Law Times

Page 16 January 22, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com STANTON JOINS GOLDBLATT Kim Stanton, former legal di- rector for Women's Legal Edu- cation and Action Fund, has joined Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto. During her five years at LEAF, Stanton's work included fighting for abortion rights, intervening in court cases involving violence against indigenous women and other issues concerning women's equality in Canada. "It was an incredibly reward- ing and challenging time and I just thought that it was probably time for me to be doing something a little different," Stanton says. "I think it's healthy for people in those roles to make way for other peo- ple to take them on and new energy to come into an organization." Stanton says that an opportunity arose at Goldblatt to "really fo- cus on indigenous rights work." At Goldblatt, she has begun work on an aboriginal title case involving the Cree Nation of Eeyou Ist- chee. In 2016, the James Bay Cree Nation commenced a lawsuit against the governments of Ontario and Canada to have aboriginal title over Eeyou Istchee, seeking damages of $495 million. "It's going to be a pretty interesting and engaging and long-standing piece of litigation. "So, it's something quite involved that I can really dig into," Stan- ton says. VANCOUVER FIRM LAUNCHES IN TORONTO A Vancouver law firm special- izing in construction, real estate and infrastructure law is expand- ing its operations to Toronto and changing its name to ref lect the addition of two high-profile names in construction law. The firm announced the launch of Singleton Urqu- hart Reynolds Vogel LLP with the arrival of Bruce Reyn- olds, Sharon Vogel, Peter Wardle and James Little to the team. Reynolds and Vogel were previously at Borden Lad- ner Gervais LLP. The Toronto office will be located in the Sun Life Plaza at 150 King Street West. The firm will operate as Singleton Reynolds. ADVOCATES' SOCIETY AWARD The Advocates' Society has released a nomination call for its Award of Justice. The award's intent is to recognize an advo- cate who represents citizens or a cause that may be seen as fringe or unpopular and who champi- ons the goal of social justice by ensuring that the law protects them just as it would someone in the mainstream. While mem- bership in The Advocates' Soci- ety is not required, the recipient must be a lawyer in good stand- ing of a law society in a prov- ince or territory of Canada. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 28 and nominators are asked to forward the candidate's C.V., a brief outline of relevant activi- ties and any letters of support to Rachel Stewart at rachel@ advocates.ca. YES, I AGREE 16 % 84 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL In this week's poll, Law Times reported that an Ontario lawyer says that solicitor-client privilege may be threatened by a master's decision that barred him from representing his own firm in a dispute over a wrongful dismiss- al claim. We asked readers if they agreed with the lawyer's assess- ment. Eighty-four per cent said no, the court has appropriately assessed the role of lawyers as impartial advocates. Sixteen per cent said yes, the ruling renders solicitor-client privilege mean- ingless. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Kim Stanton has joined Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto. ALIENS NO EXCUSE FOR FILING TAX RETURN LATE LONDON — As Britain's deadline for annual tax returns looms, revenue authorities have warned they will be keeping a sharp lookout for any mention of aliens, reports Reuters. Seeking to encourage taxpayers to file their returns by Jan. 31, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs gave some examples on Jan. 17 of ex- cuses for lateness it had received and rejected. "I couldn't file my return on time as my wife has been seeing aliens and won't let me enter the house," was one explanation that did not pass muster. HMRC officials were equally unimpressed with someone who said their ex-wife had left the tax return upstairs and they couldn't retrieve it because they suffered from vertigo. "Each year we still come across some ques- tionable excuses," said Angela MacDonald, HMRC director general of customer services. "However, help will always be provided for those who have a genuine excuse for not sub- mitting their return on time," she added in a statement. HMRC also highlighted a few dubious claims for tax-deductible expenses, reminding taxpayers that only legitimate expenses for a job would be accepted. Expense claims rejected by officials included veterinary fees for a rabbit, birthday drinks at a Glasgow nightclub and 250 days' worth of sau- sages and chips. DRUNK DRONING NOW ILLEGAL IN N.J. NEWARK — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a law on Jan. 15 making it ille- gal to f ly an unmanned drone aircraft after too many drinks, a spokesman said on the Republi- can's last day in office, reports Reuters. The measure, which passed the Democratic- controlled state legislature earlier this month, also bars f lying a drone near a prison or in pur- suit of wildlife. The drone measure was among 109 bills that Christie signed into law on his last full day in office, spokesman Brian Murray said by email. QUICKIE DIVORCE LAUNCHED IN U.K. LONDON — Couples seeking "quickie di- vorces" can make the process even speedier as a result of a new online service launched by the Co-op, reports The Guardian. The fixed-fee digital service from Co-op Legal Services enables people to start uncon- tested divorces online from home, supported by phone-based advice from experienced solicitors. It is the latest digital product from the Co-op — which already offers online wills and powers of attorney — to be launched in England and Wales, where about 100,000 couples are granted a divorce every year. It estimates the service could cut the amount of time it takes to complete an uncontested divorce to four to six months from six to nine months. With about 62 per cent of Co-op's family law inquiries now occurring online, the group is anticipating a surge in the first three months of this year. The service has been designed to use plain English and avoid legal jargon. The online tool guides customers through a set of questions, using language tailored to the individual's cir- cumstances. The service is not the first in the market, but the Co-op will be the largest provider. The member-owned organization, which already runs supermarkets, banks, funeral services and pharmacies, says online divorces will cost the same as its traditional divorce service. The Ministry of Justice said last year that couples could divorce online — as long as both parties agree — in an attempt to save the over- loaded court system almost half a billion dollars a year. LT "Looks like the banks are finally beginning to invest in the emerging legal cannabis sector." 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-5 1 2017-09-12 8:17 AM

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