MEGA-TRIAL BILL

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

COPYRIGHT IN JOKES

Comedians fight back
against joke ‘thieves’

PAGE 9

CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION

December 6, 2002

Commercial litigants will find it tougher to establish the economic tort of unlawful conduct conspiracy following an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling which slashes a $1 million damages award to less than $200,000.

SCC clarifies real estate
disclosure standards

PAGE 13

Justice Stephen Goudge’s June 20 judgment in Agribrands Purina Canada Inc. v. Kasamekas overturns a decision which caught the commercial law Bar’s attention last year by its expansive approach to the tort of unlawful conduct conspiracy. That tort occurs when defendants injure a plaintiff while acting unlawfully in concert, by agreement or common design, knowing that they are likely to injure the plaintiff as a result.

SERIES

Task force to address articling crisis THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

PAUL LAWRENCE FOR THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

Criminal Lawyers’ Association President Paul Burstein says the government needs to increase its commitment to legal aid funding for Bill C- 2, the new mega-trial bill, to work effectively.

See story on page 2

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

Justice Goudge and Justices Eileen Gillese and Russell Juriansz held that the trial judge’s definition of “unlawful” conduct was “too broad.”

THOMAS CLARIDGE TORONTO

have its own budget, terms of reference and a timeline.

and related expenses to May 2012.” It is to report back briefly to Convocation in September and produce a final report no later than May 2012.

Part one of a three-part
series on big law firms

PAGE 21

The appeal court overturned a $2.1 million award (about $1 million for general damages and the rest for prejudgment interest) against three co-defendants for unlawful conduct conspiracy.

At their June Convocation, benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) gave quick approval to creation of a 12-member task force to recommend improvements in its articling system, which currently sees increasing numbers of applicants unable to secure positions with the province’s

COMPENSATION

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

The Court of Appeal substituted instead a breach of contract damages award against just one of the defendants, Agribrands Purina Canada Inc., of $198,665 plus prejudgment interest.

42,000 lawyers.

In recommending the move,
LSUC Treasurer Laurie Pawlitza
acknowledged that she had told
the benchers in May that she
planned to have the work done
by a working group of the law
society’s Professional Develop-
ment and Competence Commit-
tee, but had decided on the task
force because it could include
non-members of the committee,
The terms of reference give
the task force a mandate to:
Treasurer Pawlitza reminded
the benchers that a report to
LSUC’s May Convocation from
its Professional Development
and Competence Department
had highlighted the current
placement difficulties “and the
likelihood of these difficulties
continuing and increasing.”
Convocation on the future of the
articling system.

The report showed that the number of unplaced articling applicants had soared from 81 out of 1,391 ( 5. 8 per cent) in March 2008 to 214 of 1,767 ( 12.1 per cent) last March.

It also upheld a $30,000 punitive damages award against Purina for “surreptitiously” and “deceitfully” selling its product

See Tort 28

The task force has been given
a $75,000 budget funded by the
law society’s existing licensing
process budget, “to be used for
research, consultation, travel
Convocation also approved
the establishment of a working
group on bencher elections to be
chaired by former treasurer

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

See LSUC Page 8

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40065517

Open versus closed
compensation models

PAGE 23

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