North America

Death Spiral of Renowned Toronto Firm

Six months after the demise of a prestigious Toronto law firm, many still wonder what destroyed Goodman and Carr. “It shouldn’t have happened, nor did it need to happen,” Donald Carr, the 78-year-old co-founder of the firm, tells the Financial Post. Yet it did. The firm had emerged from an…

Oct 17, 2007 10:19 PM CDT

Court: Lawyer Lied in Firm Fight ... But Which One?

A recent ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal offers a startling view of the hard-hitting office politics at a venerable Toronto law firm. When attorney Benjamin Moss trudged back to Pinkofskys from a criminal trial on May 14, 2004 and reported to his colleagues that the firm’s client had…

Sep 26, 2007 9:35 PM CDT

Money-Making Game: ‘Second Life’ First?

A Canadian law firm claims to be the first to establish an office on Second Life, a 3D virtual community that has attracted millions of participants from all over the world. Davis LLP is staffing its Second Life office with lawyers from the firm’s Video Game law & Interactive Entertainment…

Sep 25, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

‘TB Lawyer’ Fights to Regain Practice

Less than six months ago, life seemed good for Andrew H. Speaker, even though he’d been diagnosed with tuberculosis. The young personal injury lawyer was getting married, and about to start his own practice in Atlanta. Then he became the subject of international disapprobation for allegedly endangering others by taking…

Sep 10, 2007 10:17 PM CDT

Client’s YouTube Lawyer Video Banned

A disgruntled client can’t post video clips on YouTube complaining about his lawyer’s allegedly bad work and big bills, a Canadian judge has ruled. Superior Court Justice William Jenkins also said that client Stan Hall can’t post any further videos about lawyer Paul Ledroit without court permission, reports the London…

Sep 10, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

Canadian Cleared in 1959 Murder

Concluding a case that has fascinated Canadians for decades, an Ontario appeals court yesterday acquitted Steven Truscott of a 48-year-old crime that originally resulted in a death sentence for him as a teenager. Sentenced at age 14 in 1959 to death by hanging for the rape and murder of a…

Aug 29, 2007 10:56 PM CDT

Top Drug Dog to Help Smugglers?

One of Mexico’s most skilled drug-detection dogs was stolen from his shipping kennel at an airport, leading to fears that he could be collaborating with criminals. Trained to sniff out drugs, Rex IV may now be used to help drug-dealers figure out how to smuggle their wares without detection, authorities…

Aug 27, 2007 9:33 PM CDT

Mexico, US Lawyers Trade Offices

In a new program at O’Melveny & Myers, an associate from the mega-firm has traded places for three months with a counterpart from a 22-lawyer Mexico City firm with an impressive client list. Although the imported lawyer won’t practice law in Los Angeles, he is learning about American culture and…

Aug 21, 2007 9:18 PM CDT

Alec Scott, Esq: ‘Why I Escaped the Law’

It isn’t just many American lawyers who feel overworked and dispirited. Their Canadian counterparts increasingly feel the same way, according to an article in next month’s issue of Toronto Life magazine. Author Alec Scott, a lawyer who is now a journalist, says that getting fired from a big Toronto firm…

Aug 13, 2007 11:09 PM CDT

Canada to Review Polygamy Ban?

In a case that could have an effect on United States law enforcement, a prominent Canadian criminal attorney serving as a special prosecutor has recommended that his country reconsider its ban on polygamy. Appointed in a British Columbia case involving a U.S.-based splinter Mormon group that has reportedly openly practiced…

Aug 1, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

Interest Wanes in $100 M Murder Trial

As the trial the man alleged to be Canada’s most prolific serial killer ever nears an end, after six months and at a cost of some $100 million (Canadian) dollars, spent on the case to date, folks are losing interest in it. And this is only the first of two…

Aug 1, 2007 10:22 PM CDT

TB Attorney Released, Not Contagious

An Atlanta trial lawyer who caused an international scare by traveling in May, against medical advice, with what was then thought to be a highly dangerous form of TB has been successfully treated and released. While Andrew Speaker is not completely cured, he does not pose a health risk to…

Jul 27, 2007 12:58 AM CDT

Sweepstakes Loser Finally Wins

A Quebec businessman misled by a Time magazine sweepstakes promotion is entitled to nearly $100,000, a Canadian judge has found. Justice Carol Cohen said Time’s sweepstakes letter violated Quebec consumer protection laws, the New York Times reports. The solicitation “had the capacity to mislead if viewed through the eyes of…

Jul 23, 2007 6:44 PM CDT

Tort Suit to be Filed Against TB Attorney

It almost had to happen–Atlanta trial attorney Andrew Speaker, now notorious as the lawyer who traveled internationally against doctor’s orders while infected with tuberculosis, is reportedly about to be sued by fellow travelers. But, contrary to stereotype, it isn’t an American plaintiff lawyer who’s going to file the case. A…

Jul 6, 2007 7:26 PM CDT

Khadr, 20, Starts 6th Year at Gitmo Jail

Although he scored a big legal victory June 4, when the U.S. government–at least for now–was told by a military court that its terrorism charges against him are invalid, Omar Khadr’s day-to-day situation is still the same. Held since he was 15 years old at the U.S. military prison at…

Jul 3, 2007 5:37 PM CDT