Law Times

Page 18 March 24, 2014 • Law TiMes Legal aid crises a recurrent theme over 25 years 1995. e issues facing women were on the agenda even in one of the fi rst issues of Law Times on Feb. 19, 1990. A story on the front page that day noted a study by the Law Society of Up- per Canada that found women represented only one-fi h of Ontario's 18,068 lawyers de- spite a signifi cant increase in the number of them entering the profession during the previous 20 years. In addition, they repre- sented less than eight per cent of law fi rm partners, according to the study. e status of women in the legal profession arose in a land- mark case involving Toronto lawyer Beth Symes. In 1992, she took her case over deducting childcare expenses to the Su- preme Court. For years, she had battled the government as she sought to claim her nanny's sal- ary as a business expense. e case dealt with concerns about the ability of women to carry on a business in light of their child- care duties. Symes, of course, continues to advocate for issues related to the status of women in the legal profession. And there are so many areas where we keep having the same debates. In 1992, for example, Law Times covered the axing of the Court Challenges program, an issue that resurfaced many years later and still resonates af- ter the current federal govern- ment ended a reincarnation of it. at same year, federal of- fi cials declared they'd be able to clear up a long-standing backlog of refugee cases by the end of the year. Lawyers dismissed the pre- dictions about the backlog clear- ance program. ose practising today might be similarly skepti- cal about the changing immigra- tion rules hailed as fi xing long wait times. It seems 1992 was a year for lots of stubborn issues. On Aug. 24, Law Times ran a story noting the great concern over the lack of articling jobs for law graduates. at year, the concern centred on estimates that 19 stu- dents who had participated in the articling match program still didn't have positions for 1992- 93. A er years of having more jobs than students, the law soci- ety was considering its options, including introducing a manda- tory obligation on the profes- sion to hire articling students and guaranteeing positions. Of course, the concern about arti- cling would only grow until the law society took more drastic action with the fl edgling law practice program a er the gap between students and positions reached 15 per cent. And there was another big is- sue that remains very much live today. In 1992, judges were refus- ing to collect the victim surcharge despite legislation that came into force in 1989. At that time, the concern centred on judges' con- cern that the government hadn't yet started the programs for vic- tims the surcharge was supposed to fund. As a result, some judges were refusing to collect. Today, of course, some judges are resisting a new law that made the victim surcharge mandatory. It was only in 1996 that the province hailed a project that would re-engineer Ontario's jus- tice system. Called the Integrated Justice project, the eff ort would create a unifi ed computer and management system to cover all aspects including police, pros- ecutions, courts administra- tion, and parole. Valued at $100 million, the project included an electronic fi ling pilot for civil and family matters. Of course, the government ended up large- ly abandoning the project and, despite subsequent eff orts to digitize Ontario's courts, the jus- tice system has largely remained stuck in the past. Other issues that have re- mained on the agenda include the regulation of paralegals. In 1990, a task force on the fu- ture of independent paralegals considered the establishment of a paralegal registry and the setting of minimum standards for education. In this case, it's an issue where the government eventually took action. In 1997, the Law Society of Upper Cana- da began regulating paralegals, a move that remains contro- versial with continuing debates over what paralegals should be able to do. And a perennial issue through Law Times' 25 years of existence is, of course, legal aid. Crises over funding have per- sisted throughout. Interestingly, while eligibility criteria for legal aid remain stuck at 1995 levels, the government has occasionally boosted the tariff paid to lawyers in response to complaints. But even with the most recent more generous tariff boost follow- ing the 2009 legal aid boycott, concerns about the inadequacy of funding more generally have continued. LT Henderson Structured Settlements Your Partners in Service ® w w w. h e n d e r s o n . c a | 1 . 8 0 0 . 2 6 3 . 8 5 3 7 No Cost /Obligation Services t1SFTFUUMFNFOUFWBMVBUJWFSFQPSUJOH BOEDPOTVMUJOH t*OQFSTPOSFBMUJNFFWBMVBUJWFTVQQPSU BUTFUUMFNFOUNFFUJOHTNFEJBUJPOTFUD t&YQFSUFWJEFODF BUBSCJUSBUJPOTUSJBMT t1PTUTFUUMFNFOUTUSVDUVSFETFUUMFNFOU DPOTVMUJOHBOECSPLFSBHF t$MPTJOHEPDVNFOUBUJPOTVQQPSU t'PSNBMCSPLFSBHF1MFEHF(VBSBOUFF t&EVDBUJPOBMTFNJOBST Proud Sponsor of ntitled-1 1 13-11-18 7:51 AM Continued from page 8 LAW TIMES CHANGES HANDS Law Times' long association with the Cartwright Group Ltd. came to an end in August 2010 with the paper's purchase by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. e sale of the legal group of publications was part of a larger deal that saw Canada Law Book, a division of e Cartwright Group Ltd. owned by former judge Ian Cart- wright, aligned with Carswell. e sale included the move of Law Times' offi ces to To- ronto from its former home in Aurora, Ont. MERGER MANIA LEADS TO BIRTH