The voting list for the 2011 Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) Bencher Election is set on March 25, 2011, with a voting deadline of April 29, 2011 at 5:00 pm EDT.

This means that the July 2011 calls to the bar are ineligible.  Since I can’t vote this year, the next best thing to do is offer my endorsement of the following candidates:

Emir Aly Crowne casts an enormous shadow, well beyond the University of Windsor where he teaches.  He is The Essential Guide to Mooting, and has founded or administered more moots than I can keep track of.  I’ve done relatively well in internal and external moots, but the few times I’ve been clearly trumped has been at the hands of some of his proteges.  His dedication to students is also manifested through his participation in the Canada Law Student Conference, hosted by the Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues.  Having participated in the conference and the law journal, I can say first-hand that both are executed absolutely professionally.  He’s also a prolific writer, as evidenced by his SSRN page.  Given all of his academic and professional activity, it’s no surprise he was awarded the Young Practitioner Award at the 2010 South Asian Bar Association (SABA) Gala.  For everything that Prof. Crowne has done, not only for his students but for law students across Canada, a word of support is the least that this law student can do in return.

Michael M. Lerner doesn’t share a surname with Lerners LLP by coincidence.  I went to law school at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, the same city where the litigation boutique was originally founded in 1929.  During my time there, Michael Lerner was conspicuously present as a representative of Lerners LLP, who supported many aspects of my student life including the Mature Students Club while I was President, the 2009 UWO Law Alumni Dinner,  and of course, the highly-coveted Lerners LLP Cup, where I finished as a finalist and was awarded the Justice C.D. Stewart Trophy.  The Lerners Moot is UWO Law’s premier advocacy competition, used to rank and finalize all of the school’s external mooters, and Michael Lerner personally awarded the trophies.  All of these law school activities would not be possible without the support of Michael Lerner, who is also a graduate of Western Law.

Stephen G. A. Pitel is a former litigator at a prominent Toronto litigation boutique, and currently teaches at the University of Western Ontario.  I was introduced to him very early during my time at Western, when he would pick on me to answer questions in Ethics, even when I didn’t raise my hand.  Not that I had a problem answering the questions.  I got to know him much better through the 2009 Davies LLP Corporate Securities Moot, where he tirelessly offered countless hours assisting our team, even though he was not formally our coach.  I attribute my placement in the top 15 largely due to his support.  He also provided considerable career advice and guidance when it came to considering a career in litigation.  I got to know him further when I took his International Commercial Litigation class.  The the Van Breda case was released by the Ontario Court of Appeal at the time of this course, and his insight and commentary on the subject was extremely informative. Given my extensive interaction with him over 3 years of law school, I believe Stephen Pitel would be a good candidate for bencher.

R. Lee Akazaki is the current President of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA).  In my capacity as Articling Student Ambassador for the Toronto Region in the past year, I have the privilege of attending many OBA events and have gotten to know Lee Akazaki relatively well.  He has made a concerted effort to broaden the mandate of the OBA and expand participation in the organization beyond its traditional base.  For example, I’ve made a strong case for extending free OBA memberships for law students, a case that has positively received by Lee and the OBA.  He is also strengthening the ties of the OBA with practices outside of Toronto.  Despite running for bencher in the Toronto region, Lee would be an asset to the entire province by bringing fresh ideas and a new outlook.

Basil Alexander is the one bencher candidate I’m nominating that I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting.  An associate at Klippensteins, his practice is largely comprised of social justice and pro bono work.  We simply don’t have enough people making the sacrifices to do the work that most of us appreciate so much, and giving those who are making the effort a greater voice simply makes sense.

Raj Anand is running for re-election as a bencher this year.  As a former Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, equity issues is a high priority for him.  You can see a sample of his many activities on his LSUC bio, recognized in 2003 by the Law Society Medal.  I first met Raj in 2009 at a Labour Law Conference at UWO, and continue to run into him repeatedly at various legal events and activites since. He most recently a recipient of the Distinguished Career Award at the 2010 South Asian Bar Association (SABA) Gala.

Christopher D. Bredt is another bencher running for re-election.  To understand why I’m endorsing him you’ll have to listen to this podcast interview I did with him last year.

Julian N. Falconer is the third bencher running for re-election that I’m endorsing, as a strong advocate for marginalized communities.  One of Julian’s notable projects includes legal assistance for Maher Arar.  The legal system is the last defence against governmental abuses, and those who have already demonstrated the courage and fortitude to take a tough stand are exactly what is needed for the law society.

Monica Goyal is the founder of My Legal Briefcase, a website dedicated to assisting the public with Small Claims Court, with fees ranging from $24.99 to $249.  Access to justice is one of the most pressing needs in Canadian society today, and self-represented litigants are clearly on the rise in Ontario.  Technology can play a central role in addressing these concerns, and someone already involved in the delivery of cost-effective information to educate the public can certainly spearhead similar projects within LSUC.

Nabeel Haque will probably be one of the least renown candidates for bencher this year.  However, he also happens to be one of the few lawyers I’ve actually known before considering a legal career (to understand how, see the Chris Bredt podcast mentioned above).  With a small family-based practice based in western Toronto, primarily serving visible minorities, his perspectives of an entirely different type of legal career should be useful for addressing niche concerns.

