Law Times

BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times T he Law Students' Society of Ontario is calling for governance reforms at the provincial legal regulator to give students more of a say. The group recently sent a letter to the Law Society of Ontario, ask- ing for the creation of bencher po- sitions specifically for new lawyers and law students on the legal regu- lator's governing board. The letter comes at a time when the law soci- ety is expected to consider possible reforms to both its governance and the licensing process. "Licensing candidates must be represented at Convocation. De- cisions are constantly being made that will have long-term conse- quences on us more than on any- one else," said the LSSO letter. "We deserve a seat at the table and we have paid for it with our time, our efforts and our money. We are not temporary members, we are the future of the profession." The law society's board is cur- rently made up of 40 elected law- yers, five elected paralegals, eight appointed lay benchers and a number of ex-officio benchers who have varying speaking and voting rights. The law society's governance task force is exploring how to modernize its governance struc- tures, which includes the makeup and size of Convocation. The LSSO's letter suggested that licensing candidates should be allowed to vote in bencher elec- tions. It also proposed the creation of a bencher position for a new lawyer who has less than 10 years experience and a student bencher who would be elected by licensing candidates. Toronto lawyer Angela Chais- son, who was called to the bar in 2012, says running for bencher can be very expensive and essen- tially prohibitive for young law- yers who are just starting out in their careers. This leads to a lack of younger voices at Convocation, she says. Chaisson, who lectures at the University of Toronto and Os- goode Hall Law School, says she has heard a sense of frustration from students about the issues that affect them. "I would say the most impor- tant issue facing Convocation and the law society are issues directly Kobo decision gives clarity to bureau's reach BY DALE SMITH For Law Times T he Federal Court recently dismissed an applica- tion by e-reader maker Rakuten Kobo Inc. to quash consent agreements that the Competition Bureau entered into with three publishers regard- ing allegations about a conspiracy in the United States in the e-book market. Competition lawyers say that the ruling gives clarity to the reach of the Competition Bureau in ex- tra-territorial cases and about the leeway given to the Commissioner of Competition by the courts. "It clarifies what the geographic reach of that section of the [Com- petition] Act is," says Nikiforos Iat- rou, partner with WeirFoulds LLP in Toronto, who acted on behalf of Kobo. "Until this case, we didn't have a decision that set out what that reach was. That's important." Iatrou adds that competition lawyers now know the high stan- dard they'll be held to if they want to challenge an action by the com- missioner. "It will be very difficult to set aside consent agreements in the future," he says. The decision closes off a legal saga that has been ongoing since 2014, when the commissioner ini- tially entered into consent agree- ments — settlements — with four of the five major publishers. In 2016, those agreements were set aside by the Competition Tri- bunal. The commissioner addressed the shortcomings identified by the tribunal and signed fresh consent agreements with three of the four publishers, which were challenged in Federal Court. The fourth pub- lisher, HarperCollins Canada Limited, fought the agreement in the Competition Tribunal but eventually settled. That hearing delayed the Fed- eral Court case. In Rakuten Kobo Inc. v Can- CIVIL FORFEITURE Draconian piece of legislation P7 FOCUS ON Personal Injury Law P8 PM #40762529 $5.00 • Vol. 29, No. 6 February 12, 2018 L AW TIMES C O V E R I N G O N T A R I O ' S L E G A L S C E N E • W W W . L A W T I M E S N E W S . C O M SERVING BY INSTAGRAM Lawyer tracks down defendant with social media P5 See LSO, page 2 Nikiforos Iatrou says a recent decision by the Competition Bureau means lawyers now know the high standard to which they'll be held if they want to challenge an action by the Commissioner of Competition. See Result, page 2 Students want seat at the table at Convocation Angela Chaisson says there is a lack of younger voices at Convocation. Photo: Robin Kuniski www.twitter.com/lawtimes Follow & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM THE ULTIMATE SOURCE For Today's Legal Profession Canlawyer.lawtimes@tr.com | 416.609.3800 | 1.800.387.5164 Online bitly.com/CanLawyer-Subscription Free preview bitly.com/C--FreePreview Subscribe today! ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDES: • 10 issues print and digital editions • FREE exclusive access to Canadian Lawyer digital edition archives • FREE weekly e-newsletter: Canadian Legal Newswire CHANGEMAKERS HUMAN RIGHTS, ADVOCACY AND CRIMINAL IN-HOUSE COUNSEL GOVERNMENT/NON-PROFITS/ASSOCIATIONS CORPORATE-COMMERCIAL PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT # 40766500 SPECIAL SECTION: CANADIAN LAWYER 4STUDENTS P.49 $ 1 0 A u g u s t 2 0 1 7 making an impact meet the canadian lawyers and who are judges Untitled-1 1 2018-02-06 9:46 AM

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