Keep your practice current

by Fran Hodgkins

The following are brief summaries of several recent Section meetings held throughout the province. More detailed information, minutes, and Section Papers from the Section meetings are accessible online at www.cba.org/bc for enrolled CBA members.

Criminal Justice – Vancouver
Meeting: May 17, 2006
Speakers: The Honourable Chief Justice Finch, The Honourable Mr. Justice Leask, The Honourable Judge Baird Ellan
Topic: Advocacy: Perspectives from the Three Courts

Judge Baird Ellan emphasized that the two most important things for counsel as advocates in provincial court are to be punctual for court appearances and to be prepared. Counsel should know the theory of their case, have a plan, and only ask questions that are really in issue. It is important to instruct your witness or client on proper courtroom decorum. Justice Leask opened his presentation by stating how important it is to know something about the judge whom you are appearing in front of. Look at your case from the judge’s perspective. Ask yourself what you can do to assist the judge to be successful in your case. State what you want from the judge and why the judge should rule in your favour. Justice Finch highlighted the Court of Appeal’s expectations of counsel to know what is in the record, and to be able to point the Court to various parts of the transcript if asked to do so. Counsel preparation is crucial for appellate advocacy. Justice Finch stated that counsel have to be courageous in their submissions but also realistic.

Aboriginal Law – Vancouver
Meeting: May 18, 2006
Speaker: Edward Allen, CEO of the Nisga’a Lisims Government
Topic: The Challenges of Treaty Implementation

Mr. Allen provided a brief history of the Nisga’a Nation which currently comprises 6,200 members, the majority of whom are located in the Nass Valley in northern British Columbia. The Nisga’a were the first to conclude a treaty with Canada since Treaty 8 in 1899 and the first to conclude a treaty with a provincial government since the James Bay Treaty in 1985. The Nisga’a treaty settlement comprises over 2,000 km², $190 million in capital transfers, and $40 million in adjusted dollars for the services Nisga’a government provides to the people. The Nisga’a Treaty’s Implementation Committee has been key to their transition to the post-treaty environment. Good relationships with both the provincial and the federal governments have been valuable.

Corporate Counsel and Business Law
Joint Meeting: May 17, 2006
Speakers: Gaston Jorré, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Competition, Competition Bureau, Gatineau, Quebec and Anthony F. Baldanza, Chair, Antitrust / Competition and Marketing Law Group, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Topic: Significant Developments in Competition Law

The presenters at this informative meeting reviewed recent significant developments in competition law, including those pertaining to mergers (Vancouver Port Terminal Grain Handling and CNR-BC Rail), cartels (Labatts), reviewable trade practices (Canada Pipe), misleading advertising (Sears) and the competition – intellectual property interface (Eli Lily v. Apotex). The program also touched on recent and potentially forthcoming legislative and administrative developments, including those pertaining to section 45 of the Competition Act (conspiracy), the regulated conduct defence, efficiencies, and transparency.

Air Law
Meeting: May 30, 2006
Speaker: Bill Yearwood, Regional Manager, Air, Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB)
Topic: Important Issues Facing TSB Today

Mr. Yearwood gave a presentation to the meeting on a number of recent incidents that the Transportation Safety Board is reviewing with some other comments on equipment and safety matters and how the Board collects evidence and distributes its reports. His PowerPoint presentation included interesting TSB statistics and recent significant investigations. In the 2004-2005 year, accidents in Canada were up 2 per cent and 15 per cent in B.C. Fatal accidents were up 42 per cent in Canada and 100 per cent in B.C. The TSB investigates about 400 occurrences every year in the Pacific Region.

Employment Law and Labour Law
Joint Meeting: April 11, 2006
Speakers: David Loukidelis, B.C. Privacy Commissioner; Lorene Novakowski, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP; Drew MacArthur, Vice President, Compliance, TELUS
Topic: Privacy Law and the Workplace / A Panel on PIPA and the Employment Privacy Guidelines

The panel of the above guest speakers discussed and offered comments on various privacy issues including the statutory review of PIPEDA that is being conducted this year. There is speculation that it may lead to PIPEDA having specific employee privacy provisions such as seen in the B.C. and Alberta PIPA’s; the OPIC’s April 10, 2006 publication “PIPA and the Hiring Process, FAQ’s”; Privacy breaches; and access requests.

Family Law – Okanagan
Meeting: May 9, 2006
Speaker: Glenn Robinson, Family Justice Services
Topic: Child Support Recalculation Service in Kelowna

Mr. Robinson described this new service that is commencing on June 1, 2006 whereby child support orders will be recalculated. The Child Support Recalculation Service Project (CSRS) will apply to the Kelowna, Vancouver, and Surrey Provincial Court Registries. The first Registry to be affected will be Kelowna (June 1, 2006) followed by Vancouver and then Surrey. CSRS is a child support service that will administratively recalculate child support amounts on an annual basis by applying the child support guidelines to updated income information. It is intended to be a cost effective way to update child support orders. The service will operate out of Vancouver.

Wills and Trusts – Victoria
Meeting: May 23, 2006
Speaker: District Registrar Carolyn Bouck
Topic: The Issue of Cost in Estate Litigation

Registrar Bouck commented on the general guidelines that she uses to assess legal bills. She confirmed that charging clauses in Wills can pose a problem, such as in the cases where a solicitor wishes to charge for time spent by an assistant on an estate matter, but the charging clause does not permit this. She also commented that probate work should be charged separately from trustee work. Ms. Bouck provided speaking notes of Costs Assessments and Reviews of Bills in Estate Matters to the attendees.

This article was published in the August 2006 issue of BarTalk. © 2006 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.