OF NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMS Law fi rm merger mania began anew in late 2010 with Mc- Millan LLP's announcement that it would merge with Lang Michener LLP. Following quickly on the November announcement that the storied Lang Michener fi rm would operate under the McMillan banner was Ogilvy Renault LLP's revelation that it would join the Norton Rose Group. e merger meant the disappearance of another iconic name but was particularly notable given Ogilvys' decision to become the fi rst Canadian law fi rm to go global. Other international mergers have followed. Macleod Dixon LLP later joined the Norton Rose Group, which itself became Norton Rose Fulbright last year with the long-await- ed addition of a U.S. fi rm. And Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP joined Ogilvys in the global push when it joined Salans LLP and SNR Denton to become Dentons Canada LLP last year. Many law fi rms have merged over the 25 years Law Times has been in business, including McCarthy & McCarthy's 1990 union with Montreal's Clarkson Tétrault. e move, of course, followed a key Supreme Court ruling involving McCarthys that signaled the rise of the national law fi rm in Canada. at same year, Fasken Campbell Godfrey and Montreal's Martineau Walker announced they'd joined up with Davis & Co. of Vancouver to create a pool of 480 lawyers while Borden and Elliot announced a merger that included Mackenzie Ger- vais of Montreal. In 2000, Faskens grew again with its merger with Vancou- ver's Russell & DuMoulin. FIRM'S CULTURE REVEALED FOR ALL TO SEE e nasty dynamics of a criminal law fi rm were available for all to see when a former employee sued Rusonik O'Connor Rob- bins Ross Gorham & Angelini LLP for wrongful dismissal. As part of her claim, Tracy Francis accused the fi rm of fi r- ing her for making the same kinds of disparaging remarks she alleged were routine among the lawyers there. e fi rm denied the allegations and said it fi red her for cause and she failed to adequately perform assigned tasks. And while the fi rm accused Francis of disparaging partners, she fi led e- mails suggesting she wasn't the only one doing that. One of the e-mails quoted a partner attacking a colleague whom he sug- gested was a "110 pounder . . . who's trying to overcompensate for a life of being the runt of the litter." In response, the fi rm's Reid Rusonik suggested the passag- es, "however much they are accurately quoted, are badly out of context." In addition, he said they had nothing to do with Francis' fi ring. LANDMARK MOBILITY DEAL A er years of progress on the issue, Canada's law societies reached a mobility deal with Quebec last year that would further open the doors to practice across jurisdictions. In March 2013, Law Society of Upper Canada Treasurer omas Conway said the unanimous ratifi cation of the new agreement was "the proudest moment" during his time in his current role at Convocation. e prior provisions under the Quebec mobility agree- ment allowed lawyers from common law provinces to practise in areas "only with respect to matters under federal jurisdiction." e 2007 agreement also allowed them to provide legal advice involving matters from their own province, the Crim- inal Code or public international law. e new arrangement would replace those conditions and allow Ontario lawyers to practise in any province, in- cluding Quebec, in any area of law they're competent in. SCC APPOINTMENT IN LIMBO Last year saw the rare spectacle of a Supreme Court appoint- ment running into legal roadblocks. Following the nomination of Federal Court of Appeal Justice Marc Nadon, lawyer Rocco Galati launched a chal- lenge alleging the government had failed to adhere to condi- tions requiring Quebec appointees to be from that province's courts or have at least 10 years standing at the Quebec bar. e issue became the subject of a rare Supreme Court hear- ing on the status of one of its own judges. It ruled last week. FIRMS AFFECTED AFTER LAWYER DISAPPEARS e various fi rms that operated under the Heydary brand found themselves under the trusteeship of the Law Society of Upper Canada last year a er lawyer Javad Heydary dis- appeared amid court proceedings over missing client funds. e move came a er Heydary Hamilton PC failed to re- spond to a judge's order for the return of $3.6 million held in trust for clients. e $3.6 million in question was part of a set- tlement owing to a couple Heydary Hamilton had represented in a commercial dispute. As the court proceedings continued in November, Hey- dary, now confi rmed to have died, le for Iran. e trustee- ship aff ected the various fi rms that operated under the Hey- dary banner even though the trust account issues in ques- tion involved only Heydary Hamilton. HEENAN BLAIKIE FOLDS Bay Street lost another storied law fi rm name with the Febru- ary 2014 collapse of Heenan Blaikie LLP. In February, fi rm partners decided to wind up operations following months of departures by many key lawyers. Al- though the fi rm was reportedly profi table and had had some good results in recent years, it struggled with global expan- sion as well as the end of some lucrative fi les that had been bringing in signifi cant revenue. Lawyers began leaving in re- sponse, culminating in the dramatic move to close up shop. Many lawyers have since been moving on to other fi rms, although controversy has surrounded Heenan Blaikie's treat- ment of its support staff . LT www.lawtimesnews.com Javad Heydary

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