In 2006, 16 per cent
of all lawyers under 30
were ‘racialized’ women
THOMAS CLARIDGE TORONTO
Citing 2006 Census figures, a
York University law professor has
found that nearly 60 per cent of
Ontario’s youngest lawyers were
women and that the main reason
for an overall growth in numbers
in the preceding decade was an
influx of “racialized” women.
Released to Law Society of
Upper Canada (LSUC) benchers
at their April Convocation,
Michael Ornstein’s report, Racial-ization and Gender of Lawyers in
Ontario, also found that in 2006
the number of lawyers who were
from visible minorities had
reached 3,685, or 11. 5 per cent of
all Ontario lawyers—up from 9.2
per cent five years earlier.
“The progress of visible minority lawyers can be seen in the dramatic increase in the percentage
of lawyers between the ages of 25
and 34 who are members of a visible minority: 2 percent in 1981, 3
percent in 1986, 6 percent in 1991,
11 percent in 1996, 17 percent in
2001 and 20 percent in 2006,”
Ornstein wrote, adding that the
trend “will also continue as older,
predominantly White lawyers
retire.”
The report found that in 2006,
16 per cent of all lawyers under 30
were “racialized” women, com-
pared to just 5 per cent of lawyers
30 and older.
The report
was prepared for
LSUC’s Equity
and Aboriginal
Issues Commit-
tee. “While we
are pleased to
see the con-
tinued increase
in the number of
women lawyers,
we are particu-
larly happy to
see the broad-
ening diversity
of those entering the profession,”
Josée Bouchard, LSUC’s Equity
Advisor said. “We are witnessing a
surge in the number of racialized
lawyers mirroring the surge of
women lawyers that took place 20
years ago.”
The report found that the
number of visible minority law-
“We are witnessing
a surge in the number
of racialized lawyers
mirroring the surge
of women lawyers
that took place
20 years ago.
yers aged 25 to 34 grew from 6 per
cent in 1991 to 20 per cent in
2006. Meanwhile, the number of
aboriginal lawyers in the same age
group grew from 0.9 per cent in
1991 to 1.9 per cent in 2006.
Bouchard called the findings
encouraging, “given how import-
ant having a representative legal
profession is to access to justice.”
Ornstein found
that in 2006, mem-
bers of a visible
minority accounted
for 30.7 per cent of
all physicians, 31.7
per cent of engin-
eers, 17. 6 per cent of
academics and 11. 8
per cent of high-
level managers,
compared to just
11. 5 per cent of law-
yers. “This suggests
that potential
immigrants who
are already lawyers in countries
with dissimilar legal structures
believe they will be unable to
translate their skills in Canada as
easily as other professionals.”
Although he found that
women and visible minority law-
yers were paid less than white
males and more likely to be law
firm associates and less likely to
be partners, he made no recom-
mendations on how that should
be addressed.
Manitoba wants to enact the
toughest sanctions in Canada for
debtors who willfully default on their
child support payments.
Amendments tabled April 28
would: boost fines to a maximum of
$10,000, and jail time to a maximum
of 200 days, for debtors in willful
default, such as those who hide
their assets; provide for support
deduction notices, a new adminis-
trative enforcement tool; create
financial penalties for debtors who
fail to pay maintenance, or fail to pay
on time; and add the ability to
charge to the debtor the cost of cer-
tain enforcement actions required
because of a debtor’s failure to pay.
The Family Maintenance Act would
be amended to: allow a child-support
order to be recalculated even though
a party fails to provide updated finan-
cial information; clarify that initial
orders of child support could be
made retroactively; and spell out the
court’s authority to order genetic
testing to determine parentage.
