RSS FeedLaw is Cool – Podcast #12
In my first podcast for Law is Cool, I had a conference call with Dr. Sam Trosow and a group of political bloggers about copyright and Bill C-61. They are concerned about the impact of the proposed legislation on creators and consumers of digital media. Special thanks to Omar Ha-Redeye and Scott Tribe for making this show possible.
The Panelists
- Dr. Sam Trosow is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario, jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. He is also a co-author of Canadian Copyright: A Citizen’s Guide.
- Scott Tribe is the author of the blog Scott’s DiaTribes and an Administrator of the Progressive Bloggers community. Progressive Bloggers has come out against Bill C-61 and promoted the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group.
- John Klein is the Saskatchewan-based blogger behind Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy. An expert on tin foil hats, he was recently a member of the Bloggers team on CBC’s “Test the Nation”.
- Mike Park is a left libertarian blogger from Ottawa. His blog is called Rational Reasons.
My Slaw 8/31/08
Check out my posts on Slaw for this week:
- Open Source Here in Google, There in Quebec, and Maybe Everywhere
- Maple Leaf Scare Provides Meat for Thought
- Examining Fault/No Fault Medical Insurance
- The Wonder that is LexMonitor
Thoughts at the Precipice of Law
My social orientation at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law, begins in two days. Since I have not yet studied the law, or ever adequately “experienced” the law (been arrested, or cameoed on Law & Order), I cannot blog about the law per se. However, I simply cannot wait to get started here on lawiscool.com. The name alone compels me to begin writing about the law, which I, too, find cold—I mean “cool.”
By the end of 8 September, my first day of class, I’m sure that I will have a litany of legal matters to intelligently discuss with you. But for today, I’m going to use my naive, virgin pre-law status to my advantage: I will flaunt it and even share it with you.
“Why law?”
I get asked this a lot. It’s especially hard for me to answer, since I’ve accused many people that I know (never to their face, of course) of going into law because it was the only way to monetize their worthless Arts degrees. I’ve bemoaned that belief, too, since I also believe that society works best when everyone pursues only those vocations that inspire them. Now, it looks like I’m awkwardly placing my feet in their damning footsteps.
Of course, if I could show that the law inspires me, I could avoid restructuring my beliefs and apologizing to my friends. That would be ideal. Can I honestly show that?
A good start in showing that the law inspires me is by discussing my father, Jeffrie Shulman.
I have always loved to argue about justice, rights, government, and politics; I am extremely argumentative by nature. I sometimes wish there was a god, just so I could argue his existence with him directly instead of in his absentia. My father, who also loves a good argument, is a criminal defense lawyer in Toronto (my hometown). Being the son of a criminal defence lawyer has exposed me to concrete examples of legal theory and the virtue of justice. Since, through my father, I have always been in closer proximity to these subjects, I have tended to debate them more than others (though, in my 24 years, I think I have debated every subject).
By the tender age of eight, I had, for instance, gathered from my father yelling into the phone, “When the cops get there: DON’T SAY A THING!” that everyone has a right to remain silent. (Later in life, living on the street which each year hosts the inglorious Queen’s University Homecoming, I would impart this lesson to friends.) These experiences have captured my attention—either reinforcing certain personal beliefs and values with an increased moral urgency, or even casting doubt on the practical attainability of judicial ideals. Incidentally, it was also my father’s clients that instilled in me at a young age a strong belief in the importance of education (especially a legal one). Each collect call I took from the jail always ended with the same admonishment: “Be cool, stay in school.” I wasn’t always cool, but I have always stayed in school.
After five years of graduate and post-graduate studies, that school is law.
What about my graduate and post-graduate studies? Do they help show that law inspires me?
Sort of, but it takes some more finangling. It’s not as emotionally robust as my father’s inspiration, but it’s still something.
I have a B.A. (hons.) from Queen’s University and an M.A. from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). At both those institutions, I majored in Philosophy of Language and Logic, subjects which I still love. I’ve already mentioned my belief that everyone should love what they do, but I must now admit another, even less realistic belief that I hold dear: I believe that everyone should be good—nay, great—at what they do. It’s a totalitarian and romantic belief, I know. To those of you who are not great at their chosen profession (I’m looking at you, Lenny Kravitz), you have my undeserved condolences.
Apart from a lot of monumental ideas, one thing I learned in philosophy is that—as interested in the subject as I am—I am highly unlikely to ever make an original contribution to my (former) field. Unfortunately, this is precisely what I consider to be an essential property of a “great” academic. To make an original contribution in philosophy, you’re competing with guys like Soctrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Kant, Frege and Russell (as well as thousands of years, since it’s the oldest academic subject). These are the guys that get 99% on the LSAT with no preparation but a hangover.
