Law Times

Page 16 February 27, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com BARBARA HENDRICKSON JOINS PALLETT VALO LLP IN ASSOCIATION Barbara Hendrickson has joined Peel Region business law firm Pallett Valo LLP in asso- ciation. Hendrickson, who is the CEO and founder of BAX Securities Law, has more than 20 years ex- perience in corporate finance, capital markets and real estate syndication areas. She has previously worked in large nationwide and inter- national firms and has served as senior legal counsel at the On- tario Securities Commission. Bobby Sachdeva, Pallett Valo's managing partner, says Hen- drickson brings senior securities and corporate finance experience to the firm. "We are very pleased to have her join our team," he said. Called to the bar in Ontario in 2003, Hendrickson has also been called to the bars of B.C. in 2010, Manitoba in 1986 and Alberta in 1984. She went to law school at the University of Calgary Law School, where she specialized in natural resources law, and she con- tinued her education at the University of Toronto, where she re- ceived an LLM and specialized in administrative law. She also com- pleted a Masters of Tax Law at Osgoode Hall Law School. Hendrickson is also the founder of the Toronto Business Law- yers Association and a past member of the Small & Medium En- terprises Committee of the Ontario Securities Commission. Hendrickson's practice, which specializes in real estate syndi- cation and private equity, as well as venture capital and investment funds, is considered one of the top corporate securities boutique firms in Canada. RYSERSON'S LIZ, OSGOODE'S WINKLER INSTITUTE WIN TECH GRANTS The Law Foundation of On- tario has awarded grants to youth-led tech projects that tackle access to justice issues. Initiatives from Ryerson University's Legal Innovation Zone and the Winkler Insti- tute of Osgoode Hall Law School have won the one-time grants. The LIZ received $50,000 for a project that will develop a num- ber of workshops focused on the legal needs of urban youth. The law foundation awarded the Winkler Institute $54,083 for a "design-thinking" initiative that will look to develop techno- logical solutions to the need to build a justice system ref lective of indigenous traditions. In- digenous youth will take part in the project along with experts in youth justice. FORMER PMO ADVISOR JOINS GOWLINGS A former senior advisor to the Office of Prime Minister Jus- tin Trudeau has joined Gowl- ing WLG (Canada) LLP. Cyrus Reporter was Tru- deau's chief of staff before he be- came prime minister. Reporter has joined the firm as a partner practising in the areas of public policy and regu- latory issues. LAW TIMES POLL After the Supreme Court of Canada set out a framework to assess the independence to expert witnesses, litigators have different opinions about whether it's too difficult to exclude expert evidence on the basis of bias. Readers were asked what they thought of the issue. Every respondent said yes, it remains very hard to get this evidence excluded, but this may change as trial court judges pay more attention to the back- grounds of expert witnesses. No respondents said no, it is not hard to get this evidence ex- cluded, as the courts continually refine the role of experts in both criminal and civil litigation. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story TEXAS RESOLUTION TO END EMOJI MIXUP WITH CHILEAN FLAG AUSTIN, Tex. — A state lawmaker filed a reso- lution urging people to think before they text and stop using an emoji of the Chilean f lag, which resembles the Lone Star State f lag, as a symbol of Texas pride, reports Reuters. State Representative Tom Oliverson de- scribed the resolution as a light-hearted but serious civics lesson for the social media age. More than a few people have garnished their tweets and text messages about Texas with a Chilean f lag, he said, according to Reuters. "I designed it be educational, kind of like a public service announcement," Oliverson, a Republican, told Reuters Feb. 18. His resolution does not carry the force of law. It calls on lawmakers "to reject the notion that the Chilean f lag, although it is a nice f lag, can in any way compare to or be substituted for the official state f lag of Texas and urge all Tex- ans not to use the Republic of Chile f lag emoji in digital forums when referring to the Lone Star Flag of the great State of Texas," reports Reuters. The Chilean f lag is available on the standard set of emojis while the Texas f lag is not. Both f lags have a single white star on a blue field on the left with a horizontal white stripe on top of a red stripe. On the Texas f lag, the blue goes from top to bottom, while on the Chilean f lag, the red horizontal stripe stretches across the bottom. Oliverson said the message to prevent f lag confusion had been received. "Even if the leg- islature decides not [want] to hear it, we have achieved our objective," he said, according to Reuters. BIKE-PROMOTING MINISTER HAS BIKE STOLEN BRUSSELS — A Belgian minister arrived by bike to a news conference to promote cycling recently, only to find it had been stolen when he left half an hour later, reports Reuters. Ben Weyts, minister of mobility for the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, unveiled a plan to invest 300 million euros (approx. $420 million) in cycle lanes until 2019, as part of a wider program to promote alternative modes of transport, according to Reuters. "We left the bike in racks at the station and locked it," a spokesman for the minister said, according to Reuters. "When we got back half an hour later, it was gone." The minister had to call his driver to pick him up from the station in Halle, just south of Brussels, the spokesman said, and hoped police would discover the bicycle thief with the help of security camera footage, reports Reuters. GERMANY BANS TALKING DOLL, CITES SECURITY RISK BERLIN — A talking doll named Cayla has been banned by German authorities because the software inside her could be hacked, posing a security risk and allowing personal data to be revealed, reports Reuters. The Federal Network Agency recommend- ed that parents who bought the doll for their children destroy it, according to Reuters. The software in the doll — created by the U.S. company Genesis Toys — allows a child to have a conversation with the doll. But this car- ried a risk of espionage and could compromise privacy, Homann said in a statement, accord- ing to Reuters. Researcher Stefan Hessel, who had exam- ined the toy and alerted the agency, said hack- ers could use an unsecure bluetooth device embedded in it to listen and talk to the child playing with it, says Reuters. "In a test, I was able to hack the toy even through several walls. It lacks any security fea- tures," Hessel told the German website Netz- politik.org. LT Barbara Hendrickson has joined Peel Region business law firm Pallett Valo LLP in association. © 2015 Stewart. All rights reserved. We put legal professionals front and centre and we put our efforts into keeping real estate transactions where they belong – in your office. Learn more about our level of support, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Ally Untitled-4 1 2016-03-02 10:19 AM

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