Law Times

Page 16 February 5, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com FIRM NOW ACCEPTING CRYPTO-CURRENCY Toronto law firm Wildeboer Dellelce LLP now accepts pay- ment of legal fees by way of crypto- currency. Clients can use Bitcoin, Ethe- reum, Ripple and Litecoin to pay up to 25 per cent of outstand- ing legal bills, to a maximum of $25,000 per month. "[S]ome of them may be hold- ing crypto-currency and if that would make it easier for them to pay, under this mechanism, we want to be able to provide them with that opportunity," says Danny Kharazmi, an associate with the firm. The firm started accepting virtual currency as a form of payment on Feb. 1. He says there's already been interest from clients asking about the process and how to start using crypto-currency. LAW COMMUNITY REPRESENTED IN ORDER OF ONTARIO APPOINTEES Twenty-three people have been appointed to the Order of On- tario, the province's highest honour. Five of those appointees are members of Ontario's legal com- munity. Those honoured include: Elizabeth Sheehy, a criminal law scholar and law professor at the University of Ottawa; Allan Rock, former federal attorney general, former UN ambassador and law professor at the Univer- sity of Ottawa; Michael Geist, a law professor and Canada Re- search Chair in Internet and E- commerce Law at the University of Ottawa; Sandra Chapnik, a former judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and distinguished visiting professor at Ryerson University; and Dr. Peter Chang, a lawyer and psy- chiatrist. NEW OBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Elizabeth Hall will be the On- tario Bar Association's new executive director. Hall was the OBA's director of policy and public affairs for five years ending in 2015 and has worked as the chief of staff for a number of provincial cabinet ministers, including the attor- ney general. Hall will start her duties as executive director on Feb. 20, replacing Steve Pengelly, who is set to retire after working for the OBA for more than 10 years. JUDICIAL VACANCY IN WINDSOR The Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee is ac- cepting applications for a judi- cial position in Windsor for the Ontario Court of Justice. Ac- cording to the Ontario Courts website, the position "involves presiding over criminal law matters and also involves travel within the regional boundaries as assigned." For more information, con- tact the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee at 416- 326-4060. Applications are due by Feb. 16. YES, I AGREE 52 % 48 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL In this week's poll, Law Times is asking readers if they support the Law Society of Ontario being more involved in legal aid going forward, after an announcement that said it's looking to reinvigo- rate its role when it comes to legal aid. Fifty-two per cent said yes, it would be good to improve com- munications between the private bar and Legal Aid Ontario. Forty-eight per cent said no, this is not a good move for the regulator and does not honour the differing mandates of the law society and LAO. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Danny Kharazmi says his firm will now be accepting payment for legal fees through digital currency. POSTMAN NEVER RINGS, HOARDS MAIL INSTEAD ROME — Italian police have arrested a post- man from the northern town of Vicenza after finding more than half a tonne of undelivered mail stashed away in his garage, reports Reuters. Police were called in when workers from a recycling plant were sent to empty the garage and found 43 yellow plastic postal containers stuffed full of letters, bills, bank statements and even electoral pamphlets dating back to 2010. The postman, who was not named, was 56. Police said it was the largest ever haul of unde- livered mail in Italy. The Vicenza postal service has promised to deliver the huge pile of post, al- beit several years late. WHAT ABOUT MY OTHER MURDER CASE? GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In court Jan. 25 for an arraignment on murder charges in the shooting death of a 17-year-old man, Vincente Rodrigues-Ortiz questioned a Grand Rapids judge about his "other murder case," according to WWMT.com. Within hours, the Kent County Prosecu- tor's Office had issued a warrant for Ortiz on charges related to a nearly year-old homicide of a 50-year-old woman. Ortiz, 22, was arrested Jan. 24 on charges of open murder, felony firearm, felonious assault and domestic assault and battery in connection with the death of Andre Hawkins. Ortiz was arrested after police responded to a 911 call on Jan. 23. Officers found Hawkins suffering from gunshot wounds. He later died of his injuries. Less than 24 hours later, officers located Ortiz near where the shooting occurred. Then, on Jan. 25, while being arraigned on the charges, Ortiz asked the questions that prompted investigators to review the March 2017 homicide of Laurie Kay Lundeburg. Detectives questioned Ortiz regarding both homicides, then sought the new warrant. Ortiz will soon be arraigned on charges of homicide-open murder and felony firearm in connection with Lundeburg's death nearly a year ago. DRUNK DRIVER ASKS FOR BIGGER FINE CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A 22-year-old man who wanted to pay a higher fine to avoid jail time after he was caught driving drunk was sentenced recently to one day in jail, reports The Guardian. Robert Edward MacNeill appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown Jan. 31 where he pleaded guilty to failing the breathalyzer. MacNeill provided breathalyzer samples that were twice the legal limit. In court, MacNeill asked if he could pay ex- tra on a fine instead of going to jail, but Douglas said no. Along with the jail time, MacNeill must pay a $1,000 fine and a $300 victim surcharge. He is banned from driving for one year. DRUNK DRIVER GIVES UP ON TEST THIBODAUX, La. – A man who performed poorly on a field sobriety test after being pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street gave up halfway through the test and told officers he "was going to jail anyways," reports WGNO. Thirty-six-year-old Todd Patton registered a BAC of .419 per cent at the time of his arrest, ac- cording to the Thibodaux Police Department. The DWI threshold in Louisiana is .08 per cent. Patton began to act lethargic and had poor co-ordination at the police station, and officers transferred him to the hospital after his BAC was confirmed. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Detention Center and released after posting a US$1,050 bond. This was Patton's second DWI arrest. LT "It used to be a little free library, but, considering the current real estate market, we thought a Bitcoin, blockchain validation, crypto-currency mining, computer farm might be a more suitable tenant." Collaborate © 2017 Stewart. All rights reserved. See policies for full terms and conditions. At Stewart Title, we provide clients with tools that make it easier to work with others and streamline their practices. The Assyst Real Estate application, powered by TELUS, links legal professionals and lenders so data can be exchanged securely, simply and efficiently – facilitating obtaining mortgage instructions and reporting to the lender. Interested? Request a demo by calling (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Untitled-5 1 2017-05-09 8:59 AM

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