Once I realized that philosophy and I had to part ways (I was actually in the middle of my thesis at the time), I began searching for a profession in which my five years of philosophy would not be entirely wasted, a profession to which I could transfer and apply some of the skills and knowledge I had gained. It took about five nanoseconds before it hit me like a pounding gavel of destiny: law is the ultimate practical application of language and logic. It’s perfect! I could probably do it well, I thought. Plus, my dad seems to like law (he regularly claims that he’s going to practice until the day he dies). And, for that very reason, I love it! I want to do it! The thought that I could be great at something that also touches on subjects that I have always been interested in inspires me enormously.
(Hopefully, in a few weeks, I’ll still feel the same way.)
Ergo, I can attend law school and not change my beliefs nor apologize to my friends. Phew.
Would an argument of this shoddy calibre standup in court? It damn-well better!
I’d like to thank “Larry” for bringing me on. He’s always been a dear, dear friend.
David Shulman Joins Law is Cool Team
I am very happy to welcome David Shulman, an incoming first year law student at the University of Windsor to our team of contributors at Law is Cool.
David Shulman holds a Hons. B.A. from Queen’s University, having majored in Philosophy and minored in History. There, he founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, a successful student academic magazine called Syndicus. The magazine still publishes regularly, and has interviewed such noteworthy individuals as Noam Chomsky, Arthur Erickson, and Peter Mansbridge. David also holds an M.A. from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), with a specialization in Analytic Philosophy. His studies and thesis focused on Philosophy of Language and Logic. He is currently a first-year law student at the University of Windsor. His interests include social justice, analytic philosophy, French language, politics, reading, writing, squash, and paintballing.
David has been a close friend of mine for many years, and I was thrilled to learn that he will be entering law school after completing his B.A. and M.A. degrees. Particularly because of his extensive background in writing and his great sense of humour, I believe David will be an excellent addition to our team.
As always, fellow Canadian law students and articling students are encouraged to contact us about joining the team.
Web Apps for Back to School
Who likes to lug around those big, heavy law textbooks?
Not me, that’s for sure.
Frederic Lardinois of ReadWriteWeb provides some web applications and plug-in extensions to help reduce the number of books and resources you need to carry.
Citations from Hell
Several of them, such as bibliography tools like Zotero and EasyBib, don’t have as much relevance for law students. The McGill Guide (aka The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation) simply isn’t as popular a format as MLA or APA for developers to include it.
Imagine the automation possible if tools like OttoBib, which gives you a book citation using an ISBN number alone, could do the same for legal cases. The savings in billable hours would also be passed on to the client.
Law Students, Collaborating?
If you’re really fancy about your summaries you can use Evernet, which lets you upload photos of the blackboard right into your notes.
Google Notebookis similar to Microsoft Word, but allows natural online collaboration. There are plenty of times we miss something the Prof said, but this way you can have several students taking notes on the same lecture.
But law students are not famous for their collaboration. In the rare chance that they do, such as with moots, other online office suites from Google and Zoho might be useful.
Organizational Skills
I’m the guy who does everything – every public speaker, every event, and I want to eventually do every competition. At the tuition rate I’m paying I want the most of my law school experience, and don’t want to be holed up trying to cram as much as I can.
I already use Google Calendar to keep track of things, but Remember the Milk is an additional tool that can be used in conjunction with it to prioritze tasks. You can synchronize Remember the Milk with your Gmail, iPhone, Blackberry, Twitter, and more.
Ratings Professors
Most law students know Rate My Professor from their undergrad studies (law in Canada is usually after one degree, or at least several years of study). There’s also Professor Performance, which is increasing in popularity. I’ve checked, and many of our law professors are evaluted on these sites.
Be fair, but kind and generous when conducting these evaluations. Keep in mind that one day someone will likely be evaluating you on one of the many lawyer evaluation sites like Lawyer Ratingz and CanLaw that are popping up.
Daydream Efficiently
Looking to daydream in class, or procrastinate on those readings?
Minimize your wasted time with Meebo, which allows you to integrate several Instant Messaging accounts simultaneously.
My Recommendation
ReadWriteWeb provides a whole slew of other web apps that students can use.
My biggest distraction in class is looking up legal definitions. Because Black’s Law Dictionary is too bulky to bring to every class, I tend to use a combination of free online legal dictionaries and other sources.
My new favorite toy is Ubiquity, a beta Firefox extension that allows quick, in-browser command prompts including quick definitions and Wikipedia entries. It also allows you to quickly Digg pages, take screenshots, map locations, and translate text.
