The Chief Justice of Ontario, Warren Winkler, gave  a lecture on “Judicial Mediation – Reality vs. Fantasy.”

See the article, First-Rate Mind, Third Rate Temperament in UWO Law’s Student Paper, Amicus Curiae, or hyperlinked on Slaw and Law is Cool.

The Honourable Madam Justice Marie Deschamps of the Supreme Court of Canada spoke to law students at the University of Western Ontario on “Jumping at the Chance,” exploring her career path that took her to Canada’s highest court.

She spent some time with law students discussing these issues in further depth at a subsequent session.

The Honourable Madam Justice Marie Deschamps of the Supreme Court of Canada

Prof. Jeremy Waldron of NYU Law spoke at UWO Law on Nov. 12 and 13.

First, he spoke at the 2009 Coxford Lecture, “Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: The Words Themselves”.  Kamila Pizon describes the talk on the school’s website.

On Nov. 13, he spoke to law students in a public law class on “The Core of the Case Against Judicial Review.”

Omar Ha-Redeye participated in the Cherniak Cup, UWO Law’s trial advocacy competition.

William M. Kaplan, a lawyer and arbitrator in Toronto, spoke at UWO Law about his new book, Canadian Maverick: The Life and Times of Ivan C. Rand.

Justice Rand served on the Supreme Court of Canada until his retirement at age 75, after which he moved to London, Ont. and founded the law school at Western.

UWO Law hosted the 2009 Labour Law Lecture & Conference on Equity in the Workplace: 25 Years After the Abella Report.

Hon. Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada delivered the keynote speech on Oct. 30, 2009. Kamila Pizon, a 3L at UWO Law, did a write-up on the speech available from Canadian Lawyer magazine and the school website.

The conference itself was held the following day, on Oct. 31, 2009.  Brian Burkett, partner at Heenan Blaikie LLP, provided the introduction and overview.

The first panel, on the evolution of employment equity, was chaired by The Honourable Madam Justice Rosalie Abella, and featured Carol Agocs of The University of Western Ontario, David Lepofsky, Chair of Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, and Nan Weiner of NJ Weiner Consulting.

The second panel discussed policy perspectives on employment equity. It was chaired by Elizabeth MacPherson of the Canada Industrial Relations Board, and featured Patricia Hughes of the Law Commission of Ontario, Elizabeth McIsaac of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, and Tom Patch of the University of British Columbia.

Raj Anand of WeirFoulds LLP provided a keynote luncheon speech.

The third panel provided some international perspectives on employment equity. Kevin Whitaker, Chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board chaired the panel that consisted of Harish Jain of McMaster University, who spoke of successes in Malaysia, India and elsewhere, Natasha Martin of the Seattle University School of Law, who covered the implications of President Obama’s election, and Michael Stein of Harvard Law School.

Raj Anand of WeirFoulds LLP chaired the fourth panel, providing legal perspectives on employment equity.  Mary Cornish of Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP provided a union side perspective, while Nitya Iyer of Heenan Blaikie LLP gave a manager side overview. Michael Lynk, Associate Dean at The University of Western Ontario, also added his insight.

Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada

Check it out in this issue of Amicus Curiae on the UWO Law website or hyperlinked on Law is Cool:

A new contributor on LawIsCool is attracting a lot of attention.

Ryan Venables is a former police officer from Vaughn who just started law school at the University of Western Ontario.

He has drawn on his unique experience to provide some very interesting commentary on a number of related subjects.  He even got an interview with CFRB for one of his posts.

Check them out:

Police Were Instigators in Montebello – Report Holds

When the North American Summit Leaders’ Summit was held in Montebello, Quebec in August 2007, something came to the attention of Dave Coles, President of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.

Amidst a seemingly peaceful protest, Coles noticed that three bandana-clad “burly” men were attempting to incite the protestors to become violent toward riot police…

David Chen: Vigilante or Local Hero?

On May 23, when Anthony Bennett was captured on video camera stealing $60 worth of plants from David Chen’s, Mr. Chen’s Lucky Moose Market located in Toronto, it set off a chain of events that may lead to a reform of what is known as “citizen’s arrest” rights here in Canada.  Ironically, it was Chen who was also arrested by the Toronto Police Service, and charges are being sought by the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Toronto Crown’s office.  However, they are seeking a quick resolution and have offered Chen a guilty plea.  Refusing Crown offer of a guilty plea, Chen is hedging his bets on a legal challenge.  The Globe & Mail article spells out much of the previous facts…

Jane/Finch Fatalities, By Car Not Gun…

On Sunday October 18th I woke up as I usually do, turning to the news to see what I missed while I was dreaming of something I would undoubtedly not remember… I recall rolling my eyes when I heard of another death in the Jane/Finch area, an area I visited on occasion in a past career and hear of often while watching the news.  Then the pictures flashed across the screen.  A BMW.  A Honda Odessey.  A seat.  Engine.  Bodies (yes that is PLURAL!).  All strewn across a street that normally attracts attention for shell casings, and knife blades.  I have seen fatal car accidents, dead bodies, but none of that amounted to the carnage inflicted to that minivan…

UWO Arrest: Justified Arrest or Abuse of Power?

After learning of the arrest of University of Western Ontario student Irnes Zeljkovic on Wednesday October 14, 2009, I looked up The Toronto Star article which led me to two videos on YouTube. The comments there, unfortunately, like always, are quite polarizing. On one side, there are those who think that the police were well within their rights to arrest an actively resisting suspect, and there are those who feel that the police are overstepping the boundary and are assaulting Mr. Zeljkovic. After looking at all the available information, I am firmly in the middle of these two views.

I am fortunate enough to be able to dissect this video from the perspective of a former police officer…

Over 80 students competed at UWO Law in the 2009 Torys LLP Negotiation Competition.

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.