Law Times

Page 16 June 19, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com CHIEF JUSTICE MCLACHLIN TO RETIRE Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin has announced that she will retire effective Dec. 15. McLachlin, who was selected as a "Top 25 Most Inf luential Lawyer" by Canadian Lawyer multiple times, is widely re- spected in the legal profession for her leadership on the court as well as her outspokenness on is- sues such as access to justice, free speech, diversity and inclusive leadership. Her judicial career began in 1981 when McLachlin was ap- pointed to the Vancouver County Court. In 2000, she was appoint- ed Chief Justice of Canada. McLachlin is the first woman to hold this position. She is also Canada's longest-serving chief justice, having held the position for nearly 18 years. LAWYER ORDERED TO PAY $100,000 A lawyer who was heavily criti- cized by a Superior Court of Jus- tice judge for her role in a custody battle involving the Children's Aid Society has been ordered to personally pay $100,000. The custody battle gained widespread attention earlier this year after Justice Grant Campbell ruled that two law- yers retained through Legal Aid, Brigitte Gratl and Jane McKenzie, provided incompe- tent counsel to their clients, the mother and father of a daughter who had been removed by au- thorities. The removal came after a Motherisk drug test on the mother, which has since been disproved, and led Campbell to decry the child welfare system in the province as "broken." In the latest ruling on the case, C.A.S. of the R.M. of W. v. C.T. and J.B., 2017 ONSC 3188, Campbell ordered Gratl to personally pay $100,000, with $50,000 going to the Ontario Legal Aid Plan and $50,000 to the lawyer acting for the child's mother, Julie Kirkpatrick. BAKER MCKENZIE LAUNCHES COLLAB Baker McKenzie LLP is tak- ing an "R&D" approach to how it will deliver legal services in the future with the opening of its Whitespace Legal Collaboration lab last week in Toronto. The collab, located on the 27th f loor of the firm's offices on Bay Street, is the first of its kind in the firm. The idea is to bring in aca- demics from nearby universities, as well as business and technol- ogy professionals and those involved in design thinking to work together on addressing challenges related to technology, business and law. IBM Canada will be one of the first Whitespace collab part- ners along with several academic institutions such as the Univer- sity of Toronto iSchool, Uni- versity of Waterloo Problem Lab and York University's Schulich School of Business. YES, I AGREE 78 % 22 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL Law Times reports that technol- ogy lawyers say recent regula- tory decisions have set Canada and the U.S. on diverging tracks when it comes to net neutrality. We asked readers if they sup- port the elimination of data caps for home and mobile Internet use for Canadians. About 78 per cent said this will mean better long-term results for consum- ers, while about 22 per cent said no, this hurts innovation in the market. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin has announced she is retiring later this year. 'NO SOUP FOR YOU!' NEW YORK — Soupman Inc, the company that licensed the name and recipes of the chef who inspired the tyrannical "Soup Nazi" char- acter on the TV show Seinfeld, filed for Chap- ter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, reports Reuters. The company said in a statement on June 14 that it has secured US$2 million in new debtor- in-possession financing from an independent third-party investment firm, which will be used to meet its working capital needs during the Chapter 11 process. Wyse Advisors LLC's Michael Wyse has been hired as Soupman's chief restructuring officer and interim chief financial officer, the company said. In May, Soupman's former chief financial of- ficer, Robert Bertrand, was indicted for tax eva- sion after being charged with 20 counts of fail- ing to pay Medicare, Social Security and federal income taxes. Based in Staten Island, New York, Soupman sells products under the Original SoupMan brand. Soupman traces its roots to 1984, when Al Yeganeh opened his soup shop on West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan and soon began drawing long lines of customers. Yeganeh was the inspiration for Yev Kassem, a character first portrayed by Larry Thomas in a 1995 Seinfeld episode who was known for mak- ing customers follow strict rules to order or risk being turned away with his forceful cry: "No soup for you!" MAN ROBS BANK TO ESCAPE WIFE KANSAS CITY, Kan.— A 71-year-old man who said he robbed a Kansas City bank so he could get away from his wife has been sentenced to six months of home confinement and 50 hours of community service, according to The Associ- ated Press. A federal judge handed down the sentence June 13 to Lawrence John Ripple, who blamed his actions on depression. Ripple went to the Bank of Labor — a block from the Kansas City police headquarters — last September and gave a note to a teller saying he had a gun and demanding money. After he was given money, Ripple waited for police. Court records indicate Ripple wrote the rob- bery note in front of his wife and told her he would rather be in jail than at home. 'KLEPTOMANIA MADE ME DO IT!' GILLETTE, Wyo. — A Wyoming college stu- dent who told officers she was working on a term paper on kleptomania after she was caught shoplifting faces three felony charges, accord- ing to The Associated Press. The Gillette News Record reports that 23-year-old Lydia Marie Cormaney was arrest- ed on June 5 after trying to leave Walmart with nearly US$1,900 worth of merchandise. Court records say investigators later found thousands of dollars' worth of stolen items in her dorm room. Cormaney told officers she be- gan shoplifting after being forced to move into a new dorm room, away from her roommate who had many of the household items. She said she was caught once when she tried to leave Walmart with three f lat-screen TVs. Cormaney made an initial court appearance on June 8 and did not enter a plea. NO NUGGETS FOR YOU WACO, Texas — A Waco woman called 911 from a McDonald's drive-through to complain that it took too long to deliver her chicken nug- gets, according to The Associated Press. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said June 12 that the woman wanted the nuggets given to her for free because of the delay. A restaurant employee also called 911 to have police move the woman. The unidentified woman was given her money back and told to leave — without her nuggets. LT "But if the Jordan decision were applicable to lawns, I'd have to wait just eight more months and never have to mow it again." Genuine © 2017 Stewart. All rights reserved. See policies for full terms and conditions. At Stewart Title, we've worked hard to build a company where integrity is the keystone in all our dealings. With us what you see is what you get — comprehensive title insurance coverage, experienced underwriters and support for your practice. Learn more about our level of support, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Untitled-6 1 2017-04-18 8:45 PM

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