The testimony of an expert witness can be instrumental in proving liability or damages in a case, but only if they are carefully selected and adequately prepared for trial.

Two experienced panelists provided concrete tips for how to do just that, from the points of view of both litigation counsel and expert witness, at a lively and interactive CLE session held in Dublin on Tuesday.

Simon Potter, partner with McCarthy Tétrault in Montréal, ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

The testimony of an expert witness can be instrumental in proving liability or damages in a case, but only if they are carefully selected and adequately prepared for trial.

Two experienced panelists provided concrete tips for how to do just that, from the points of view of both litigation counsel and expert witness, at a lively and interactive CLE session held in Dublin on Tuesday.

Simon Potter, partner with McCarthy Tétrault in Montréal, discussed how to research, select and retain a credible and effective expert, noting qualities such as reputation, qualifications and the track record of previous reaction of the courts to his or her testimony.

Potter emphasized the importance of a carefully written initial mandate letter, making it as clear as possible what the witness should be prepared for. At trial, he said it can usually be assumed that the judge has read the expert report, so the focus should be on thorough preparation for cross-examination.

Bob MacDonald, a Chartered Accountant with Navigant Consulting, provided the expert witness perspective and commented on the duty to be thorough and unbiased, including techniques for how not to be pigeonholed by only the direct questions posed at trial.

Potter also commented on the emerging trend that is seeing less deference being given to expert witness testimony, with courts stating that such witnesses are there simply to clarify technical or specialized concepts, rather than advance the case for litigation counsel. He called on all trial lawyers and the CBA to address this issue in the interests of the legal profession.

Have your own experiences to share regarding the use of expert witness testimony? Post your comments here…

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Les 40 ans de la Loi sur les langues officielles du Canada offrent l’occasion de célébrer les accomplissements de cette loi et de se pencher sur la question à savoir si le modèle de langues officielles mise en place à travers le Canada sera en mesure de continuer à répondre aux besoins d’une population de plus en plus multilingue.

Cette dernière préoccupation, ainsi que d’autres questions ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

CBA Dublin 2009

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Les 40 ans de la Loi sur les langues officielles du Canada offrent l’occasion de célébrer les accomplissements de cette loi et de se pencher sur la question à savoir si le modèle de langues officielles mise en place à travers le Canada sera en mesure de continuer à répondre aux besoins d’une population de plus en plus multilingue.

Cette dernière préoccupation, ainsi que d’autres questions se rapportant aux droits linguistiques, furent l’objet d’une discussion engageante entre conférencier, à l’occasion d’une session de formation permanent lundi à Dublin.

Selon Graham Fraser, Commissaire aux langues officielles du Canada, l’anniversaire marque la fin d’un cycle.  Pour l’hon. Michel Bastarache, ancien juge à la Cour suprême, la reconnaissance formelle des langues officielles représente un pas dans la bonne direction.  Mais l’important est de vérifier régulièrement qu’il en soit ainsi dans la réalité.

L’avocate du Nunavut Kate Darling a parlé de l’application de la loi dans le ce territoire, et les défis à relever quant à la prestation de services offerts par le gouvernement dans la langue inuit.
Les conférenciers de l’Irlande et du Pays de Galles ont également partagé leurs expériences

Les conférenciers de l’Irlande et du Pays de Galles ont également discuté d’initiatives dans leurs pays respectifs, notamment  la stratégie voulant faire passer de 72 000 à 250 000 le nombre de résidents qui parlent l’irlandais sur une base quotidienne.

The 40^th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act represents the perfect opportunity to both celebrate the achievements of the piece of legislation, and to discuss whether the official language models in place across the country will be sufficient to service a multilingual Canada into the future.

Panelists discussed this and other language and minority rights issues in the Canadian and international context, at an informative and engaging CLE session on Monday.

Graham Fraser, Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages, saw the anniversary as the end of a cycle, while former Supreme Court of Canada Justice, The Hon. Michel Bastarache said it’s important to periodically ask the right questions to ensure that the formal recognition of official languages is also reflected in reality.

