Law Times

Page 16 February 12, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com GILLIAN HNATIW JOINS FIRM Gillian Hnatiw has joined Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP. The Toronto lawyer, who spent 16 years at Lerners LLP be- fore joining her new firm, focuses her general litigation practice on sexual assault, workplace harass- ment and privacy issues. She says that given the cur- rent social climate, there is a lot of work to be done in the area in workplaces and university cam- puses across the province, and that there is a lot of emerging law in the digital online space. "I think there is some interesting law yet to be made in relation to these issues," she says. "Because currently it's a problem without a remedy in many respects." Her work, which also includes administrative law and health law, sometimes intersects with criminal law as she advises complainants in sexual assault prosecutions — such as when she represented Lucy DeCoutere in the Jian Ghomeshi case. "I feel like the system does not adequately inform or support com- plainants going through the criminal process and so, from time to time, when there are women who are referred to me, I offer them guidance and support primarily behind the scenes," she says. Hnatiw says joining the smaller firm will give her greater f lexibil- ity in her work. She adds that the size of her new firm will mean she is joining a tight-knit group with opportunities for growth. FORMER RUBIN THOMLINSON LAWYERS FORM NEW FIRM Employment lawyers Patrizia Piccolo and Jennifer Heath have started a new firm called Piccolo Heath LLP. Piccolo and Heath were for- merly at Rubin Thomlinson LLP before they decided to team up to create their own employ- ment law firm. "We are very excited about our new venture," said partner Piccolo, in a news release. The two lawyers have a com- bined 30 years of experience representing employers across a broad range of sectors. SUMMER STUDENTS SOUGHT The Law Commission of Ontario is seeking applications from law students for its sum- mer 2018 research program. The positions are open to both law students and law graduates cur- rently enrolled in Ontario law schools. The LCO is an organization that provides public policy mak- ers and the legal profession with advice on legal reform and other legal policy issues. The LCO's mandate is to make the legal system more relevant, ac- cessible and efficient, using tech- nology to accomplish this where possible, to simplify or clarify the law, stimulate debate and promote scholarly legal research. The deadline to apply is Feb. 23. More information is avail- able at www.lco-cdo.org. YES, I AGREE 59 % 41 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL Changes to articling and the broader licensing process might be pending. Readers were asked if they thought a drastic change was needed to the way articling and licensing is done in Ontario. Forty-one per cent said no, they thought the current process is the best way forward, even if there are some issues. About 59 per cent said yes, they believed in ending transi- tional training as a requirement and limited or specialized li- censing. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Gillian Hnatiw has joined Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP. DEPUTY FIRED AFTER ROBBING BANK ROCKWELL, N.C. — A Davidson County Sheriff 's deputy has been fired after allegedly robbing a bank in Rowan County on Feb. 6, according to Davidson County Sheriff David Grice, reports USA Today. Grice fired Deputy Jeff Athey as soon as he learned of his arrest. "They know that they're not going to be em- ployed with me if they violate the law," Grice said in a phone interview. "They know what the law is. He knew what the law was." Rockwell Police say Athey went into F&M Bank around 4 p.m. Feb. 6, pulled out a gun and told the clerk he needed money. Investigators say he took off in a silver Mustang, but Rowan County deputies caught up with him about five minutes later. Grice says he's thankful his former deputy didn't injure anyone or resist arrest, but he's stunned by what happened. He says Athey was with the Sheriff 's Office for several years in the civil division, responsible for prisoner transport. Police say all the money that was taken from the bank was recovered. N.Y. LAWMAKERS WANT LESS APPETIZING TIDE PODS ALBANY, N.Y. — New York lawmakers want to require companies behind detergent packets like Tide Pods to individually wrap each packet and change the colourful designs so they appeal less to children, reports USA Today. The bill comes amid growing concerns that children and teenagers are eating the packets, sometimes posting the videos online in what's called the Tide Pod Challenge. Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas and Sen. Brad Hoylman, both New York City Demo- crats, wrote a letter Feb. 5 to Procter & Gamble, which owns the Tide brand, urging it to take its own steps to make the products safer. The legislation is a sensible measure to ad- dress the products' dangers, they said. "We want to make sure these poisonings are prevented. It's easy. All we have to make sure is that public safety trumps their profits," Simon- tas said at a news conference Feb. 6 at the Capi- tol. The bill would also add detergent packets to other hazardous household products by requir- ing child-resistant packaging and clear labels. "There is nothing new in these legislative proposals," Procter & Gamble responded in a statement. The Cincinnati-based company said it al- ready makes the packages child resistant and found from a review of data from the poison control centre that "color does not play a critical role in a child's accidental exposure to laundry pacs." As for the individual wrapping, Procter & Gamble said it believes doing so would "not be helpful in reducing incidents and may have un- intended consequences," such as accidental in- gestion and the environmental impact of add- ing plastic wrapping. LOTTERY WINNER WANTS COURT ORDER FOR ANONYMITY CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire wom- an who says she has a Powerball ticket that won a US$559.7-million jackpot wants a court order allowing her to stay anonymous, saying she made a "huge mistake" in signing the ticket without consulting a lawyer first, reports The Associated Press. The woman, identified as Jane Doe, filed a complaint last week in Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua saying she signed the back of the ticket following the Jan. 6 drawing, the eighth-largest lottery jackpot in the U.S. She thought she was required to do so as directed by information on the state lottery commission's website. LT "I think, going forward, that it's time we implemented a detailed, proactive exit strategy." Legal News at Your Fingertips Sign up for the Canadian Legal Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, Canadian Lawyer InHouse and Lexpert. Visit www.canadianlawyermag.com/newswire-subscribe THE LATEST NEWS THE BEST COMMENTARY DELIVERED WEEKLY FOR READING ON ANY DEVICE Untitled-9 1 2018-02-08 3:34 PM

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