Here are the top 10 most read stories of 2012 from canadianlawyermag.com. Some are reproduced from the magazine, such as our Top 25 Most Influential — always a big draw — and some you’ll only find online, including our 4Students and InHouse web pages. As usual, the stories that rise to the top of the charts tend to be the rankings and surveys. Everyone wants to know how they measure up and where they fit in! As such, I encourage readers to participate in all our 2013 surveys and rankings.

 

1. The 2012 Canadian Lawyer Compensation Survey 

 

2. The top 25 most influential lawyers in Canada 

 

3. Looking to the future: Canadian Lawyer’s top 10 litigation and top 5 tax and business immigration law boutiques 

 

4. The offshore banking nightmare 

 

5. The death of collective bargaining 

 

6. Legal profession in turmoil: Let’s blame the law schools 

 

7. IP and labour and employment boutiques holding their own 

 

8. What’s hot, hot, hot 

 

9. Judge orders law student to hand over Facebook pics

 

10. Target brings fixed fee arrangement system to Canada

Canada

Toronto sees increase in shooting deaths for 2012, Toronto Star

Immigration consultant guilty of 54 charges, Montreal Gazette


United States

Employer wins relief from U.S. contraceptives mandate, Reuters

Court to decide if theme parks are liable for thrill ride injuries, Los Angeles Times


International

Japan's casino tycoon bet on Philippines fixer, Reuters

Apple loses another copyright lawsuit in China, Reuters

Governor General David Johnston announced 91 new appointments to the Order of Canada on Dec. 30, 2012. There are seven honourees with ties to the law including hockey legend Ken Dryden and retired Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Charron.

Louise Charron (Photo: Colin Rowe)

The Order of Canada is one of Canada’s highest civilian honours. It was established in 1967 during Canada’s centennial year to recognize a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation. There are three areas of appointment: companion, officers, and members

Recipients will be invited to accept their insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

Companions

Retired Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Charron was elevated to the highest level of companion of the Order of Canada for her contributions as a noted jurist and for her commitment to French common-law education. Charron was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in August 2004 and retired on Aug. 30, 2011. Originally from Sturgeon Falls, Ont., Charron was a Crown attorney and went on to teach in the French common law section of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law for 10 years before her first appointment to the bench in Ontario in 1988.

Officers

Phil Fontaine (Photo: Max Rossi/Reuters)

Ken Dryden, who holds a law degree but is substantially more well known for his stellar career as an NHL goaltender, was elevated to the level of officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to Canadian life in hockey, law, writing and politics, notably as a champion of literacy and the prevention of sports-related brain injuries. Before becoming a hockey legend, Dryden attended law school at the University of Manitoba and, later, at McGill University, where he obtained his LLB. In the middle of his career with the Montreal Canadiens, Dryden shocked everyone by quitting and heading off to Osler Hoskin and Harcourt in Toronto to do his articling. But he was back to hockey glory the next year. He later went on to be elected as an MP in Ottawa.


Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations Phil Fontaine has been honoured for his contributions on behalf of First Nations, notably his role in the resolution of claims arising from the Indian residential schools issue. Fontaine is now a special adviser with Norton Rose Canada LLP on First Nations matters, including aboriginal law, energy, environmental and mining and resources. He advises clients in all the firm’s offices, including Calgary.


McGill University law professor Roderick Alexander Macdonald has been named an officer for his accomplishments as a legal scholar, notably his contributions to the advancement of law and policy in Canada and abroad. He is the F.R. Scott Professor of Constitutional and Public Law at McGill and was the law dean from 1984 to 1989. He chaired a Task Force on Access to Justice of the Ministère de la justice du Québec (1989-91), and has been a consultant to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission (2007-2008), the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1991-1992), to the Ontario Civil Justice Review and to the Federal Department of Justice on the interaction of federal law and the Civil Code of Québec. He is currently the co-commissioner of Quebec’s the Charbonneau Commission, which is examining allegations of corruption in the construction industry.


Membe

Rebecca Cook.

rs

Rebecca J. Cook of Toronto has been named a member of the Order of Canada for her achievements as a legal scholar on issues of women’s rights, sexual health and reproductive law. She is a professor in the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine and the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto; and Co-Director, International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Programme and University of Toronto.

Fred V. Martin, a lawyer who splits his time between Salt Spring Island, B.C. and Edmonton, Alta., has been honoured for his long engagement in support of equal rights, notably his work helping the Métis Settlements General Council achieve self-governance. He told the Edmonton Journal that he will take the order to the Métis Settlements General Council office after he receives it, so it can be displayed there.

Linda Silver Dranoff

“That’s where it belongs,” he told the newspaper. “I think of it more as a recognition of a team than as an individual.”

Toronto family lawyer Linda Silver Dranoff has been recognized for her work as a lawyer, writer, and activist helping to advance the discipline of family law. Dranoff has represented clients in precedent-setting cases, including the first Supreme Court of Canada case to give Ontario wives a share of family investments, and the first to expand spousal support rights to take account of benefits, bonuses and changes in the cost-of-living. She was the founding chairwoman of the Ontario Bar Association’s Feminist Legal Analysis Section.

The full list of appointments is here. 

Legal Feeds brings legal news from across Canada to our readers daily. Seems lawyers like to read about what's going on with their collegues, lawyers in trouble, and what the courts have to say. Here are the 10 most read stories of 2012 from the blog.

