A proposal to resolve the articling crisis
There is an articling crisis in Ontario. Many students enticed to law schools by the prospect of being a lawyer, can’t overcome the final hurdle because they can’t find an articling job. Ten months of…
Pulat Yunusov
Safe injection facilities and arbitrary government decisions
I often talk to friends or strangers about law. I remember a debate I had with someone once about the government. Can it make arbitrary decisions? I said yes, and he said, rather indignantly, no….
The death of Troy Davis
On September 21, 2011, at 11:08 pm Eastern Daylight Time, Troy Anthony Davis was declared dead. Cause of death: lethal injection. Administered by: employees of the state of Georgia. Legal justification of homicide: a court order. Grounds…
Ethical walls and conflicts of interest
When I meet with clients for the first time, I tell them about confidentiality. The moment the client opens his mouth, I explain, I lose the right to act for his adversaries. And most likely,…
How not to sue Dragons’ Den
Every time I see the Dragons belittle a sweating contestant from their raised TV studio platform that reminds of Olympus I catch a breath. It’s not Jerry Springer but what if one of the scorned…
On democratic legitimacy of the courts
My last post talked about how judges work with each other’s decisions. Today, I’d like to take a bird’s eye look at the relationship between the judiciary and Parliament. Unelected judges handle laws passed by…
What can judges really do?
Judges are powerful people. Sometimes, misconceptions about their power lead to calls for an elected judiciary or some other form of outside intervention in our courts. These are all bad ideas. Our judiciary must be…
Constructive dismissal
Recently, I consulted a client who was in a conflict with a few co-workers. Let’s call him Jack. My client told me they did not like him. Jack received emails accusing him of poor communication…
Credit rating agencies as courts of international finance
As I am writing this, President Obama announced a deal to avoid default on US government debt. If lawyers think in terms of courts, then what would be the legal consequences of the US default?…
The purpose of blawgs
More than a year ago I wrote a post entitled “How lawyers think.†Its basic idea is that a lawyer’s job is to maximize legal protection of his client’s rights. Protecting rights means either of…
The law of telephone numbers
A few days ago, I was shopping around for a good fax service. Besides receiving faxes by email and a few other musts, I needed a stable fax number. Who can afford to lose a…
The monarchy in Canada
The recent royal visit offers a good chance to talk about monarchy in Canada. Besides just being nice Canadians, the people who greeted the newly married royal couple were often ecstatic, filled with genuine love…