B.C. gets tough
on drunk driving
CONTENTS
NEWS
Insurance lawsuit settled
THE ONTARIO Court of Appeal
rejects routine recording of
defence medicals.........................1
EBAY FIGHTS a suit over liability
for facilitating counterfeit sales.. 13
THE FEDERAL Court broadens
patent agents’ duty of good faith .. 13
by Ontario’s law society for $8M
SASKATCHEWAN IS set to
dissolve its human rights tribunal...1
THOMAS CLARIDGE TORONTO
MINORITIES HAVE made major
headway in the legal profession, a
new report finds...........................2
Insurance
WHY INSURERS should rethink
criminal conduct exclusions ....... 16
AN INSURANCE lawsuit has
been settled by Ontario’s law
society for $8M ......................... 2
A COURT rejects a plaintiff’s
apprehension of bias when
appointing an umpire ............... 16
BUSINESS & CAREERS
A FILM that screened in Toronto
tells a story of child prostitution... 3
SMALLER IS better for some
lawyers.................................. 22
ASSOCIATE IS CFL player on the
side .......................................... 4
TWEET YOUR way to success at
the office ............................... 23
A CHILD support payer can deduct
legal fees spent on child support
bid, says the Tax Court................. 7
SOLO RURAL practitioner reaps
rewards ..................................... 25
FOCUS
CORPORATE COACHING coming
to law firm near you .................. 25
Intellectual Property
COPYRIGHT BATTLES over
comics...................................... 9
A lawsuit the Law Society of
Upper Canada (LSUC) launched
13 years ago, three years after
discovering that its errors and
omissions insurance program
was $154 million in the hole,
has finally been settled out of
court.
In disclosing the settlement
to LSUC benchers at their April
Convocation, CEO Malcolm
Heins said that while many
thought someone else must be
to blame for the huge deficit, it
arose because of the claims
incurred by LSUC members
during a recession accompanied
by collapse of the real estate
market.
The only issue in the action
for professional negligence was
whether the defendants, Ernst
& Young (E&Y) and Tillinghast,
had breached their professional
responsibilities as accountants/
auditors and actuaries by not
warning LSUC sooner that the
insurance fund was in trouble.
The B.C. government has
introduced “Canada’s toughest
impaired driving laws,” and while
the reaction has mostly been posi-
tive, the province’s Civil Liberties
Association (BCCLA) suggests the
new system needs a more “robust”
appeal procedure.
Under the new rules, expected in
force by fall, a driver found in the “fail”
range— a blood-alcohol level above
0.08 per cent — will be subjected to
an immediate 90-day driving ban
along with a $500 administrative pen-
alty and other fees that can raise the
total tab to nearly $4,000, not to men-
tion the possibility of criminal charges.
David Eby, BCCLA’s executive dir-
ector, told The Lawyers Weekly that
the fees can be reviewed by the
superintendent of motor vehicles,
although that office “does not enjoy
judicial independence.”
The association’s suggestion is
that with such penalties on the line,
“there should at least be as robust
an appeal process as we provide for
parking tickets.”
Paralegal Integration Project
launched
WHY POPULAR works warrant
weak copyright protection ......... 9
NEW DIRECTIONS for biotech
patent infringement remedies.. 10
DEPARTMENTS
A COURT blocks an attempt to
stall patent lawsuits through
re-examination ........................ 11
RICHES, MCKENZIE & HERBERT LLP
PATENTS, TRADE MARKS, COPYRIGHT, LITIGATION
BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS - PATENT & TRADE MARK AGENTS
PAUL HERBERT, R. PH, B.SC., PHM., LL.B., PH.D. BRANT LATHAM, B.A.SC. B.SC. (CHEM. ENG.), LL.B.
DAN HITCHCOCK, B.ENG. (ELEC. ENG.), LL.B. GARY M. TRAVIS, B.SC. (GEOL.), LL.B.
JEFF PERVANAS, B.A.SC. (ENG. SCI.), LL.B. JASON LEUNG, B.SC. (GENETICS), J.D.
MICHAEL ADAMS, B.ENG. (MECH. ENG.), B.SC., LL.B. BOBBY ATHWAL, B.A.SC. (MECH. ENG.), M.A.SC., LL.B., J.D.
HOW TO make the right choice
between patents and trade secrets.. 12
Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Classified Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lawddities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Legal Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Names in the News. . . . . . . . . 4
Weekly Digest. . . . . . . . . . . . 18
TRADE MARK AGENTS LEONARD GROVE (1930-2006)
MARTA TANDORI CHENG TELEPHONE: (416) 961-5000
2 BLOOR ST. EAST, SUITE 1800 FAX: (416) 961-5081
TORONTO, ONTARIO M4W 3J5 E-MAIL: riches@patents-toronto.com
At their April Convocation, bench-
ers of the Law Society of Upper
Canada approved listing six types of
paralegals now exempted from para-
legal licensing requirements as provid-
ers of legal services who will nonethe-
less be encouraged to become
licensed as part of a new Paralegal
Integration Project.
The project will permit exempted
persons and collective agents to apply
to take a licensing examination, pro-
vided they have performed specified
legal services for three years, take a
50-hour LSUC educational program
and are of good character.
