With the upcoming vacancies at the Supreme Court of Canada, the Barreau du Québec insists the incoming judges be bilingual.

Bilingualism is ‘an essential requirement’ for Supreme Court judges says Barreau du Québec’s Claude Provencher.

With justices Ian Binnie, 72, and Louise Charron, 60, stepping down from the top court at the end of the month, there is much talk about who the federal government will select to fill their spots.

Whomever is chosen, the Barreau du Québec is pushing for them to be bilingual.

Claude Provencher, executive director of the Barreau, says Canadian citizens have the constitutional right to be heard by a judge in one of Canada’s two official languages.

“[It’s not] an issue of French versus English, [it’s] an issue of the right to be heard in your first language and the official language of your choice when you go to court,” Provencher tells Legal Feeds.

The Barreau du Québec supported NDP MP Yvon Godin’s proposed bill C-232 to require Supreme Court judges to be bilingual, but it died after the election was called.

Provencher says until there is legislation requiring it, it should be common practice to appoint bilingual judges to the SCC. This has often been the case with a recent exception of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s appointment of Justice Marshall Rothstein in 2006, who is unilingual.

“We don’t ask judges to know foreign languages, we ask them to know English and to know French, they are our two official languages. It should not be considered as an asset, it’s an essential requirement,” says Provencher.

He adds that court interpreters are not a sufficient solution. “It has been shown that there is a lot of inaccurate translation.”

Not only is it a legal matter, he says, but it’s also important for judges to be knowledgeable about society.

“How can you really know about the English society or the French society if you have no real access to the media, television, [or] you cannot really have real conversations in the other official language if your knowledge of the French or the Quebec society is through what you read in The Globe and Mail — is it really accurate?”

Canada

Court martial resumes for ex-soldier charged in shooting death, CBC News

Brampton man charged with murder of estranged wife, Toronto Star

Sask. court reduces sentence of man who injured bouncer, CBC News

United States

Court reverses decision in Verizon Wireless case, Reuters

Muslim group seeks investigation of N.Y. police, Reuters

International

El Salvador court refuses arrests for priest murders, Reuters

ICC's debut trial ends after 2 years, Reuters

Following a three-year trial with a new system, Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley announced earlier this month that the government of Ontario has appointed Andrew Pinto to conduct a review of the provinces’ Human Rights Code.

Pinto, a partner with Pinto Wray James LLP, currently practises human rights law and is a past chairman and executive member of the administrative law section of the Ontario Bar Association. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s law school where he teaches administrative law.

In June 2008, Ontario made various changes to its human rights system, most notably switching to a ‘direct-access’ tribunal system. Under this system, individuals may file complaints directly to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, which then decides the best way to deal with a grievance.

Under the previous system, complaints were screened by members of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Following the changes, the commission now has more of a policy and public interest focus.

Pinto’s review of the changes is mandated by s. 57 of the code, which calls for the attorney general to “appoint a person who shall undertake a review of the implementation and effectiveness of the changes resulting from the enactment of the Act.”

The current set of rules governing the tribunal and commission systems in Ontario were initially proposed by former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant in 2006. The aim was to allow the commission to still be able to bring forth complaints before a tribunal while becoming a “new racial diversity secretariat,” according to a commission press release.

In addition to the changes to the commission and tribunal, the 2008 changes included the creation of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre to assist individuals with services ranging from advice to legal representation when filing an application with the tribunal.

Tribunal members are currently selected by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and assessed based on their knowledge of human rights issues as well as their “aptitude for impartial adjudication.”

Ontario enacted its Human Rights Code in 1962, 15 years before the government of Canada created its Human Rights Act. Under the federal system, complaints re first screened by federal Human Rights Commission members before advancing to the tribunal stage.

Pinto has one year to hold public consultations before reporting his findings back to Bentley.

Canada

Junio suspects in court today, Toronto Sun

Former B.C. lobbyist guilty of bribery to practise law in Ontario, The Globe and Mail

Ontario man gets additional jail time for extorting priest, The Globe and Mail

United States

Home invasion suspect attempts to avoid death penalty, Reuters

Appeals court rules in favour of Regions Financial in investor suit, Reuters

International

ICC's debut trial concludes after two years, Reuters

German top court to rule on euro bailouts Sept. 7, Reuters

The new chairman of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association says he is looking ahead to a year that will see the organization move on from the controversy of early 2011 to provide improved services to in-house counsel across the country.

The new chairman of the CCCA, Geoffrey Creighton, is ‘looking forward.’

“All of us are looking forward,” Geoffrey Creighton told Legal Feeds. “We had an interim executive and a number of us have stayed on from the former board and are taking office now.”

Earlier this year the Canadian Bar Association fired the entire CCCA volunteer board and replaced it with an interim one following a debate about funding and independence of the association.

Creighton says there are several members of the new executive who have come from the former board. The most notable is Fred Headon, senior counsel at Air Canada in Montreal. He was elected second vice president of CBA in April (the first in-house counsel to be elected to the position and who will be the first in-house president of the CBA in 2013), as well as Antoinette Bozac, vice president, human resources and general counsel with Canada Lands Co., in Toronto.

