Law Times

Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation )BSECPVOEȕ1VCMJTIFE'FCSVBSZFBDIZFBS 0OTVCTDSJQUJPOȕ- 0OFUJNFQVSDIBTFȕ- .VMUJQMFDPQZEJTDPVOUTBWBJMBCMF 1SJDFTTVCKFDUUPDIBOHFXJUIPVUOPUJDF]UPBQQMJDBCMFUBYFTBOETIJQQJOHIBOEMJOH CANADIAN LAW LIST 2014 :063*/45"/5$0//&$5*0/50$"/"%"Ȏ4-&("-/&5803, ȕ BOVQUPEBUFBMQIBCFUJDBMMJTUJOH ȕ DPOUBDUJOGPSNBUJPO ȕ MFHBMBOEHPWFSONFOUDPOUBDUJOGPSNBUJPO .03&5)"/"1)0/�, CLL-Dir_LT_Feb10_14.indd 1 14-01-31 12:11 PM Procedural feat at Nortel trial Unique logistics required for simultaneous proceeding omplex and unique logistics for the joint proceedings in the Nortel Networks Corp. bankruptcy case are in the works as the On- tario Superior Court gets set to hold its fi rst simultaneous trial with a U.S. counterpart. e May 12 trial will take place in Toronto and Wilm- ington, Del., with a live streaming feature to allow the two proceedings to go ahead simultaneously. e pro- cedural feat will involve double the legal counsel, two judges sitting in both cities, and witness testimony from both Toronto and Wilmington. For the court reporters in charge of capturing it all, the upcoming proceedings are both exciting and chal- lenging. In Toronto, a team from Neeson & Associates Court Reporting and Captioning Inc. will type up ev- erything said in Courtroom 8-1 at 361 University Ave. as well as in a courtroom in Wilmington through the help of audio and video streaming. In Wilmington, another team of court reporters will do the same and the two groups will work together to fi ll in whatever each is missing, says Kim Neeson of Neeson & Associates. "It's never been done before," says Neeson. "You can develop all the protocol in the world but now you got to get in the trenches and really see how this works. "We've got a lot of pressure on us to get those certi- fi ed transcripts out that same night. But you've got the added challenge of a diff erent jurisdiction, so it's not like I can tap somebody at lunch and say, 'What's that case you referred to?' I'll have to rely on my counter- parts in Delaware." Meanwhile, counsel will be able to speak to their colleges across the border via a private chat during the proceedings and Superior Court Justice Frank Newbould, the new judge on the case, will be chatting online with his American counterpart during the trial as well, says Neeson. Last year, Delaware bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross and Ontario Superior Court Justice Geoff rey Morawetz agreed a simultaneous proceeding would be the best way to arrive at a decision on how to divide the dwin- dling cash reserves from the liquidation of Nortel despite concerns from some quarters that a two-way proceeding might be chaotic. Linc Rogers, a partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, says the two judges were right. " e technology is there. . . . It's going to be stable, reli- able, and effi cient," he says. Even if there are minor glitches, it's unlikely they'll get in the way of conducting a smooth trial, he adds. "It's not going to lead to chaos or anarchy of any sort; it can be entirely manageable." At the helm of both courtrooms will be senior judges who are capable and have lots of experience, Rogers adds. " at's the most important thing: having leadership and guidance in which all the stakeholders can have con- fi dence. And the technology is really a secondary issue and it will work to serve the greatest goals because the counsel and the judges know what they're doing." e technology at the heart of the proceeding is Live Lawyers to resist Getahun pending appeal n organization of promi- nent medical malprac- tice practitioners have announced they'll con- tinue to review and discuss dra reports with experts pending an ap- peal of an Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision that categorically prohibits the practice. e Holland Access to Justice in Medical Malpractice Group, formed in 1998, is a multipartisan organization currently chaired by former Ontario associate chief jus- tice Coulter Osborne. e group, which includes both plaintiff s' and defence lawyers, has moved to in- tervene in the appeal from Justice Janet Wilson's January 2014 deci- sion in Moore v. Getahun. Jerome Morse of Morse Shan- non LLP, William Black of Mc- Carthy Tétrault LLP, and John Morris of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, all of Toronto, represent the Holland Group. "One of the Holland Group's primary objectives is to consider and discuss best practices in medi- cal malpractice cases with a view to conducting them fairly and effi - ciently while maximizing access to justice," says Morse. e issue relating to expert evidence arose in Getahun when it emerged at trial that one of the defendants' experts had changed his report in response to certain suggestions by counsel during a 90-minute phone conversation. In no uncertain language, Wil- son concluded "that counsel's prior practice of reviewing dra reports should stop," that "discussions or meetings between counsel and an expert to review and shape a dra report are no longer acceptable," and that "the practice of discussing dra reports with counsel is improper and undermines both the purpose of Rule 53.03 as well as the expert's credibility and neutrality." Wilson's comments caused an uproar among counsel through- out Canada as they eff ectively condemned and prohibited long- standing practices in the litigation bar generally. " e common under standing TWU REJECTED Benchers say no to accreditation P5 POWER WOES North suffers as politics trump logic P6 FOCUS ON Aboriginal Law P8 Kim Neeson is part of the Canadian court reporting team that will be working with its Delaware counterparts during the joint Nortel proceedings. Photo: Laura Pedersen See Lawyers, page 5 See Counsel, page 5 Getahun will considerably increase the cost of litigation and limit access to justice, says Jerome Morse. PM #40762529 TORONTO | BARRIE | HAMILTON | KITCHENER 1-866-685-3311 | mcleishorlando.com cLeish Orlando_LT_Jan_20_14.indd 1 14-01-15 3:15 PM $4.00 • Vol. 25, No. 15 April 28, 2014 Follow LAW TIMES on www.twitter.com/lawtimes L Aw TIMes L Aw TIMes BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times C BY JULIUS MELNITZER For Law Times A

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