Law Times

Page 20 November 20, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com LEGAL ADVICE HELPLINE LAUNCHED In an effort to increase access to justice, Pro Bono Ontario has introduced a free legal advice hotline and it's looking for more volunteer lawyers to take a shift on the phones. Since the soft launch of the hotline on Sept. 11, the hotline has helped more than 2,000 cli- ents or an average of 54 people per day with their legal ques- tions. PBO says it resolves 79 per cent of the issues brought to it in a single call, which mostly takes less than half an hour. The official launch is Nov. 27. Lynn Burns, executive director of PBO, says she always wondered if there was a way to serve the 85 per cent of legal issues that go un- served in Ontario. "Everyone talks about the 85 per cent who have legal problems that are not attractive to the marketplace. The legal issue they have falls outside the scope of legal aid and lawyers aren't going to make any money on it," Burns says. "When they talk about the 85 per cent of legal problems that On- tarians face, there's really nowhere else to turn." The hotline logs about 300 calls per day, answered by an average of four volunteer and two staff lawyers. Burns says that the level of response is impressive given that PBO has not done any outreach be- yond providing information at its in-court services at two courts in Toronto and one in Ottawa. DONATION TO SUPPORT INDIGENOUS LAW STUDENTS University of Toronto alumni have donated $1 million to create bursaries for indigenous students at the university's faculty of law. Norman Loveland, who graduated from the faculty of law in 1972 and is a now-retired tax lawyer and former partner at Os- ler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and his wife Gay Loveland say the contribution is "to help right the wrongs in Canada's history with its indigenous peoples." In a statement, Norman Loveland went on to say it's im- portant to support indigenous people in pursuing fields such as the law so "they will be at the forefront of tackling issues and working with their leaders in their communities," something he feels is an important part of the reconciliation process. SENTENCE APPEAL DISMISSED The Court of Appeal for On- tario has dismissed an appeal of a sentence a lawyer received, in R. v. Boghossian, 2017 ONCA 870. Remy Boghossian was convicted in 2015 of a $1.9-mil- lion fraud and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. "The appellant was a law- yer. His status as a lawyer and the role his status as a lawyer played in the commission of the offence justified treating this as an aggra- vating factor, warranting a some- what higher sentence for the appellant," said the ruling. "We see no error in the sentence im- posed." 56 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 44 % LAW TIMES POLL A Law Times column argued it's time for provincial laws dedicated to stopping defam- atory publications on the in- ternet. Readers were asked if they thought that new legisla- tion will help counter defama- tory statements online. About 44 per cent said yes, new legislation will help deal with issues such as anonymous postings made online. Another 56 per cent said no, new legisla- tion is not an effective way to deal with online defamation. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Lynn Burns says there has been signifi- cant public response to a free legal advice hotline. BALL OF SWEET TAG ENDS BITTER RIVALRY KOLKATA, India — India has awarded a "geo- graphical indications" tag to rosogolla, the king of Indian sweets, after a years-long battle be- tween two neighbouring states over the owner- ship rights, reports Reuters. Rosogolla, or sweet cheese balls dripping with sugar syrup, have long been a favourite dessert across the Indian subcontinent. But two eastern states, West Bengal and Odisha, have been arguing over the origins of rosogolla, which means a ball of sweet. They consulted historians and produced old documents to sup- port their claims. On Nov. 14, the federal commerce and in- dustry ministry ruled that the sweet originated from West Bengal, giving it the coveted "geo- graphical indications" tag. The tag defines a good as originating in a particular territory of a member or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is available. West Bengal's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said the decision was "sweet news for us all" in a Twitter post. STUDENTS ACCUSED OF CHEATING VIA APP COLUMBUS — More than 80 students at Ohio State University are accused of cheating, using a group-messaging app to collaborate on class- work, according to The Washington Post. The student newspaper, the Lantern, report- ed that undergraduate students in a business marketing course in the spring were discovered using the app GroupMe to share answers on class assignments. Ohio State spokesman Benjamin Johnson said on Nov. 13 that he was unable to confirm that the students were using that particular app. But he said the Ohio State's Committee on Aca- demic Misconduct charged 83 students over the summer with violations of the student code of conduct, including "unauthorized collabora- tion on graded assignments." While students are welcome to use social media tools to communicate with classmates, they shouldn't share answers to a final exam, Johnson said. Officials at the university said the miscon- duct committee opened an investigation after a professor reported the alleged behaviour in April in a class at the Fisher College of Business. "Any form of academic misconduct is unac- ceptable and the university takes all allegations seriously," the university said in a statement to The Washington Post. "Students charged with academic misconduct violations may accept re- sponsibility for the charges or request a hearing before COAM pursuant to the Code of Student Conduct. If found in violation, students receive sanctions based on the nature and severity of the violation in accordance with university standards and protocols. Sanctions for unau- thorized collaboration range from warnings to dismissal and can also include grade penalties." Johnson could not say what punishments the students received. STRAIGHT FROM A BOND FILM British police were hunting for an unidentified man on Nov. 14 after a suitcase containing more than $1 million worth of gems was stolen from a luggage rack on a train at London's Euston sta- tion. The owner, a 35-year-old jewelry dealer, boarded a train to Birmingham on Nov. 8, but when the train arrived at Rugby in central Eng- land, he discovered that his suitcase of rubies, emeralds and sapphires was no longer on the luggage rack. Police released a grainy image of a man who they said they would like to speak to. "I would like to speak to the man in the CCTV images about this extremely high-value luggage theft," Det. Sgt. Nick Thompson from British Transport Police said. "The suitcase was a large black suitcase and contained more than 40 gems such as rubies, emeralds and sap- phires." LT "Sure, you could slay me, but the treasure is controlled by an offshore holding company, registered in the Cayman Islands." Integrated Legal Marketing Solutions LawyerMarketingCanada.com/solutions Put Your Digital Marketing Tactics into High Gear Untitled-3 1 2017-11-14 1:30 PM

• Cover