“They are continuing with the executive and bring some fresh thinking and input from branch chapters,” says Creighton. “One of the things I’ve learned as a lawyer is that people don’t come to fuss about what happened in the past; they want to know how you’re going to make the best of it and go forward.”

Creighton takes over the role of chairman for 2011-2012 from Nova Scotia’s Robert Patzelt. The new CCCA vice chairman is Calgary’s Grant Borbridge, executive vice president of investments and chief counsel of Emergo Group of Companies.

Creighton is senior vice president, general counsel, secretary, and chief compliance officer at IGM Financial Inc. in Toronto. He is responsible for overseeing the legal, compliance, and corporate secretarial functions of Mackenzie Financial, Investors Group, and Investment Planning Counsel. Prior to joining IGM in 2008, Creighton was a senior corporate partner with Torys LLP. He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario (BA) and the University of Toronto (LLB).

He has been a member of the CCCA since its inception in 1988. Most recently, he has served as vice chairman of CCCA. He has also served as chairman of the National CBA Membership Committee; as CCCA representative on the Finance Committee of the CBA; participated in various regulatory submissions, including the CBA Business Law Section response to proposed insider trading amendments; and, most recently, the joint CCCA/CBA submission to the SEC on implementation of the Dodd-Frank Legislation in the United States.

He has been active on committees of the Ontario Bar Association and for 20 years was Ontario editor of the Canadian Bar Review.

“This is an exciting time for CCCA as we embark on new initiatives and expand our advocacy for in-house counsel,” says Creighton. “I am delighted to take up the position of chairman in what is clearly a time of growth of the in-house counsel bar across the profession.”

Creighton said the CCCA attendance at its conference in Halifax earlier this month was “in line” with the CBA attendance. “Overall, attendance was down because of the economy but it was respectable,” says Creighton. “We’ve had growing membership in the last year and it outpaces the rate of CBA generally.”

As of the end of May, CCCA membership was just over 10,600 (about half or more of which are not private practice laweyrs). “That’s been growing even in a down economy and on a steady upward trend since February,” he says.

While membership in the U.S-based Association of Corporate Counsel is also growing in Canada, Creighton says he does not see it as a significant threat to the CCCA.

“There are a lot of organizations that compete for membership dollars and volunteer hours, but we can say the CCCA is across Canada and serves the in-house bar as well as leveraging the strength of the 37,000 members of CBA. We can leverage off the chapter events they do,” he says. “I don’t think any organization can fixate on another as the issue to be dealt with. You stick to what you do and make sure people understand what you have to offer and that it’s what they need.”

Creighton says the goal of the executive is to focus more closely on what CCCA members want and deliver education sessions that are tailored to fit what is wanted in each region of the country.

“Membership flows from what you give people. In the survey we did people told us they don’t typically join the CCCA only for the CCCA — they join it because they get the CBA and everything it offers as well. It really comes down to a degree of communication about services. We’re revamping the executive committee to make sure there is a representative and members at large to represent the profession more broadly,” he says. “The notion is to enhance direct contact and onsite delivery and listen to what people want across the country.”

The survey also showed that while members value in-person meetings and networking, they also like the ease of desktop delivery of information education.

“The CBA has been quite successful in doing that and we’re looking at that,” he says.CCCA moves beyond controversy

Canada

B.C. to hire 36 new sheriffs following dropped court cases, CBC News

McGuinty plans to upload court security costs to province, Hamilton Spectator

8th gang suspect charged in plot to kill Bacon brothers, The Vancouver Sun

United States

Ex-Duane Reade CEO jailed for fraud, Reuters

Vegetarian lawyer sues Chipotle Mexican Grill, Reuters

International

ICC to discuss transfer of Libya suspects, Reuters

Iranian man pleads guilty to assassinating scientist, Reuters

Paul Sweeny is the new president of the Ontario Bar Association.

New Ontario Bar Association President Paul Sweeny has vowed to tackle the public perception of the profession during his year at the helm.

“Our members want us to address the public perception of lawyers and we have heard them. The OBA, together with the CBA nationally, will work to develop a strategy to highlight the tremendous contributions lawyers make to the communities in which they live and to society as a whole,” Sweeny said in a statement.

The partner with Hamilton, Ont., litigation firm Evans Sweeny Bordin LLP, took over the presidency from Toronto lawyer Lee Akazaki last week, and his mission to change attitudes is targeting lawyers as well as the general public.

“As the voice of the legal profession, we have the respect and attention of governments. I want to ensure that all lawyers see the invaluable role we play in that regard,” Sweeny said. “As president, I will focus on reminding members of our profession of the invaluable role the OBA and Canadian Bar Association play in advocating for, and on behalf of, all lawyers. We effect change and improvements in the law that benefit all citizens,”

Sweeny was first elected member to the OBA’s council in 2002 to 2008, and served on its board of directors from 2008 to 2011. He is also a past president of the Hamilton Medical-Legal Society and past director of The Advocates’ Society.

