Law Times

PAGE 16 u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James MAN THOUGHT DEAD FOR 31 YEARS ALIVE AFTER ALL BERLIN — You' ernment would have better records of who it had killed. In the case of Rene Seiptius, he had counted for 31 years among the thousands of people killed while trying to escape the confines of com- munist East Germany. As it turns out, he was alive all along, according to Reuters. "I can't explain how it could have happened, Seiptius told Reuters. Seiptius first attempted to cross the deadly strip of land that once separated East Germany from the West in 1981 when he was 17. He and two friends managed to tiptoe past a notorious secret police show Seiptius as having died during that botched escape attempt. "I've been alive for the last 48 years," he said. Eventually, his name found its way to a list of all the people who had died along Germany's " d think the East German gov- have sparked a national outcry in a country whose ruling class has long been mired in cor- ruption scandals. "If you work hard and put your heart and soul into it . . . then you are allowed to steal some," augusT 20, 2012 • Law Times u The INSIDE STORY Shivpal Singh Yadav told a gathering of local of- ficials in comments caught on camera. "But don't be a bandit." The comments played on newscasts across CBA TO TACKLE ACCESS TO JUSTICE The Canadian Bar Association has launched three efforts aimed at improv- ing access to justice, assisting the legal profession to prepare for the future, and helping law firms measure diversity. "These projects centre on a vision for justice and how that can be achieved," the country. Yadav, a minister for public works, quickly sought to control the damage and called a news conference to explain that the comments had been taken out of context and that he had been discussing how to combat corruption. "In that event, the media was not allowed in. I row of minefields but they triggered fire from an automatic spring gun. Border guards quickly ar- rested them. But records kept by East Germany' s don't know how they sneaked in. And if they had sneaked in, the whole discussion should have come out in the press, not just part of it." east-west border compiled by a museum in Berlin. Seiptius tried two more times, unsuccessfully, to escape East Germany until he received per- mission to leave. Today, he lives near the western German city of Mainz. The case didn't become public until recently COPS RAPPED FOR NAKED DETAINEES ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In a country where modesty matters, police should know they should refrain from parading naked detainees around. Officials have suspended four Pakistani po- said outgoing CBA president Trinda Ernst. "The initiatives are at the heart of members and to the public." As part of the new efforts, the CBA' what the CBA is all about and will en- hance our association' s offering both to Trinda Ernst tee will look at the legal needs of low- and middle-income people, how the profession can do its part to improve access to justice while keeping governments accountable, and how to assess the viability of the current legal system. It will also take part in a national sum- mit on access to justice and provide regular reports and updates on its web site. Other activities include a study on the current legal environ- s access to justice commit- lice officers aſter they allegedly paraded a man and two women naked in a town in the deeply conservative Muslim country, Reuters reported. It was unclear why the three were naked while when Seiptius' ex-wife stumbled across an article on the web site of the German broadcaster NDR that listed Seiptius as deceased. POLITICIAN TOUTS MODERATE STEALING LUCKNOW, India — It' has a corruption problem when ministers are telling bureaucrats they can steal things. According to Reuters, a minister in India' s little wonder why India most populous and politically crucial state, Uttar Pradesh, has said bureaucrats can steal a little as long as they work hard. The comments s police escorted them to the station in the south- ern town of Gambat on July 28. The man, businessman Mumtaz Mallah, 52, told Reuters police were punishing him for re- fusing to pay a bribe. Irfan Baloch, a senior local police officer, said ment, shiſts in client demands, and how to train the next genera- tion of lawyers. Lawyers, academics, regulators, judges, and con- sumers of legal services will conduct the study. In addition, the CBA will create an online guide for measuring POLL RESULTS The results of the latest online Law Times poll are in. Forty-eight per cent of re- all three were part of a prostitution ring and au- thorities were responding to community pres- sure by arresting them. The three were already naked when police raided Mallah's home, he said. "The main arresting police officer's mistake was that he should have covered them up," said LT Baloch. HIV status. The comments follow a Law a client's Times article that discussed R. v. Butt. The decision in the re- cent criminal case included the judge' lawyer who disclosed her cli- ent' The judge praised her for do- ing so. The lawyer' to HIV testing of a 12-year-old victim and the discovery that he wasn't HIV positive. s comments on a defence s HIV status to the court. s actions led INBOUND REFERRALS DRIVE PROFITS: SURVEY More than one in 10 Canadian law firms earn half of their total annual income from inbound referrals, a new survey by Lex- isNexis Martindale-Hubbell shows. According to the results, 55 "The Glorious Great Leader is an admirer of your Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act and will, for a facilitation fee, refuse all bribes from your competitors.' per cent of Canadian law firms surveyed that earn at least 20 per cent of their total annual income from inbound referrals get new business from other firms in the same province, ter- ritory or city. The survey found the referrals oſten occur for litigation, arbitration or dispute resolution, real estate law, and general corporate work. diversity at law firms to help them assess their performance on that issue. spondents said it might be ap- propriate to reveal results, it is clear that revenue via referrals from other lawyers is very important for many law firms," said Canadian Bar As- sociation chief executive offi- cer John Hoyles. "In the continued challeng- "Even from these headline ing economic climate, they help to provide firms with welcome support to help achieve new business targets when other sources of new business are more static." The survey took place be- tween February and March 2012. It was released on Aug. 12 at the CBA' conference in Vancouver. s Canadian legal LAO CHEQUE SCAM ALERT Some members of the public are receiving counterfeit Legal Aid Ontario cheques as part of a mystery shopper scam, LAO is reporting. Some members of the public who have applied for a job as a mystery shopper or customer service evaluator are receiving counterfeit LAO cheques for their work in the amount of $3,991.17. LAO said in a statement the cheques are fake and people shouldn't cash them. It' many members of the public are victims of the scam. The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. s not clear at this time how LT For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM

• Cover