Law Times

Page 16 September 4, 2017 • Law timeS www.lawtimesnews.com FORMER JUSTICE ALLEN LINDEN REMEMBERED Lawyers who knew a retired Federal Court of Appeal judge who died in late August remembered him as a brilliant legal scholar and a deeply caring person. Colleagues and friends laud- ed Allen Linden as a pioneer of Canadian tort law, who taught internationally and wrote exten- sively. "A legacy of achievements can be attributable to one's inher- ent wisdom or amicable humour or relentless passion or a range of other character traits," says Uni- versity of Ottawa law professor Jeremy de Beer, who served as Linden's law clerk between 2001 and 2002. "Justice Linden was all of these things — wise, funny, passionate and more — but his most significant impact, I believe, is attributable to his basic attitude about relationships among people." Colleagues say Linden played major roles in significant policy reform initiatives, including the introduction of no-fault auto insur- ance and compensation for those injured by crimes. Linden was a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School for years before he ascended to the bench. He was first appointed to the Ontario Superior Court in 1978 and was later selected to serve on the Federal Court of Appeal in 1990. Called to the bar in 1960, Linden received his law degree from the school at which he would later teach. He also achieved a Doctor of Science of Law from the University of California at Berkeley. Lorne Sossin, the dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, describes Linden as a passionate law professor, law reformer and jurist. "His love of law and its potential to help people solve their prob- lems was infectious," Sossin said in an email. "His commitment to mentorship was legendary." Last year, Linden was awarded the Order of Canada alongside his brother, Sidney. OSLER LAUNCHES INNOVATION CHALLENGE Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has started an innova- tion challenge for its associates. Called the Associate Innova- tion Challenge, the initiative will see associates from a num- ber of the firm's offices look to develop innovative legal ideas. Ryerson University's Legal Innovation Zone helped launch the challenge by provid- ing a legal tech overview and design thinking exercises to as- sociates. SHEVAUN MCGRATH JOINS MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT Corporate lawyer Shevaun Mc- Grath has joined McCarthy Tétrault LLP's Toronto office as a partner and co-head of the firm's national private equity group. McGrath joined McCar- thy Tétrault from Goodmans LLP, where she practised for 17 years. 34 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 66 % LAW TIMES POLL A Law Society of Upper Can- ada tribunal has removed a for- mer treasurer from representing a lawyer in a discipline proceed- ing. Readers were asked if they agree with this move. Roughly 66 per cent said yes, it's reasonable to have a policy that benchers cannot be retained to represent practitioners before the tribunal prior to completing a one-year cooling-off period. The remaining 34 per cent said no, the decision is unfair and the cooling-off period is too long. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Allen Linden, a pioneer of Canadian tort law, recently died. ZOO ANIMALS STOLEN FOR FOOD? MARACAIBO — Venezuela authorities are investigating the theft of animals from a zoo in the western state of Zulia that were likely snatched to be eaten, a further sign of hunger in a country struggling with chronic food short- ages, reports Reuters. A police official said two collared peccaries, which are similar in appearance to boars, were stolen recently from the Zulia Metropolitan Zoological Park in the sweltering city of Mara- caibo near the Colombian border. "What we presume is that they [were taken] with the intention of eating them," Luis Mo- rales, an official for the Zulia division of the Na- tional Police, told reporters. The chaotic collapse of the country's social- ist economic model has created chronic food shortages that have fuelled malnutrition and left millions seeking food anywhere they can find it, including in trash cans and dumpsters. President Nicolas Maduro blames food shortages on opposition protests that have blocked streets and highways and a broader "economic war" led by adversaries with the help of Washington. Mauricio Castillo, a former zoo director, said thieves had made off with two tapirs, a jungle animal that is also similar to a pig that is described as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. BREXIT, THE MUSICAL EDINBURGH — A retelling of Britain's vote to leave the European Union and its dramatic po- litical consequences might perhaps be framed as high drama or extreme farce. But audiences at the Edinburgh Festival are lapping up a light- hearted sung comedy version, "Brexit The Mu- sical," a sellout featuring a cavorting Boris John- son, the most prominent Brexit campaigner, in matching Union Jack underpants and socks, looking for a lost plan, reports Reuters. On hearing the news that "Leave" has won, Johnson, who in reality surprised many with his decision to campaign to leave the EU and is now Britain's foreign secretary, sings in horror: "Leaving Europe will be a catastrophe/Over- night we'll bugger the economy." Britons voted to leave the EU in June 2016, but since then a host of unforeseen political consequences, including a snap election in which the Conservative government lost its ma- jority, have mired the country in uncertainty. In the comedy version, David Cameron is relieved, once he has resigned as prime minister after the vote, that he no longer has to pretend to be an ordinary man of the people. Michael Gove, Johnson's pro-Leave sidekick and in re- ality now agriculture secretary, sports a tar- tan dressing gown and f luffy slippers and just wants to be liked. The show's writer, EU trade lawyer Chris Bryant, told Reuters the show was meant as "an escape from the dreary reality of where we are." FOOTLOOSE . . . AND UNDER ARREST DUBAI — A 14-year-old boy who was detained by Saudi police recently for dancing to the song "Macarena" at a traffic intersection has been released with a warning about road safety, re- ports Reuters. The boy was filmed dancing to the catchy 1990s hit song in front of five lanes of cars stopped at a traffic light in a clip widely shared on social media. Police had said the teenager, whose name and nationality were not given, was being questioned because he had shown "improper public behavior" and disrupted traffic. An in- terior ministry statement said the boy had been released without charge, after he and his legal guardian were summoned for questioning. "They signed a written pledge that the teen will not engage in behavior that could endanger his life and the life of others again," it said. "The notification was solely intended to warn the boy about potential consequences for his own safety, as well as to safeguard the overall safety of motorists and pedestrians." LT "That's odd, Bernice. Our big-data aggregation personal-evaluation software indicates you're a reptilian swamp zombie from the sixth dimension! Must be some kind of glitch." Collaborate © 2017 Stewart. All rights reserved. See policies for full terms and conditions. At Stewart Title, we provide clients with tools that make it easier to work with others and streamline their practices. The Assyst Real Estate application, powered by TELUS, links legal professionals and lenders so data can be exchanged securely, simply and efficiently – facilitating obtaining mortgage instructions and reporting to the lender. Interested? Request a demo by calling (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Untitled-5 1 2017-05-09 8:59 AM

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