“I am confident that Paul will lead the organization with his signature diplomacy and drive to enhance the image of lawyers within society,” said Akazaki.

Larry Rosen, chairman and chief executive officer of Harry Rosen Inc., gave the keynote address at a luncheon during the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association’s annual meeting in Halifax last week.

Successful people get their shoes shined — often. Photo: ThinksStock

Rosen practised corporate law for some years and now runs the Canadian retail chain known for its men’s fine clothing. So he knew of what he spoke when he offered corporate counsel these tips for dressing just right:

1.    You can only underdress, not overdress. Always err on the side of being overdressed. Worst-case scenario? You’re the best dressed, most in-control, confidence-inspiring person in the room.

2.    Men in suits look powerful, authoritative, and sexy. Why would you not want to have that advantage when dealing with a potential client?

3.    Dark dressy suit: navy or black — updated and current. Dress it up with a white shirt and French cuffs for semi-formal occasions. A dark suit is the most versatile suit you can own. Wear it with a coloured or patterned shirt, with a tie or without, for a more relaxed look.

4.    When “business casual” is appropriate, wear a sports jacket with dress casual pants and a smart sport shirt or knit. Jeans are never appropriate for business.

5.     “God is in the details” (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe). The small things make you look complete. Add a pocket square and cufflinks. Take care choosing your shirt and tie.

6.    Eyeglass frames that are 10 years old look 10 years old.

7.    The leather colour of your belt should match that of your shoes. The colour of your socks should match that of your pants.

8.    Successful people get their shoes shined — often.

9.    Try something new. Everyone can benefit from getting out of their rut and dressing more eclectically.

10.    If you have occasion to attend more than one formal event each year, invest in a tuxedo. You will always look great (and rentals always look “rented”).

Canada

Jack Layton loses battle with cancer, The Globe and Mail

Tobacco companies sued by Ontario gov't due in court today, CTV News

B.C. wants more native people to serve on juries, The Globe and Mail

United States

U.S. court sets deadlines for women's Wal-Mart suits, Reuters

Spitzer faces $60M libel suit over Slate column, Reuters

International

War crimes court seeks transfer of Gadhafi's son to The Hague, AFP

Afghan election body backs Karzai's court, Reuters

Finding the ‘appropriate line’ of civility was once again the topic of discussion Friday at Osgoode Hall, as the Law Society of Upper Canada discipline hearing for Toronto securities lawyer Joe Groia continued.

“The public has a real interest in knowing that when you hire a lawyer, that that lawyer is going to do everything possible he or she can for the client short of somehow being guilty of professional misconduct,” stated Stanley Fisher, counsel at Heenan Blaikie LLP.

There is a “tension” between maintaining standards of civility and defending your client vigorously, “but there is a public interest to both sides,” he added.

Fisher, an expert in commercial litigation, told the three-member panel he has known Groia since the mid-1980s and was retained by him to argue the issue of former Bre-X vice chairman John Felderhof’s costs when that case was heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal.

The case moved to the appeal court after Ontario Superior Court justice Archie Campbell denied the Ontario Securities Commission’s application to have Justice Peter Hryn removed from the trial.

Echoing the sentiments of criminal defence lawyer Brian Greenspan from a day earlier, Fisher said the focus of Felderhof’s counsel was to resume the trial in front of Hryn rather than directly deal with all of the accusations the OSC leveled against Groia’s conduct from the first 70 days of the trial.

“We felt that Mr. Felderhof’s best interests were not served by getting into issues of civility, but rather to support the essence of justice Campbell’s decision . . . that the trial judge hadn’t lost jurisdiction and that the trial should resume in front of Justice Hryn,” said Fisher.

Fisher also discussed his experience sitting on various panels, and noted that advocates use a variety of approaches when defending the positions of their clients — including sarcasm.

“I have a great deal of experience witnessing counsel who come before me . . . and all kinds of different styles are used,” said Fisher. “There is no one style where you can say ‘that’s the style to use in front of a tribunal.’

“I can think of a number of instances where sarcasm was used positively to advance an argument,” he added.

In his decision, Campbell provided a sample of what he described as “the personally biting effect of Mr. Groia’s unrestrained repetition of his sarcastic attacks.”

Groia resumed his testimony Friday afternoon, going through daily transcripts of the trial and explaining the background of various statements made in court. As has been the theme of his counsel’s case, Groia raised concerns with the disclosure he received from the OSC prior to and during the case.

“I have never dealt with any prosecution that acted in the same manner as the OSC did in this case,” Groia said. “As you went through the disclosure you got more upset with how they were handling [it].”

According to Groia, his team obtained a number of crucial documents only after going through boxes at the OSC office themselves.

“These were not just a few obscure boxes nobody would care about,” said Groia. “These boxes had evidence that was critical for Mr. Felderhof.”

Today's testimony is it for now. Groia’s discipline hearing doesn't resume again until January 2012. If found guilty of professional misconduct, Groia could face sanctions ranging from a reprimand to losing his licence to practise law.