Mitch Kowalski is best know for his column in the Legal Post.  As an information junkie I certainly appreciate anyone who makes the effort to keep track of trends and challenges in the industry, and is willing to share these findings with others.  The law society plays an important role in communicating with not just lawyers, but the public as well.  Lawyers who have already developed a communication network and infrastructure can assist the law society in delivering their messages more effectively.

There are many other candidates that I have not mentioned above, which is not meant as a snub or opposition.  It simply means that I have not had the opportunity to interact with any of them and appreciate what I am certain has been a career full of public service and advocacy.

You can read more about the use of social media and the Internet during these elections on Slaw.

Mitch Kowalski of the Legal Post catches this post about a video by Andrew Black of Windsor Law:

Apparently it’s a label that is not limited to politics alone.

Mitch Kowalski of the Legal Post picked up on an article about a New Jersey decision that excluded a Wikipedia entry as evidence.

Wikipedia not reliable, says court in earth shattering decision

It’s bad enough that there are judges who don’t know the law on issues brought before them, but this story from Law.com describes a judge with the research mentality of a 6 year-old. In New Jersey, a judge – sadly unaware that Wikipedia entries can be changed by anyone at any time -  ruled that the plaintiff could rely upon a Wikipedia entry “to help trace ownership of a credit-card debt” for the purpose of estabilishing a right to sue.

No surprisingly, the decision was overturned on appeal.

Omar Ha-Redeye also comments on the case, but takes a more liberal view on the use of Wikipedia in court. Contrary to Omar, my view is that until Wikipedia entries are vetted, approved and made unchangeable by recognized experts in those areas, it can never been seen as anything more than a novel source for off-the-cuff information that may help point you in the direction of further research. To put it more bluntly, relying on a Wikipedia entry is like relying upon an essay by an unnamed author that you found in the park. Or, citing a conversation with your Aunt Mildred as a reliable source for the history of streetcars in Singapore.

Mitch Kowalski, a UWO Law grad and writer for the Legal Post, has been covering how the economic downturn has affected the legal industry.

His entry today mentioned a meeting with Omar Ha-Redeye, where they discussed the impact of these changes.

Another old US firm bites the dust – reprise

As Julius Melnitzer recently blogged, 160 year-old Thatcher Proffitt & Wood LLP will be closing its doors on January 1, 2009. The Wall Street Journal reported that the firm was heavily focussed on work in ”mortgage-backed securities and other types of capital markets transactions,” which allowed the firm to grow to over 300 lawyers and making it one of the top 100 most profitable firms in the US. That work, as we all know, doesn’t exist any more.

“‘It has been the worst year for the legal market in many decades and maybe ever,’ Elliott Portnoy, the chairman of Sonnenschein, told WSJ.” Sonnenschein will pick up 100 of Thatcher’s lawyers in the new year.

Fellow legal blogger, Omar Ha-Redeye (SLAW), popped in for a coffee last week and we chatted about what Portnoy just noted. What most lawyers forget is that the era of the mega-law firm is a short one (perhaps no more than 40 years, if that). AND, these firms have never seen an economic crisis like this before. Large law firms in the 1930′s were comprised of perhaps no more than 5 lawyers. As a result, there is no precedent for legal behomenths to withstand huge, worldwide economic shocks and we’ve already begun to see that many will not. What makes this recession different from those since the 1930′s is that there is no country and no industry sector in which to hide. One can’t simply move to another jurisdiction that is “hot” or to another industry that is “booming”; everything is down. And, unfortunately from all that I’ve read and from all those that I have spoken to, 2009 will be another dismal year; more firms will shrink and more will die.

The silver lining? More clients will refuse to accept hourly billing and more will insist that routine legal work be out-sourced to low cost service providers, thereby revolutionizing the way law is practiced.

Omar’s write-up of the meeting can be found on Slaw and Law is Cool.

The Legal Post is up for the ABA Journal 2008 Blawg Awards.

They are the only Canadian blog in the “News” category, so you can help them win by voting now.  Slaw is also up for the ABA Awards.

When we first launched Law is Cool in 2007, we were pleasantly surprised to receive a Canadian Law Blog Award (CLawBie) only months after being online.

This year Steve Matthews is asking that we nominate blogs that we read.

1. Without question my top pick would be Jordan Furlong‘s Law21.  Jordan has years of experience in the field, and provides unique insights and perspectives that can’t find anywhere else online.  He’s also been an incredible support for us law students starting out, sending us notes and updates on a number of issues.
2. My next pick would be Garry Wise, of the Wise Law Blog.  His site is updated with amazing frequency for a guy who runs his own practice.  He’s also been instrumental in trying out some new initiatives like a video series (featuring me), and the Wise Law Reader.  Innovation is always great in a conservative field like law, and early adopters will always catch my attention.
3. One of my more recent top picks would be David Canton’s e-legal, a lawyer here in London that I have yet to meet in person (we have to change that David).  He regularly publishes articles in newspapers on tech related issues, and his site is a great way to keep track of what he’s up to.

Donna Seale also mentioned some of the difficulties of just picking three, so I’ll note some honourable mentions, including her site:  Connie Crosby, The Court, Rob Hyndman, Michael Geist, Legal Post, Stem Legal, UofA Faculty (despite their politics)

Steve also mentions that through the nomination process we automatically submit our own site.  Please don’t consider this site at all, it’s used for personal use only.  Do consider Slaw and Law Is Cool though, and I will disclose that Jordan and David are contributors at Slaw, and The Court has contributors at Law Is Cool.  It’s really tough avoiding conflict of interests here.