Law Times

PAGE 20 The Inside Story FORMER SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE DIES Former Ontario Superior Court justice Norman Coo died at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto on Nov. 13. As part of his judicial du- ties, Coo was the former senior judge of the District Court of Ontario in York County. He also served as a member of the Ontario Review Board and the Ontario Consent and Ca- pacity Board until his death. In addition, he worked as an arbitrator and mediator at ADR Chambers in Toronto. At Coo's request, there will be no funeral service. CITIES RESTRAIN LEGAL BUDGETS Toronto and Windsor, Ont., are the biggest legal spenders among municipalities even as cities across the province have shown considerable restraint in their budgets, a new report shows. Th e report for 2010 by the Ontario Municipal Bench- marking Initiative analyzes several major municipalities' track records in a number of areas, including legal services. Th e survey of 12 municipali- ties shows that the median le- gal cost per $1,000 in munici- pal operating and capital ex- penditures decreased to $2.79 in 2010 from $3.05 in 2008. Toronto, however, was reg- ularly above its counterparts with a cost of $7.24 on that basis in 2008, a number that dropped to $4.21 in 2010. Windsor, meanwhile, spent $4.83 in 2008 but towered over all of the other munici- palities measured in 2009 at $8.29. Th e number fell back to $4.90 in 2010. Barrie, Ont., Durham Region, Niagara Re- gion, and Waterloo Region all came in well under the median. Th e benchmarking report notes cities have restrained their in-house legal budgets since 2008. It found that the median legal operating costs per in-house lawyer hour fell to $127 last year from $141 in 2008. Toronto, in general, had the highest costs at $222 in 2008 and $146 in 2009, al- though data for 2010 for that city wasn't available. Th e most frugal in-house legal spender last year was Waterloo at $113. But as for external legal budgets, cities weren't able to cut costs despite eff orts like the Value Challenge. Th e study put the median legal cost per external lawyer hour at $370 in 2010. Th at's up from $346 in 2008. Again, Toronto topped the list at $556 in 2008, a number that rose to $615 in 2009. (Th at city didn't have data for 2010.) Despite being one of the province's biggest cities, Ottawa came out lowest on that score at $247. LAWYER JOINS SHIBLEY RIGHTON Armand Conant has moved to Shibley Righton LLP to join the fi rm's condominium law department in Toronto. In his new position, Conant will serve as head of the fi rm's condo law department. "Armand is a wonderful ad- dition to Shibley Righton," said Sandra Dawe, managing partner of Shibley Righton. "His energy is extraordinary, and he has immediately inte- grated himself. Th at is so im- portant to us because we are a very close-knit fi rm. With this energy and Armand's expertise in condominium law, I am looking forward to watching him and his condo team fl our- ish at Shibley Righton." Conant represents condo- minium corporations through- out central Ontario and has experience in condominium, real estate, litigation, and busi- ness law. Currently, Conant serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Condominium Institute's Toronto and area chapter and is also the fi rst law- yer in Ontario to be a court- appointed full administrator under the Condominium Act. LAKEHEAD SEEKS DEAN Lakehead University is look- ing for the founding dean of its new law school. According to the posting, the university wants someone to start as soon as possible and no later than next summer. Th e posting notes the school is looking for someone with experience relevant to aborigi- nal, northern, and rural issues. For more information, visit lakeheadu.ca. For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. Recruiting? Post your position on GREAT RATES. GREAT REACH. GREAT RESULTS. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. www.lawtimesnews.com JobsInLaw 1-8 pg 5X.indd 1 2/15/11 4:12:27 PM "Location, location, location!" EXTREME HOOLIGANS BURN TICKET BOOTH JAKARTA, Indonesia — Call it extreme soccer hooliganism. According to Reuters, suc- cess-starved Indonesia soccer fans, desperate to watch the final of a regional tourna- ment against rivals Malaysia, set a ticket booth on fire at the national stadium in Ja- karta ahead of the game last week. Reuters reported that po- lice doused the flames and fired warning shots in the air, scattering a crowd of thou- sands of supporters who were unable to get into the Bung Karno stadium, with a capac- ity of 88,000, after tickets quickly sold out. Indonesia saw off Vietnam in their semi-final and are ex- pecting home advantage to help them to victory in the final of the Southeast Asia Games in a re-match of their ASEAN Cup final clash last December that Malaysia won. In the first leg of that game in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia players walked off the pitch and accused local fans of daz- zling them with laser beams, returning to the field only to be thumped 3-0. The two neighbouring na- tions have a history of spats outside sport, from ownership of maritime territory to culi- nary heritage. November 28, 2011 • Law Times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James LAWSUIT OVER POT-FRIENDLY PLATE LINCOLN, Neb. — Are vani- ty plates a matter of free speech? That's a key question as the American Civil Liber- ties Union launches a lawsuit against Nebraska's motor ve- hicle department for refusing to issue a personalized licence plate that refers to an unoffi- cial holiday known as Nation- al Pot Smoking Day. According to Reuters, an at- torney who supports marijuana legalization had requested a plate reading "NE 420," letters and numerals that refer to Ne- braska and April 20, the date of the unofficial holiday. Frank Shoemaker, the at- torney from Holbrook, Neb., who requested the plate, is the sponsor of a petition drive for a state ballot measure next year to legalize marijuana, Re- uters reported. Beverly Neth, director of the department, refused to issue the plate and said the "420" numerals were used to promote marijuana use, an il- legal drug in the state. She said the numbers were also a combination that could be associated with Adolf Hit- ler, who was born on April 20, 1889, and the Columbine High School massacre in Colo- rado, which took place on April 20, 1999. Amy Miller, Nebraska ACLU legal director, said there was nothing obscene or offensive about Shoemaker's proposed plate. "It's purely political speech relating to a current ballot initiative." NAKED HIKERS CHILLED BY FINE BERN, Switzerland — The hills may no longer be alive with the sights of naked hikers. As Reuters reported, hikers crossing the Alps in the nude may get more than just a chill after Switzerland's top court ruled they may be fined. Earlier this month, a court rejected the appeal of a man slapped with a 100 Swiss franc fine. The man had walked na- ked past a family with small children at a picnic area and a Christian rehabilitation centre for drug addicts one Sunday afternoon in the eastern canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Re- uters reported. "The fundamental right to personal freedom is only mar- ginally, if at all, infringed upon by a ban on hiking naked in a public area," the court said in a statement. The mountainous cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, which only gave women the right to vote two decades ago, are popular among nude hik- ing enthusiasts. Naked hiking isn't illegal in Switzerland, but it's possible for individual Swiss cantons to apply indecency laws. LT Seen, heard or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at viola.james@gmail. com.

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