Nunavut lawyer Kate Darling discussed the new Official Languages Act in that territory, and the challenges this will present in terms of the capacity of delivering government services in the Inuit language.

Irish and Welsh panelists shared their experiences from the models that exist in those countries, and the potential merits of setting targets for language adoption, such as Ireland’s 20-year strategy to increase from 72,000 to 250,000 the number of residents that speak Irish on a daily basis.

Fostering the advancement of women in the Irish legal profession is a dead issue at the moment, but not because there’s no progress left to be made, participants at a CLE seminar heard Tuesday morning.

The economic downturn has hit the profession so hard that the emphasis is on survival, not lawyer retention or women’s development issues, said Dublin solicitor Michelle Ni Longain. In fact, Ireland’s Law Society has ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

Fostering the advancement of women in the Irish legal profession is a dead issue at the moment, but not because there’s no progress left to be made, participants at a CLE seminar heard Tuesday morning.

The economic downturn has hit the profession so hard that the emphasis is on survival, not lawyer retention or women’s development issues, said Dublin solicitor Michelle Ni Longain. In fact, Ireland’s Law Society has hired an external career adviser to help lawyers move out of the profession. And the issues that are preoccupying law firms concern layoffs, pay cuts and whether to cull salaried partners, not work-life balance and maternity leave, she said.

Meanwhile, in Canada, research confirms that women continue to leave the profession or move outside private practice due to dissatisfaction with working conditions, said Beth Bilson (see her conference paper here), a law professor at University of Saskatchewan.

But legal organizations and women’s groups continue to work on strategies to address work-life balance issues through the development of flexible working strategies and model policies for law firms. Demographic shifts in the profession will bring about some change, she said, but conscious attention to the issue is still required. The panelists were addressing a seminar called: Trans-Atlantic Plight: Challenges of Women in the Legal Profession and Strategies for Change.

There was a fascinating panel discussion at today’s CLE on Counter-terrorism and human rights. Professor William Schabas, the director of Irish Centre for Human Rights served as moderator for the session. The rest of the panel consisted of Michelle Farrell, also of the Centre, professor Colin Harvey of Queen’s University Belfast, and Phil Shiner, a human rights lawyer at Public Interest Lawyers.

If there was a common ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

The rule of law

There was a fascinating panel discussion at today’s CLE on Counter-terrorism and human rights. Professor William Schabas, the director of Irish Centre for Human Rights served as moderator for the session. The rest of the panel consisted of Michelle Farrell, also of the Centre, professor Colin Harvey of Queen’s University Belfast, and Phil Shiner, a human rights lawyer at Public Interest Lawyers.

If there was a common theme to the discussion, it was the lowering of standards caused by the authorized use of coercive interrogation techniques.  Part of the reason is that the prohibition of torture lacks coherence and conceptual clarity, says Farrell, because it isn’t appropriately codified to address exceptional circumstances – such as the ticking time bomb situation.

This absence of clarity plays into the hands of states in their attempts to circumvent torture laws. To “amputate the law from brutality”, says Farrell, the torture prohibition must be absolute.

This seems to be view supported by Phil Shiner, although he charges that states understand all too well that their actions are illegal. For Shiner the principle problem is one of accountability.  Shiner was the lawyer for the family of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi citizen who died while in British custody in Basra in 2003. From his conference paper:

“The case of Baha Mousa, killed in Basra in September 2003, has already laid bare the deficiencies in the military investigative apparatus and justice system. Soldiers investigating other soldiers’ crimes only to be prosecuted by other soldiers before a panel of yet more soldiers is an insufficient way to satisfy modern calls for accountability.”

Shiner handed CLE attendees a rather gruesome inventory — three pages long — of alleged acts of torture perpetrated by U.S. and U.K. military and intelligence authorities. Examples abound of uncontrolled aggression and of religious and sexual humiliation.  Most worrying, says Shiner is how widespread the “inbred culture of abuse” is and how it chooses to ignore the rule of law.