1. Lawyer warns abour further jury roundups.

2. U of A takes crown in second Twitter moot

3. LSUC sends ‘unhappy message’ with Groia ruling: Cherniak

4. SCC spells out Canadian jurisdiction on foreign lawsuits

5. B.C. court awards largest punitive damages ever in employment case

6. Project Conjugal clamping down on fake marriages

7. Top traits for succeeding in-house

8. Judge wants system to hear his side of the story

9. Former Vision TV GC disbarred

10. Windsor law grad declared vexatious litigant 

Canada

Mayor Ford sees $6M libel case dismissed, says judgment is 'welcome', Calgary Herald

88-year-old war criminal has citizenship stripped in latest bid to deport him, The Globe and Mail

Court gives bail to Montreal deacon charged with child pornography, Vancouver Sun


United States

NRA will fight U.N. arms trade treaty, argues it would force U.S. to enact strict legislation, Reuters

Lawsuit claims Chicago's 3rd largest school district is discriminatory against black teachers, Reuters 


International

Putin signs off on law banning American adoption of Russian children, Reuters

China amends labour law to tighten loophole on hiring temporary workers, Reuters

This past year, it was the human stories of lawyers, members of the bench, and the articling crisis in Ontario that caught the attention of Law Times readers. Here are the top 10 most read articles from lawtimesnews.com in 2012:

1. Largest law firms in Canada

2. Articling crisis gets worse

3. Cassels Brock’s counterclaim raises eyebrows

4. Disbarred lawyer’s ‘amazing story of redemption’ earns reinstatement to profession

5. Calling senior lawyer dishonest, negligent can get you fired

6. Lawyer who had sex with family law client in joint retainer in hot water for disclosure

7. Are judges appointed for political ties?

8. Lawyer facing contempt charge just doing his ‘duty’

9. Are lawyers ready to give up BlackBerrys?

10. Law school star makes third attempt at becoming a lawyer

It's been some time since we posted a photo in our Courthouses of Canada series but here is the latest.

The Québec Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province. The Édifice Ernest-Cormier was built between 1922 and 1926 and designed by architects Louis-Auguste Amos, Charles J. Saxe, and Ernest Cormier in the Classical Revival architectural style. It is built of of Montreal greystone, a limestone, quarried from the Île-Jésus, and is four storeys tall. Its base and columns are made of grey granite from Stanstead in the Eastern Townships. Construction cost $5 million.

It was the second courthouse in Montreal to bear the name Palais de justice de Montréal. After Cormier’s death in 1980, the building was renamed in his honour.

Upon its inauguration on Nov. 22, 1926, the building, which covers a city block, held courtrooms, dormitories for jurors, local police, and prisoners. Offices for judges and Crown attorneys and registrars were later added. From the 1930s to 1950s, the premiers of Quebec also had their offices in this building.

In 1972, after a new courthouse, the building was empty but the Archives nationales du Québec settled there from 1974 to 1987 and conservatories of music and drama from 1975 to 2001. Exentensive restoration work took place between 2002 and 2005 and the building now houses the Court of Appeal of Quebec in Montreal. Twenty judges sit on the bench, including the chief justice and several supernumerary judges. Cases are usually heard by three judges.

The Édifice Ernest-Cormier is located at 100 Notre-Dame St. E., across the street from both the first Palais de justice de Montréal, Édifice Lucien-Saulnier, and the current courthouse.

Canada

Court orders Toews to approve move of Canadian prisoner from U.S. to Canada, The Globe and Mail

Grenada's High Court delays trial of police officers accused of beating Toronto man to death, The National Post

Troubled teen's cell death finally set for inquest, Calgary Herald


United States

Supreme Court justice refuses to block enforcement of insurance coverage for contraception, Reuters

Judge rules Oklahoma is free to end Planned Parenthood contract, Reuters


International

Cambodian court orders 'scapegoats' back to jail, latest controversy in country with 'low judicial standards', Reuters

Human Rights Watch says Kuwait used 'excessive force' at October demonstrations, Reuters

Prominent Toronto lawyer Edward Greenspan is headed to his home region’s university to teach a course. He won’t, however, be teaching at a law faculty; instead, he’ll be teaching political science.

Edward Greenspan will be teach a 12-week course at Brock University. (Photo: Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Starting Jan. 7, Greenspan will teach a 12-week political science class at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., that will include an examination of the link between crime and politics.

“We will use landmark cases and real events to look at the relationship between criminal law and politics,” he says.

“I don’t think there will be any comparable undergraduate course in any other university,” adds Greenspan, who notes the course will include discussions on how crime rates affect Canadian politics. “The purpose is a better awareness of not just what this current government is doing but what governments in general do with respect to crime.”

Besides presenting his own materials, Greenspan also plans to bring in criminologists, judges, and prosecutors as guest speakers.

Greenspan, originally from Niagara Falls, Ont., was the recipient of an honorary degree from Brock this spring. At the time, he noted he began university too early to attend Brock, which opened in 1964. Now, almost 50 years later, he has a degree from Brock is going to be teaching there.

For its part, the university hailed the news of Greenspan’s teaching position.

“This will be a seminar where students get to interact in a personal and direct way with Ed Greenspan and benefit from his insights as they develop their own positions on current legal questions,” said Pierre Lizee, chairman of the department of political science.

Brock president Jack Lightstone called Greenspan’s course “tremendous news, not just because of his international reputation for excellence in his field but also because he is from Niagara and Brock is proud to help him give back to our community.”

CANADA

Spousal violence costing goverment billions every year: study, Globe and Mail

York University sues former over alleged invoice scam, Toronto Star

Former B.C. Mountie to be extradited to U.S. to face drug charges, Vancouver Sun

 

UNITED STATES

California appeal court puts gay therapy ban on hold, for now, Reuters

Wells Fargo agrees to proposed settlement on shareholder actions, Reuters

 

INTERNATIONAL

MF Global trustee announces settlement deals key to cash payouts, Reuters

China to crack down on 'malicious' trademark registrations, Reuters