Law Times

Page 20 SePtember 15, 2014 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com MICHAL FAIRBURN WINS CIVILITY AWARD Michal Fairburn of Stockwoods LLP has received The Advocates' Society's Catzman award for professionalism and civility. Fairburn, a criminal lawyer, received the award from Ontario Chief Justice George Strathy at the annual opening of the courts ceremony in Toronto last week. Fairburn is "universally recognized for her persuasive advocacy and for her fairness and civility," The Advocates' Society said in announc- ing the award. Fairburn joined Stockwoods last year after more than two decades with the Ministry of the Attorney General's criminal Crown law office where she was general counsel. The Catzman award honours the late Ontario Court of Ap- peal justice Marvin Catzman. According to The Advocates' Soci- ety, the award recognizes individuals who demonstrate the qualities exemplified by Catzman throughout his career: knowledge of the law, integrity, fairness, civility, generosity of time and expertise, and dedication to the highest ideals of the legal profession through writ- ing and lecturing. NORWAY TO RENT DUTCH JAIL SPACE OSLO — All summer, Law Times reported on the paradox of Canada's growing prison population versus the long-standing decline in crime rates. But it appears the space crunch at jails isn't just an issue in Canada. It's probably one of the last places you'd expect to be in this position, but Norway is renting prison space in order to deal with a shortage. The issues, of course, are a little different. According to Norway's justice ministry, the country plans to rent prison space in the Neth- erlands as the queue of convicts awaiting cells is growing and renovation work at Norwegian jails is likely to cut capacity. "At the moment, the queue is at 1,300 custo- dial sentences, and there is a great demand for detention space," it said in a statement. And it's not just Norway that's leasing prison space from the Netherlands. "The Netherlands has already leased prison capacity to Belgium for several years," according to the statement. Norwegian prisons are known for their rela- tively humane treatment of inmates with non- violent offenders often held in open prisons with some free personal movement, jobs, rec- reation facilities, and a focus on rehabilitation. A deal for several hundred prison places would allow Norway to avoid overcrowding and maintain its standards while prison reno- vation work costing up to 4.4 billion krone (about $760 million) is underway. The Nordic country's incarceration rate is about 72 inmates for every 100,000 people. That's about a tenth of the level in the United States, and Norway's reoffending rate of about 20 per cent is among the lowest in the world. The arrangement, of course, is a sign that the Netherlands has room in its corrections system. "In Norway, there is a capacity shortage, and right now we have a surplus," Fred Teeven, the Dutch state secretary with responsibility for prisons, said in a letter to the Dutch parlia- ment. According to Reuters, the Netherlands al- ready has a contract to house overf low pris- oners from Belgium — roughly half of whose population speaks Dutch — in a prison near the Belgian border. "The situation with Norway will be dif- ferent because Norway is not an immediate neighbour, is not a member of the European Union, and the language is different," said Teeven. According to Reuters, a deal would pro- vide for Norwegian sentences to be carried out from 2015 in accordance with Norwegian law on Dutch territory. The Netherlands' prison population stood at 11,160 at the end of 2012 and has been fall- ing continuously since 2008, according to the Dutch prison service. ZOMBIE GAME NOT SO FUN LAKESIDE, Ore. — It's hard to see how there was anything fun about a supposed zombie game that involved an attack on a woman at home. According to police, an Oregon woman was arrested for breaking into a home and attack- ing a woman resident while claiming she was playing a "zombie game." Sheriff 's officers arrested Jessica Rocha, 27, at a home in the coastal town of Lakeside, said Sgt. Kelley Andrews of Coos County, adding that she was charged with criminal mischief, assault, unlawful entry, harassment, and at- tempted burglary. "She was making comments about playing a zombie game," said Andrews. "I've never heard of that." The Coos Bay World newspaper reported Rocha pushed 37-year-old Erica Tate down the stairs, pulled her hair, and bit her. LT REACH ONE OF THE LARGEST LEGAL AND BUSINESS MARKETS IN CANADA! AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN PRINT 8JUINPSFUIBOQBHFWJFXTBOEVOJRVF WJTJUPSTNPOUIMZDBOBEJBOMBXMJTUDPNDBQUVSFTZPVSNBSLFU FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Colleen Austin T: 416.649.9327 | E: colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com www.canadianlawlist.com Get noticed by the lawyers, judges, corporate counsel, finance professionals and other blue chip cilents and prospects who find the contacts they need for Canadian legal expertise at canadianlawlist. com with an annual Gold or Silver Enhanced listing package. ENCHANCE YOUR LISTING TODAY! Untitled-1 1 14-08-29 2:32 PM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story GOWLINGS DONATES $60K FOR ALS Last week, Law Times reported on law firms and lawyers who did the ice bucket challenge. One of those firms, Gowl- ing Lafleur Henderson LLP, has made a fairly significant donation to the ALS Society of Canada following the chal- lenge. "It was incredible how quick- ly our team came together to take the challenge and donate," said Scott Jolliffe, Gowlings' chairman and chief executive officer, who presented the firm's donation of about $60,000 on Sept. 8. "The firm-wide response was overwhelming and speaks to our commitment to finding a cure for ALS and supporting families who are living with this devastating disease." The $60,084 donation in- cluded individual contributions from lawyers and staff — which the firm matched — as well as a $10,000 lump-sum donation. POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. According to the poll, about 65 per cent of respondents feel a requirement for dual signatures on trust accounts would be im- practical for sole practitioners and feel the legal profession shouldn't implement such a rule. The debate on whether a sin- gle lawyer should be able to sign for funds held in a trust account followed Toronto lawyer Mee- rai Cho's arrest on fraud charg- es in connection with millions of dollars in missing deposit fees for a North York condominium building. Proponents of a dual- signature rule say it would pre- vent similar situations from happening. Cho, who was holding the deposits in trust, said she transferred the money to the condo developer by mistake. She blamed her inexperience for what happened, but police believe otherwise. She faces 75 charges related to fraud and breach of trust. None of the al- legations have been proven in court. Cho is to appear on the charges in early October. LT "I said this is Mr. Oooog, our new tech shutdown law specialist." Michal Fairburn, second from left, with Ontario Chief Justice George Strathy, Julie Catzman, and Peter Lukasiewicz, president of The Advocates' Society.

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