Illustration: Mick Coulas

Computer systems at law firms, governments, companies, courts, and high-profile organizations have been targets of increasing numbers of cyber attacks as perpetrators become more sophisticated in their ability to steal information. As recently as July, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency were targeted. The CIA’s web site was shut down for several days as a result, while the hackers who attacked NATO claimed they had infiltrated the organizations’ computers and obtained classified documents; the United Nations, law firms in Canada and the United States, and Ontario’s courts have been hacked over the last several months.

Jonathan Horlick, vice president and associate counsel for Calgary’s Talisman Energy Inc. joined the company in 2009 and soon recognized the department had a vital shortage of lawyers in the intermediate range of both experience and age. The in-house legal department experienced a dearth of younger lawyer recruits 10 years earlier, illustrating the ebbs and flows of competition for top hires in Canada’s market.

 

A simple slip of the tongue can be all it takes for business travellers to be refused entry into the United States, sometimes even if the slip comes off someone else’s tongue. 

 

He hails from Five Islands, a small community overlooking the Bay of Fundy on the coast of Nova Scotia; an idyllic setting where most of the town’s 300 or so residents lead a relatively simple life. Yet Purdy Crawford, fueled with drive and ambition, early on in his career decidedly ensured his life would be anything but simple.

Abandoned construction sites are creating safety concerns, threatening the integrity of infrastructure, and sending City of Calgary lawyers scouring through municipal law to find ways to protect the public.

It's about much more than tha creating sustainability for future generations, exemplifying a conscience for global warming, or generally just making the world a better place — although all of the above add nobility of purpose.

The practice of outsourcing a portion of a company’s operations was once perceived as a practical means of realizing cost savings or securing access to a much-needed labour pool. But the complexities of such arrangements are growing as more deals go sour.

As executive vice president, corporate and general counsel for TransCanada Pipeline Ltd. in Calgary, Sean McMaster is charged also with overseeing the company’s security strategies. It’s not a routine responsibility for an in-house lawyer, but in an industry as highly regulated as the transfer of fuel via pipeline, the purview of his role makes sense. 

Fifty-two days, 47 witnesses, 16 roundtable meetings, and 36,000 documents later, lawyers across Canada have all summer to wait before the final recommendations from the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario will markedly move the system forward.

When the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. finishes refurbishing its facilities in downtown Vancouver, it will include aboriginal art and indigenous flora and fauna.