, a division of the British Columbia Law Institute, the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights and the Fondation du Bar- reau du Québec. OBA WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARD The Association for Con- tinuing Legal Education has given an award to the Ontario Bar Association for its use of technology in its continuing professional development. The OBA received the hon- our for its OBA Institute 2016, which brought together 2,000 lawyers from across the province in February. The OBA said technology played a big role in the gather- ing, connecting venues in Ot- tawa and Toronto through a number of methods, including two-way hubs, which allowed lawyers to participate in events in the other city. DALTON JOINS DLA PIPER (CANADA) LLP DLA Piper (Canada) LLP welcomed corporate lawyer Lauren Dalton as the newest addition to its Toronto office. Dalton will join the firm as an associate. Called to the bar in both Ontario and New York State, Dalton has experience in cross-border issues. YES, I AGREE 87 % 13 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL Law Times reported recent- ly that Paul Schabas, the new treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, will be taking a "hard look" at the Law Practice Program, after concerns were raised that the program creates two tiers in the licensing system. Readers were asked if the review is needed. Almost 87 per cent of re- spondents said yes, a review of the LPP is needed and there are outstanding concerns that re- quire scrutiny. Roughly 13 per cent of re- spondents said no, a review is unnecessary and the program has been introduced already. Any review would simply be window dressing. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story CARTOON CRACKDOWN A Pakistani opposition lawmaker has pro- posed banning 24-hour cartoon TV chan- nels, specifically the popular Japanese series Doraemon, drawing ridicule on social media in a country fighting corruption, poverty and Islamist militants. Malik Taimur, from cricketer-turned-pol- itician Imran Khan's political party, said such channels could have a negative inf luence on children. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf holds a majority in the northwestern Khyber Pakh- tunkhwa province, which is on the front line of the fight against the Taliban and other militants that kill hundreds each year. The resolution submitted in Punjab prov- ince's assembly requested "the federal govern- ment that it make it binding upon PEMRA [state regulator] that it close down cartoon channels, specifically Doraemon, or only run them for limited time periods." "Children's education and physical health is being affected by these 24-hour cartoon chan- nels," the resolution said. Doraemon is a small, blue robot cat from the future sent back in time to help a hapless school- boy and his family. Many episodes of the ani- mated version feature lessons about moral val- ues, and the series has been translated into more than 30 languages. Japan even selected Dorae- mon as a cartoon cultural ambassador in 2008. After Khan's party member filed the petition, #PTIvsDoraemon began trending on Twitter in Pakistan, with many people wondering why the party didn't focus on more pressing issues such as child abuse, corruption and poverty. SMOOTH CRIMINALS . . . EXCEPT FOR THE PAPER TRAIL Three suspected burglars who stole millions of dollars from two New York banks were caught af- ter using a personal credit card to buy the tools of their trade, authorities said. The trio was charged with using blowtorches to cut through the roofs of the banks in Brooklyn and Queens to access the vaults and steal cash and valuables earlier this year, local and federal law enforcement officials said. They were captured thanks to surveillance footage and cellphone data, authorities said, as well as records showing they bought plywood from Home Depot and blowtorches from a local welder in order to carry out the crimes. "These heists resembled scenes from the movie Heat — the work of a crew that was well organized, meticulous and elusive to law enforcement," New York City Police Commis- sioner Bill Bratton said in a statement. "The picture slowly came into focus, result- ing in today's arrests and charges." The three Brooklyn men, named as Michael Mazzara, Charles Kerrigan and Anthony Mas- cuzzio, allegedly stole more than $5 million in cash and valuables, including jewelry and base- ball cards. Each faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of bank burglary and conspiracy to commit bank burglary. DON'T TEAR DOWN PINK PAPER! Two eight-year-old girls in Thailand have been charged with violating campaigning rules be- fore a contentious referendum. The girls had torn voter lists off a wall because they liked the pink paper they were printed on, police said. The military government clamped down on dissent ahead of an Aug. 7 vote on a military- backed constitution that it says will ensure sta- bility in a country rocked by political turmoil. The girls were charged with obstructing the referendum process and destroying pub- lic property after tearing down the lists posted outside a school, said Damrong Phetpong, po- lice commander in the northern province of Kamphaeng Phet. He said they would not face punishment be- cause they were so young. LT Poonam Puri is launching a free clinic that will help investors who suffer loss because of wrongdoing. © 2015 Stewart. All rights reserved. We put legal professionals front and centre and we put our efforts into keeping real estate transactions where they belong – in your office. Learn more about our level of support, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Ally Untitled-4 1 2016-03-02 10:19 AM "They're moving in today. They like the location."

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