Law Times

Page 16 January 19, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com PAUL SCHABAS BECOMES LFO CHAIR The Law Foundation of Ontario has a new chairman with Paul Schabas tak- ing over the role from Mark Sandler. Schabas took on the role on Jan. 1 af- ter serving as a trustee since 2007. A me- dia lawyer and partner at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, he has also served as chairman of Pro Bono Law Ontario and a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. He's currently a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada as well. "I look forward to building on the significant achievements of my predecessor," said Schabas of his new role. SWISS PIZZA EXEMPTION SCRAPPED BERN, Switzerland — Who would have thought pizza deliveries could be a trade issue? But in Eu- rope, where distances are short and prices fairly high, authorities have been grappling with cross- border pizza deliveries. Around a year ago, the Swiss customs admin- istration scrapped an exception that, in some cir- cumstances, allowed food delivery like pizza into Switzerland without having to pass through cus- toms. The previous system had prompted busi- nesses across the border to offer deals targeting Swiss customers, a spokesman for the customs office said. According to Reuters, the strong Swiss franc has prompted Swiss bargain hunters to cross the border in search of cheaper goods in neighbour- ing Germany and France. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) for Hochrhein-Bodensee, a German re- gion that borders Switzerland, had lobbied for an exception in the case of pizza delivery, but the Swiss customs administration has decided against such a move for the time being. "IHK Hochrhein-Bodensee is disappointed with this information and will, in the interests of our member companies, continue to work to find a solution," the industry body's chief executive Uwe Boehm said in a statement. POLITICIAN'S THREAT AGAINST USING HIS NAME IGNORED FREDERICK, Md. — A Maryland newspaper had a creative response to a politician's legal threat to stop printing his name. According to Reuters, the threat backfired with the dispute and the politician's name now splashed across the Internet and social media. Angered by a news story, Kirby Delauter, a Re- publican member of the Frederick County coun- cil, said in a posting on Facebook that he would sue the Frederick News-Post if it used his name in any way without permission. "Use my name again unauthorized and you'll be paying for an attorney," wrote Delauter. "Your rights stop where mine start." Delauter was responding to a story about a f lap with the county executive over council park- ing spaces and office keys. The newspaper responded with a story about the threat and an editorial titled "Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter." The editorial cited the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of press freedom and used Delauter's full name 25 times. In an acrostic, the first letter of each paragraph spelled out De- lauter's name. Terry Headlee, managing editor of the 30,000-circulation newspaper, said at first he thought Delauter's threat was a joke. "I just couldn't believe that an elected official would say something so stupid," he said. MAN BRINGS BABY TO BURGLARY ATTEMPT ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This case is probably a good argument for improving childcare. According to Reuters, a Florida man is in hot water for allegedly bringing his five-month-old son to a home burglary attempt during which he set the baby down so that he could pull a knife on the homeowner. Corey Mathews, 22, is facing charges includ- ing aggregated assault and child neglect for his role in the attempted burglary, according to the St. Petersburg Police department. Police said Mathews held his baby in a car seat as he acted as the lookout for another man trying to break into a home. Mathews yelled upon seeing the homeowner, and the other suspect f led. The homeowner followed Mathews down an alley, where he put the baby on the ground and threatened the owner with a knife, police said in a statement. Mathews was still carrying the infant when police later apprehended him, the statement said. The child is now in the custody of Mathews' mother, police said. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story 16 NEW PARTNERS AT GOWLINGS Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP has admitted 16 new part- ners at its offices across Canada and Britain. Five of the new partners are in Ontario. Commercial litigation lawyer Brent Arnold, corporate finance and mergers and acqui- sitions lawyer Rob Blackstein, and restructuring and insolvency lawyer Frank Lamie have joined the Toronto office. Procurement lawyer Stephanie Pearce is now a partner at the Ottawa office while the Hamilton, Ont., office of Gowlings has welcomed busi- ness lawyer Pam Vermeersch to the partnership. "We pride ourselves on hav- ing the top talent at Gowlings," said Scott Jolliffe, Gowlings chairman and chief executive of- ficer. "Our new partners are ex- emplars of the outstanding depth of experience and expertise we offer across Canada and interna- tionally. They are also highly at- tuned to what our clients expect from their external counsel — trusted legal advisers who consis- tently deliver exceptional service, value, and results." RICHARD MAHONEY JOINS HANSELL LLP Public policy lawyer Richard Mahoney has joined Hansell LLP. Firm founder Carol Hansell said Mahoney, who was previ- ously an adviser to former prime minister Paul Martin, is an im- portant addition to the firm. "Richard will add a valuable new dimension to the advice we provide. Government is an im- portant stakeholder for many of our clients. Richard's deep public policy experience will be an enor- mous asset," she said. Mahoney focuses on public policy, issue management, regula- tory affairs, and governance mat- ters. He has made previous at- tempts at federal office under the Liberal party banner in the past and, according to the Ottawa Citizen, he'll be seeking the Lib- eral nomination in Ottawa West- Nepean for the upcoming federal election. NEW ADDITION AT JAMS Former Blake Cassels & Gray- don LLP partner Timothy Unwin has joined JAMS in Toronto. Unwin will serve as an arbi- trator and mediator at JAMS. "Tim has a reputation for effi- ciently grasping and managing complex matters," said Chris Poole, president and chief ex- ecutive officer of JAMS. "His varied experience work- ing with corporations and par- ties to reach resolution makes him an excellent addition to our panel in Toronto." For his part, Unwin said he has been a proponent of media- tion and arbitration for many years. "I look forward to con- tinue doing this important work and joining the supremely ca- pable team in Toronto." POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. According to the poll, more than half of respondents are optimistic about legal business prospects in 2015 with 54 per cent agreeing that the coming year couldn't get worse for the industry than 2014. But the rest of participants weren't so sure about that, saying the headwinds remain strong this year as well.LT "The gods must have adopted a new, innovative but disruptive data management technology." Paul schabas The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM

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