Law Times

BY PATRICIA CANCILL A Law Times SOME people think lawyers who don't have at least 10 years of experience may not be quali- fied to be benchers. Others dis- agree. The issue was recently de- bated on Twitter, as candidates and voters alike gear up for the Law Society of Ontario's bencher election coming up on April 30. Read these and other topics up for discussion at #Bencher Election2019. BY ANITA BAL AKRISHNAN Law Times BENCHER candidates practis- ing outside of the Greater To- ronto Area say lawyers in their regions are looking for better communication from the Law Society of Ontario and support of local law associations and li- braries. "The majority of lawyers in the province are sole licensees or in small practices — they aren't members of big, provincewide law firms or law firms that have offices internationally. It's really important that we always keep sight of that, because that's a huge access to justice issue — it's about having lawyers across the province connected to the sup- ports they need to be competent lawyers. It's important for pro- tection of the public," says God- erich, Ont.-based Teresa Don- nelly, the West Region Sexual Violence Crown at the Ministry of the Attorney General who is a bencher running for re-election. "Part of it is connecting law- yers to those resources that al- ready exist but also being com- mitted to the law associations and understanding really what lawyers who are outside of To- ronto, especially in rural or re- mote areas, really need," she says. These issues have come to the fore ahead of the April 30 bench- er election. Lawyers will elect up to 40 PM #40762529 BY JULIUS MELNITZER For Law Times THE Ontario Court of Ap- peal has overturned a summary judgment for $20 million based on a criminal conviction for fraud over $5,000. "The case cried out for scru- tiny," says Doug Cunningham in Toronto, who represented Dirk Plate, the successful appellant in Plate v. Atlas Copco Can- ada Inc. The Court of Appeal's reasons serve notice that there are clear limits on what's admis- sible when parties rely on material from criminal proceedings as evi- dence in subsequent civil matters. "There are so many cases where a plaintiff will want to rely on material from a criminal trial to shorten the civil proceedings," says Kevin O'Brien, a corporate commercial litigator in Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP's To- ronto office. "The decision reaffirms that there's a key distinction between using evidence that was neces- sary to the verdict and relying on evidence that was more inciden- $20-million judgment overturned Kevin O'Brien says a recent ruling affirms there's a 'key distinction between using evi- dence that was necessary to the verdict and relying on evidence that was more incidental and not central to the criminal case.' Pay attention to lawyers outside Toronto, say bencher hopefuls How much experience is necessary? See Better, page 2 See How, page 4 See Limits, page 2 Contract legislation Good time to learn the CISG page 7 Social media Usage varies in election page 5 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE | MARCH 25, 2019 | WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM | VOL. 30, NO. 11 | $5.00 Double default rule Important to understand page 7 Focus on Managing Your Practice page 8 Teresa Donnelly says local law associations provide a much-needed support for rural and remote lawyers. Photo: Laura Pedersen The Bencher Election is April 30th Visit our new micro-site devoted to the upcoming LSO Bencher Election with news coverage, candidate profiles and advertising opportunities for bencher candidates. Connect with all facets of the bencher election and make an informed decision by visiting BencherElection.ca today. Untitled-1 1 2019-03-05 1:51 PM www.twitter.com/lawtimes Follow CanadianLawyerMag.com Get More Online 'SFTI$BOBEJBOMFHBMOFXTBOE BOBMZTJTBWBJMBCMFPOBOZEFWJDF ntitled-10 1 2019-02-22 10:01 AM

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