Of course all these features are available on other sites and applications, but it’s the speed and efficiency that Ubuiquity allows that makes it useful.
There are also custom command prompts available, and many further developments that can be expected from this application as it expands.
Keep Your Fingers Crossed
Armed with all your online toys you’ll be more organized and efficient than ever before for the new school year. Learning productivity software now, while you are in school, will make you that much more of an efficient lawyer once you start practicing.
Now let’s just hope your computer doesn’t crash.
Cross-Posted from Social Media Mafia.
Radovan Karadzic Refuses to Enter a Plea
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, today refused to enter a plea to charges against him as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) commenced proceedings in the Hague. Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade on July 21, 2008 after thirteen years in hiding. He is facing eleven counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws of war in Bosnia-Hercegovina between April 1992 and July 1995.
- Persecution of Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Bosnian Croat civilians
- Targeting of political leaders, intellectuals and professionals
- Unlawful deportation and transfer of civilians
- Unlawful shelling of civilians
- Unlawful appropriation and plunder of property
- Destruction of homes and businesses
- Destruction of places of worship
Karadzic, who is conducting his own defence, is challenging the legitimacy of the ICTY (a United Nations tribunal) and has referred to the court as a
bastardised judicial system [which] is representing itself falsely as a court of the international community, when it is in fact a court of NATO whose aim is to liquidate me.
I will not plead.
May I hold you to your word?
When the baffled judge inquired as to “which word?”, Karadzic responded
That I’m not guilty !!
The judge replied with a smile, telling Karadzic that time would tell.
The next hearing has been set for Sept. 17.
Radovan Karadzic
Image: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Social Media When Time = Money
Lawyers are notorious for efficient use of their time, more so than any other professional, because with the billable hour their time really is money.
The American Bar Association revealed in the Septmeber 2008 issue of the ABA Journal that the majority of lawyers are still reluctant to adopt new web technology.
The survey, based on responses from approximately 850 lawyers nationwide, shows that websites and e-mail newsletters are still the digital way that most attorneys stay current with the news. A small minority reports reading blogs; but actually creating a blog is something the geeky lawyer down the hall—or, more likely, across town—is into.
Sam Glover of Lawyerist demonstrates that social media does not necessarily need to take more time than other networking techniques.
Networking takes time, whether that networking takes the form of a bar association event, a happy hour with colleagues, or online social networking. Just like “regular,” offline networking, time spent networking online is up to the person doing the networking online. Networking online is “real” marketing. It should be a necessary part of your job, not just frivolous web surfing.
He looks at Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, claims that once you set yourself up you need only 10-15 min. a day for maintenance.
Well here’s a tip to reduce that time even further.
With Ping.fm, you can simultaneously update several networks, including social media sites and blogs.
If you install plug-ins, you can further disseminate your information by either distributing your blog posts across your network, or collect your web content like status updates and transform them into blog entries using their custom url feature.
Essentially you have set up several mirrors on over a dozen sites that are already optimized. Keep your privacy settings on the lowest level for the best effect.
The trick here is to use social media as a push medium, and not spend hours daydreaming looking at all your associates’ vacation photos.
Using this technique for several months consistently will increase the likelihood that personal content you are interested in placing on the web will take top ranking. You will be able to stay in touch with family, friends, and potential clients with minimal effort.
Best of all, you’ll come across as a social media pro, and nobody will know how little effort it really took.
h/t Devin Johnston of Robson Hall for the heads up on ping.fm
Cross-Posted from Social Media Mafia.
New Podcast Director for the New School Year
With the move of Omar Ha-Redeye to Slaw earlier this month, admin responsiblities have been shifted to others on the team.
Devin Johnston, a new recruit to our site who is entering his second year at Robson Hall in Winnipeg, Man, will be taking over the podcasts. Devin will focus on a number of legal and political issues of interest to him.
Devin is a nominee for the Kick Ass Bloggers Award, and joins our site with enormous social media and blogging expertise. He will be a great asset to the site.
Omar will still help out, but interested parties can contact Devin directly about scheduling an interview.
Maple Leaf Foods Sued Over Tainted Meat
Four separate class-action lawsuits were filed today in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia against Maple Leaf Foods. The suits were filed on behalf of Merchant Law Group LLP.
Up to 15 people in Canada have died from the tainted meat so far, and at least 12 were in Ontario. The Ontario suit seeks $350 million in damages, while the other suits did not specify any amounts.
The National Post states,
…a link was confirmed between deli meats processed at [Maple Leaf's] Toronto plant and a food-borne bacterium connected to the deaths.
Merchant claims they have been contacted by over 500 affected parties.
