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Law Times • November 10, 2008 NEWS PAGE 5 Survey: name recognition key to election BY ROBERT TODD Law Times T he results of a survey on candidates in the 2007 Law Society of Upper Canada bencher election are in, and one member of Convocation says the findings reject the perception that cam- paign spending determines results. "It sounds like one of the key factors to getting elected is really the name rec- ognition," says Bencher Avvy Go, who is a member of the law society's equity and aboriginal issues committee, which commissioned the report. "If you look at the amount of money spent and a number of other factors, it looks like those who were successful and those who were not successful . . . there wasn't a lot of variation." Go says the results show the advan- tage incumbent benchers hold over those hoping to bring a new face to Convoca- tion chambers. She adds that the apparent primacy of name recognition doesn't bode well for the existence of a diversity of voices at the law society. "Someone who is not working in the mainstream kind of setting . . . for them it might be very hard to get elected, and I'm not sure what is the solution," says Go, a well-known community legal clin- ic lawyer who says she feels obligated to continue to run for election to represent her peers. "It's so important to have a voice for the people who work in the clinic sys- tem," she says, adding that it's vital that Convocation consist of a wide spectrum of lawyers from different practice areas. "Convocation is supposed to govern the entire legal profession, which is made up of very different people with different backgrounds, experiences, interests, and perspectives," she says. "In order to have a meaningful, engag- ing kind of discussion on any policy issue, you need to have that variety of perspective and interest so that the policies that you develop at the end of the day will take into account, to the best of our ability, the vari- ous experiences and interests of the mem- bers. Otherwise it will benefit some at the expense of others," she says. The study, conducted by the Strate- gic Counsel, was based on the responses to questionnaires the 99 bencher candi- dates were asked to complete, with 55 candidates actually completing it. on the campaign, and 18 per cent de- clined to answer the question. The study also found "a modestly greater total mean expenditure" of $4,096 by those who were elected than those who lost, at $3,461. The results also suggest, said the Stra- tegic Counsel, that non-incumbents may have a stronger belief than incum- bents in the importance of direct cam- paign expenditure. That conclusion was based on the finding that the average to- tal expenditure among non-incumbents of $3,390 is more than one and a half times greater than the average among in- cumbents of $2,142. Convocation is supposed to govern the entire legal profession, which is made up of very different people with different backgrounds, experiences, interests, and perspectives, Respondents reported a combined total of $161,500 in estimated campaign expenditures, broken down as follows: • 36 per cent of respondents spent money on direct mailing, with a mean expenditure of $3,342; • 40 per cent of respondents paid for advertising in print media, with a mean expenditure of $2,038; • 35 per cent spent money to create campaign literature, with a mean ex- penditure of $1,435; • 22 per cent spent an average of $274 on electronic mailing; • 16 per cent spent an average of $523 on the creation of a personal web site; • 9 per cent spent an average of $512 on advertising in electronic media; • 9 per cent spent an average of $142 on telephone canvassing; • 22 per cent of respondents reported that they made no direct expenditures Specifically, the study noted that the one area where incumbents were more likely to spend money was on electronic mailing. Thirty-five per cent of incumbents reported an average expenditure of $314 in that area, while 14 per cent of non-incumbents spent an average of $219. The report also asked candidates about indirect expenditures — costs "re- lated to activities or services that are not of a partisan nature," such as child care fees or accommodation. Only 16 per cent of respondents reported such expenses. The survey also looked at monetary contributions to candidates. Sixty-six per cent said they received no monetary con- tributions, while four per cent refused to answer the question. Those who received monetary contributions reported a com- bined total of $83,140. Of those receiv- ing contributions, 20 per cent said they received money from their law firm and nine per cent said they received help from people in the legal profession. According to the findings, 36 per cent of the respondents were incumbent benchers. The study notes that 26 of the respondents were elected or re-elected in 2007, meaning 47 per cent of those who answered the survey are sitting bench- ers and represent 65 per cent of the 40 benchers elected in 2007. In terms of age and gender, 60 per cent of respondents were men and 65 per cent of those completing the sur- vey were 50 years of age or more. The findings show that 67 per cent of re- spondents "do not self-identify with any characteristics of an equality-seek- ing community." Members of the law society's equity issues committee dis- and aboriginal cussed the report at an Oct. 8 