Both historic and modern-day ties between Canada and Ireland dominated the discourse at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2009 Canadian Legal Conference in Dublin on Sunday. The event, held in the Irish city’s historic National Concert Hall, saw a host of legal luminaries address a capacity audience on subjects such as the rule of law, professional responsibility and access to justice. 

Tough economic times are calling for creative solutions to managing legal costs in law departments, participants heard during a Canadian Corporate Counsel Association seminar on approaches to legal service delivery in complex companies. Martin Lockyer, vice-president of legal services and corporate secretary of CHC Helicopter, told participants his firm has had some interest, especially in European countries, from external firms willing to commit to a fixed ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

Ha'Penny Bridge ©Bev Lloyd-Roberts

Tough economic times are calling for creative solutions to managing legal costs in law departments, participants heard during a Canadian Corporate Counsel Association seminar on approaches to legal service delivery in complex companies. Martin Lockyer, vice-president of legal services and corporate secretary of CHC Helicopter, told participants his firm has had some interest, especially in European countries, from external firms willing to commit to a fixed rate for  legal services in exchange for a three-year deal. In this economic environment, he said, some law firms are willing to make a deal on price to have certainty about legal work coming in. Keeping the dialogue open with law firms is key, panelists agreed.

In the mid-’90s, in the wake of several crises in the running of the courts, the Irish government undertook to reform how its courts were run. ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

One of the noteworthy attributes of the Irish legal system is that its courts are self-administered.  Today, a panel of eminent Irish jurists, led by Chief Justice of Ireland John Murray, shared their thoughts and experiences with CBA Council on how this came to be.

In the mid-’90s, in the wake of several crises in the running of the courts, the Irish government undertook to reform how its courts were run.  Unacceptable delays caused court cases to drag on endlessly. Court staff were overworked and morale was low.

From the reforms emerged the Courts Service, an independent corporate organization, charged with managing the courts, supporting judges and informing the public on how the courts system works. Over the last ten years, it has transformed how the courts are run in Ireland. Instead of being answerable only to the minister, courts are now run by an independent board, led by a chief executive who is answerable to the public.

Whether the Canadian courts should adopt a similar model remains to be seen, as Canada’s  and Ireland’s legal and political systems are quite different.  For one thing, Ireland has a unitary system, as opposed to Canada’s federal framework, and administration of the courts falls under provincial jurisdiction.

The federal government should immediately restore the policy of unequivocally seeking clemency for all Canadians facing the death penalty abroad. That was the opinion expressed Sunday morning by CBA Council, which voted to approve a resolution on the subject at the 2009 Canadian Legal Conference in Dublin.

Last month, the government published a “Clemency Intervention” policy. It set forth a lengthy list of considerations that the government might ... Continue/Poursuivre >>]]>

CBA Dublin 2009

The federal government should immediately restore the policy of unequivocally seeking clemency for all Canadians facing the death penalty abroad. That was the opinion expressed Sunday morning by CBA Council, which voted to approve a resolution on the subject at the 2009 Canadian Legal Conference in Dublin.

Last month, the government published a “Clemency Intervention” policy. It set forth a lengthy list of considerations that the government might choose to take into account when deciding whether to seek clemency for Canadians sentenced to death in other countries. The policy was in response to a Federal Court ruling in the Smith case that the government needed to have a policy in place to determine under what circumstances clemency should be sought.

The CBA, however, believes the policy amounts to intervention on a case-by-case basis based on an overlong list of factors, and that the decision to seek clemency should not depend on the individual circumstances of each case. Canada abolished the death penalty from the Criminal Code in 1976, and Canadian law does not permit  extradition of citizens to countries where they may face the death penalty. Until 2007, the federal government had always  requested clemency for Canadians facing death in foreign countries; the CBA believes it is time for the government to resume that policy.