Law Times

PAGE 6 u EDITORIAL OBITER By Glenn Kauth Tentative steps at reform T such practices with individuals from other professions since the late 1990s. At the time, lawyers couldn't incorporate their practices, something that changed with amendments to the Ontario Business Corporations Act in 2001 that led to corresponding provisions in the Law Society Act. As a result, lawyers have since been able to set up professional corporations. But the restrictions on multidisciplinary practices to include individuals only have remained in place. At Convocation last month, benchers considered a proposal to he Law Society of Upper Canada took a tentative step at reform of the legal profession recently with a move to allow lawyers to form multidisciplinary practices with someone from another profession through a professional corporation. It's a small change given that lawyers have been able to set up remove that restriction. The move comes as the law society faces increasing calls to allow new types of business structures that will lower costs and make more services available (see page 4). Ontario, of course, has been slow to move on that issue in comparison to other jurisdictions such as Australia and Britain. So it' news that the law society is taking this small step, but it should obviously pick up the pace. s welcome B a change that provides them with new business opportunities. But while the broader discussions around alternative business structures will likely be more difficult, it' Lawyers, of course, will likely be happy with to happen. The law society has long touted its s a conversation that needs commitment to access to justice. But truly mak- ing progress on that issue will involve tackling the tough issues around reforms to the legal profession. Let' Treasurer Thomas Conway is up to the challenge. — Glenn Kauth s hope the law society under new Lawyers good at negotiating generous exit deals The Hill in the Commons and gave no indication of what was going on behind the scenes. She even answered a question in There's no reason to believe otherwise. On that day, she was still hard at work the month? Oda may have had a good lawyer talking to the prime minister's people rather than just hanging around waiting for the axe. That' Parliament Hill these days. You don't walk for nothing. They pay to get rid of you. Remember David Dingwall, the for- s the way some people do it on mer Liberal cabinet minister appointed to head the Royal Canadian Mint by his pal Jean Chrétien? Dingwall had an expense account that ev Oda says she worked out her cabinet departure with Prime Minister Stephen Harper two weeks before making it public. uttered that famous phrase: "I'm entitled to my entitle- ments." It was a great line. Everybody laughed and it's what everyone remembers. But Dingwall also had a great lawyer working for him, Ottawa' Parliament about aid to Africa. So why is she leaving at the end of got a good deal for her client. Dingwall ended up with $325,000. Had it been up to Harper, Dingwall would have received a good stiff kick all the way back to Cape Breton. Payne even got Dingwall compensa- s Janice Payne. She Richard Cleroux tion for an executive parking spot he had on Sussex Drive beside the mint. Now that' for your client. That' Guergis would put Oda to shame. It included gen- erous amounts for meals and travel and not just orange juice and limousines. When Harper came to power in 2006, Later on, Harper could take years. It'll be quite a fight. The lady means business Oda and Harper may have worked out a good deal for her but they're smart enough and Harper has lost a lot of court cases. Don't bet on the outcome. It' would be good for her and the party. Right now, if she just walks out the door remain unclear. Was it concerns over lobbying, dubious connections or did Harper just not like how she looked? We still don't know. Guergis has lined up good legal tal- he decided to dump Dingwall. But he soon discovered it wasn't so easy, even with the help of a House of Commons commit- tee and a well-organized smear campaign against the former cabinet minister. Dingwall stood his ground and Law Times s what you can call getting the most s how they do things in Ottawa. from cabinet for reasons that want to fight the government and has worked something out behind the scenes. It doesn't take a legal genius to figure out what kind of deal s possible Oda doesn't on July 31, she collects an annual pension of $52,183 a year. But let' tossed Helena Oda wants a Senate appointment, maybe not right away but after things cool down somewhat. For all of her faults, Oda is prime Senate s say a lawyer has told Harper material, especially when compared to others Harper has appointed to it. Oda would make $134,400 a year for the next seven years as a senator. That's a ent and is suing Harper and everybody around him who had a hand in her firing. But Harper is no fool. He has good lot more than a measly $52,183 a year in pension money. At age 75, she' talent, too. He has rejected a cookie-cutter Justice Department lawyer and hired an outside counsel, Robert Staley, to fight Guergis at taxpayers' expense. The case sion of $95,000 a year for the rest of her life. That' d get her Senate pen- smarter to do that than just walk out of cabinet on July 31. People pay lawyers in Ottawa for getting money like that for clients. s a lot of money. It's a lot Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON • M1T 3V4 Tel: 416-298-5141 • Fax: 416-649-7870 • www.lawtimesnews.com Group Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Lorimer Editorial Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail J. Cohen Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Kauth Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kendyl Sebesta Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael McKiernan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katia Caporiccio CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adela Rodriguez Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alicia Adamson Account Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist . . . . . . . .Derek Welford Advertising Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kimberlee Pascoe Sales Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandy Shutt ©2012 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 • 416-298-5141 clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $175.00 + HST per year in Canada (HST Reg. #R121351134) and $265.00 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $4.00 Circulation www.lawtimesnews.com not to go around telling everyone about it. They would have learned a lesson from the Guergis affair. That case turned nasty in a hurry and could get a lot meaner yet. If Oda refused an arrangement and resort to publicizing her use of limousines over and over. Back in 2006 when she was heritage minister, Oda ran up $4,000 worth of limousine costs at the Juno Awards in Halifax and had to give back $2,200. Two years later, she had racked up another $17,000 in limo rentals. She didn't learn her lesson. Then last year, there were more limousine rides in London, England, in addition to her move to a fancier hotel. She eventually reimbursed taxpayers. The clincher was the $16 glass of orange juice at the Savoy Hotel. The incident raised eyebrows, but that' glass of genuine, hand-pressed orange juice brought to your room at the Savoy. Now we understand why it' best to settle things in private and not make a big legal mess out of it. Nobody wins when things get nasty. LT s sometimes Richard Cleroux is a freelance reporter and columnist on Parliament Hill. His e-mail address is richardcleroux@rogers.com. inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times One Corpo- rate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto ON, M1T 3V4. Return postage guaranteed. Contact Ellen Alstein at ............416-649-9926 or fax: 416-649-7870 ellen.alstein@thomsonreuters.com ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries and materials should be directed to Sales, Law Times, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 or call: Karen Lorimer ....................................416-649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com Kimberlee Pascoe ..............................416-649-8875 kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com Sandy Shutt ...... sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com s what it costs for a big chose to fight the government instead, everybody could get hurt. The Conservatives could certainly COMMENT July 9, 2012 • law Times

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