meeting. The study was commissioned by the law society in 2007 after benchers con- sidered a request to provide candidates with e-mail addresses of LSUC members to cut down on campaign costs associ- ated with paper mailing. That request was turned down, but the law society eventually decided to ask members for permission to provide their e-mail addresses to election candidates for future elections. Benchers also asked the equity committee to further investi- gate potential barriers to candidates run- ning for election. At the meeting, the equity committee decided to make the report public, that the report should "inform the work" of law society committees, that the com- mittee itself will use the findings to find ways to "level the playing field" in future elections, and that the committee would use the report to develop strategies in the spring of 2009. LT couraging and promoting partici- pation in public policy debate on intellectual property law issues. The IP Osgoode program has components, several including involvement in IP projects, an in- teractive blog, and organization of speakers and events for the field. Osgoode professor Giuseppina D'Agostino, who is taking the lead of the program as director, found- ed the initiative. She says she's al- ways had an interest in IP law. Prior to her graduate studies at Oxford University, she prac- tised for a period with Stikeman Elliott LLP in technology law. And even during her under- graduate days, she was interested in copyright issues through her involvement with the student newspaper at York University. Osgoode encourages balance in IP public policy debates O BY JEFFREY WAUGH Law Times sgoode Hall Law School has launched a new IP program aimed at en- During the course of her ca- reer, D'Agostino says she's found that policy issue debates on IP law often lack a wide spectrum of perspectives. That's something she hopes to change. In speaking of the goals of the program, she says, "The first is really to enliven the public policy debate and make sure there are many more voices that are heard, and not just the usual false di- chotomy between user and own- er. I think that's highly mislead- ing, and it's done a lot of damage in terms of policy making." D'Agostino says the IP Os- goode program will incorporate a wide range of perspectives from a variety of sources, in an open and inclusive fashion. "We have an open mind. Our voice is going to be a voice of reason, and one that is objective and balanced." She notes that in order to do that, the program will in- corporate much more than just the legal frame of mind. "It's a multidisciplinary approach," she says. "It's not just IP inside-the-box. We count on economists, and phi- losophers, and social scientists to in- ject their perspective on the issues." Part of that inclusive na- ture of public policy debate can be witnessed on Ipilogue, the IP Osgoode blog, available at www.ipilogue.ca. The blog has 10 student edi- tors who, after having their sub- missions reviewed by D'Agostino or assistant director Rex Shoyama, post analysis and commentary on emerging IP trends. Recent posts have generated insightful and in- depth responses from readers. Artmob is another example of the multidisciplinary approach being taken by IP Osgoode in ad- dressing intellectual property. Its goal is to create an online archive of publicly licensed Canadian art. The project being taken on is, "In a sense, meant to study the user practices in the com- munity and their uses of copy- right material, especially for art," says D'Agostino. Osgoode law students will be working closely with communications students from York University in examining the issues. IP Osgoode is also looking for ways to give students more hands-on experience, something that D'Agostino says "students are starving to have more of." The In- ternational Legal Partnership will be sending one student to India for the summer as a research fel- low, where they will be involved in many facets of intellectual property, including patents, ge- neric pharmaceuticals, and genet- ically modified organisms. Along with the announce- ment of the new program, it was revealed that leading IP scholar David Vaver will be returning to Osgoode as professor in July 2009. He has spent the last 10 years at Oxford, where he was di- rector of the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre. CANADIAN LEGAL NEWSWIRE it's fresh, it's free, it's weekly e-news! www.lawtimesnews.com Sign up today at www.lawtimesnews.com FROM THE EDITORS OF LAW TIMES AND CANADIAN LAWYER D'Agostino, who previously studied under Vaver both at Os- goode and at Oxford, is very en- thusiastic in regards to the author- ity and experience Vaver will be able to add to the program and to the public policy debate on IP law in the country. "It's great for Can- ada, it really is, because he does give that balanced objective," she says. "He's a true academic." D'Agostino credits Osgoode Hall Law School dean Patrick Monahan with encouraging and aiding in the creation of the new program. "To do anything, you need someone who believes in you, and he's that type of person," she says. "We believe that there is a need for a much more robust public policy debate on IP and related technology law issues in Canada," says Monahan. "The creation of IP Osgoode, and our ability to provide useful policy options, will better ensure a balance in policy and law-making processes." LT