Two local firms have also entered the action, Falconer-Charney LLP of Toronto and Sutts-Strosberg LLP of Windsor, Ontario.
One-Stop Shop Legal Services in Ontario
The Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario announced today a new website and hotline to provide legal information.
Information is available on:
- Finding a lawyer
- Tickets and fines
- Lawsuits and disputes
- Family and criminal law
- Human rights, and
- Wills and Estates
The site provides services in 23 languages to reflect the increasing cultural diversity of the Province, and the hotline has up to 170 languages. Minority access to legal information is a concern that has arisen in many different contexts.
Attorney-General, Chris Bentley, said,
Ontarians now have a place to start when they need basic legal information about our justice system. Justice Ontario is the one-stop destination that puts answers to your basic questions about the legal system just a click or a phone call away.
The site is part of broader strategies to reform the Civil and Criminal system.
The Access Partnership that helped develop the site includes representation from the following organizations:
- Law Society of Upper Canada
- Ontario Bar Association
- Advocates’ Society
- County and District Law Presidents Association
- Ontario Trial Lawyers Association
- Legal Aid Ontario
- Community Legal Education Ontario
- Pro Bono Law Ontario
Twist Law Wiki for Case Summaries
My name is Costa Ragas and I’m starting my third year at McGill. Last year I developed a website called Twistlaw.ca. It’s a case summary wiki!
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Register & Login
When you register, make sure to select your law school.
Step 2: Profile
Go to your profile, and add your classes. In some cases, one of your classes may already be registered on Twistlaw – you can simply add the class.
Step 3: Search / Browse / Add a summary!
Really, step 3 is up to you. You can choose to search for a summary by entering a keyword. Or you can browse for a summary by class. If you can’t find the summary you’re looking for, add one (the link will be at the bottom of the page)!
And if ever you need to double check anything about this process, you can always try this link here: http://www.twistlaw.ca/learn.php
Who should use Twistlaw?
Twistlaw was designed to be used by any law student in any year of law school. The point is that each summary is organic, changing and improving over time, as more and more people read it and edit it.
Twistlaw is also ideal for study groups. Get everyone in your study group registered on the site, make sure you add the same class (you can even add “study group X” after the class name to differentiate it, if you prefer). Then each member of the study group can view/edit/print the cases, and work on them together.
Case Summary Features
- Each summary can be edited by logged in, registered users. Each time a change is made, the old version is archived and a link is created.
- If you’re using the same case in another class, you can “tag” it for that class by using the drop-down menu when viewing the case summary.
- If the case mentions a particular statute, you can tag that statute as well. (Make sure you’ve added the statute first, though…)
- To print the case summary, click on the Print button… Don’t use “File, Print” from your browser, as it won’t be printer friendly.
- Have something to say about a case that doesn’t belong in the summary? You can add a comment at the bottom of the summary page.
Casebook Features
- First things first, there are RSS feeds to each one of your classes in your casebook. So if a case summary is added for the class, you can decide if you’d like to add that case to your case summary. This is important. Just because you’ve added a class, doesn’t mean you’ve added all the cases that go with that class. The summaries you elect to have in your casebook are entirely up to you!
- Another feature for logged in, registered users is the ability to print out an entire class casebook (others have to do it one-by-one). Click on the print button, and the next page will give you a list of all the case summaries for that class which are in your casebook. Each time you view a printer-friendly page, all of the case names will be in “Heading 2.” For those of you using document styles in Word or Mac Pages, this means that it’s easier to select all the summaries and create a table of contents, selecting just Heading 2 items and adding some page numbers.
Statute Features
- This is one of the latest additions to Twistlaw – a statute wiki! Add a statute by including the name, citation, jurisdiction, and optional description or url. Then you can add a comment about the statute. Or tag the statute for a class in your casebook.
- If there’s a specific section of the legislation you think is important, you can add that as well, and make comments on the sections.
Blawgs
Let me know if you want your law blog added to the list on Twistlaw.
Main News Feed
Sign-up and stay on top of all the latest updates to the site.
Almost done…
So basically, Twistlaw will not function without collaboration. I created it because I think law students all do the same thing over and over and over again (read and summarize cases…), and this can help eliminate some of the redundancies and tease out the issues which we can sometimes overlook.
Many thanks to everyone over at Lawiscool.com for letting me spread the word about Twistlaw.ca.
Plot to Kill Obama
People have speculated, but the New York Times reports today that a plot to kill Senator Obama was revealed. At least three people are under arrest.
The police said they had found two rifles, one with a scope, in the car, along with walkie-talkies, a bulletproof vest and licenses in the names of other people. One of the rifles was listed as stolen from Kansas.
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