This year’s problem focused on Arctic sovereignty in a dispute between Canada and the U.S.

The competition is hosted by the  Canada-United States Law Institute (CUSLI) and involves participation from the following schools in Canada and America:

American University Washington College of Law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Cornell University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center
Michigan State University College of Law
Queen’s University Faculty of Law
Seattle University Law School
St. Louis University School of Law
University at Buffalo Law School
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law
University of Windsor Faculty of Law
Valparaiso University School of Law
Washington University School of Law
William Mitchell College of Law

Sponsors included DLA Piper, Fasken Martineau, Crowell Moring, Cassels Brock, McMillan, and Torys LLP.

Award for Best Advocate went to David Kocan & Brandon Wheeler, with Second Place going to Jason Urbaniak and Catherine Mariano, Third Place to Kaitlyn Faucett and Matt Vance, and Fourth Place to Kurt Kruckerberg.  Complete results of the competition can be found here.

Niagara Problem 2010

	Omar Ha-Redeye on Year in Review
Smart firms adapt to smartphones this year

Smart Firms Adapt to Smart Phones

In it he discusses Donna Seale‘s new book, Using Social Networking Sites in the Hiring Process – A Guide for Canadian Employers, and videos by Torys LLP and Andrew Black:

That’s the thinking behind Torys‘ new YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/torysmedia). “We had the podcasts and videos on our website anyway,” says [Stuart] Wood. Cost and effort of putting them on YouTube? Minimal. The pay-off? Still under evaluation at Torys. The online legal community has given the venture a thumbs-up. Law is Cool (www.lawiscool.com). the law school blog and podcast from Canada, loves it. Writes founder Omar Ha-Redeye, “This is what I’ve been waiting for…. This project shows that the firm understands that students want a human face to firms that often appear intimidating.~ (He adds that the venture proves that “social media and viral videos are no longer for small firms or solo practices~ – if Torys is doing it, they’ve gone mainstream.)

A copy of the article can be found on the Davis LLP website.

The Canadian Bar Association‘s magazine, National, has an article in the December 2009 issue by Luigi Benetton on Canada’s Best Law Firm Websites.  A copy of the article can be found on Luigi’s website.

Law student and blogger Omar Ha-Redeye believes good bios are the exception today. He sees bios that vaunt lawyers instead of providing useful information to clients. “When looking for a lawyer, most clients could care less about the
things that lawyers care about, [like being a] Gold Medalist, or having clerked with so-and-so,” he says. “I would love to see social media linked from profiles (e.g., a lawyer’s blog), but this rarely if ever happens,” he adds.

The best sites listed in various categories were:

Ogilvy Renault LLP, Hyndman Law, Neff Law Office, Bull, Houser & Tupper LLP, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP, Torys LLP, McInnes Cooper, Legault Joly Thiffault, Davis LLP,  Clark Wilson LLP, Hull & Hull LLP

Runners-up:

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Clark Wilson LLP, Hicks Morley Hamilton Steward Storie LLP, McMillan LLP, Cox & Palmer, Bélanger Sauvé, Lavery, Torys LLP

Omar Ha-Redeye was also quoted for the multimedia award given to Hull & Hull LLP,

They’ve probably been doing it as long as anyone, and have fully integrated videos and podcasts into their practice. Experience with these formats has not only resulted in a highly polished product, but also content that is actually relevant to what they do.

See more on Slaw.

Canada’s Best Law Firm Websites

The winners this year were Shane Attersley and Kevin Wall. Jennifer Organ and Keri Wallace were runner-ups.

Omar Ha-Redeye finished as a finalist with his partner, Adam Somogyi.

Professor Michael Coyle organized the competition, and lawyers from Torys that helped participate and judge inclued: Danial Lam , Sandeep Joshi, Gillian Dingle, Jennifer Lennon, Alison Harnick, Raegan Kennedy, Catherine De Giusti, Adrienne DiPaolo, Tim Robbins, Gabi Cohen, Blair Roedding, and Stephanie Rogoza.

Speakers included:

Prof. Robert Brown, Pension Reform Specialist at The University of Waterloo
Mitch Frazer, Pension Specialist at Torys LLP
retiree Robert Sexsmith
teacher Janis Mark
Michael Lynk, Professor of Labour Law at The University of Western Ontario

See the notes on Slaw and LawIsCool.

At least that’s what David Lat of Above the Law thinks, after seeing this video by Torys LLP on Law is Cool featuring Adam Banack and Adrienne DiPaolo:

Despite producing a social media release for these videos, the Law is Cool entry ranks much higher, and is  even above the fold on Google.

The University of Western Ontario describes the event,

In mid-September, interested students sign up (in teams of two) to participate in the competition. Teams are provided with a negotiation problem and a detailed outline of their fictitious clients’ interests, which they are able to study for a limited period prior to Preliminary Rounds. At the Preliminary Rounds, students negotiate with opposing teams while being observed by lawyers from Torys LLP, who assess the students’ negotiation strategies. The goal of these negotiation is to advance client interests while achieving outcomes that are acceptable to opposing counsel. The negotiations are largely “free form”, with very few rules governing student conduct.

Winners of the competition proceed to represent UWO at the ABA Negotiations Competition.

Omar Ha-Redeye competed this year with Amelia Phillips-Lewis.  He partnered with Amelia last year to win the Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Client Counselling Competition, and represented the school at the ABA Client Counseling Competition.