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www.canadianlawyermag.com 3 EDITOR'S DESK UPFRONT ISSUE 43.07 www.canadianlawyermag.com Canadian Lawyer is published 10 times a year by HAB Press. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement #41261516 ISSN 0703-2129 ©2019 GST/HST Registration #703184911RT001 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 3G8 RETOURNER TOUTE CORRESPONDANCE NE POUVANT ÉTRE LIVREÉ AU CANADA AU SERVICE DES PUBLICATIONS 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 3G8 HAB Press 20 Duncan St., 3rd Floor Toronto, Ontario M5H 3G8 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Tim Wilbur Acting Associate Editor Aidan Macnab Writers Elizabeth Raymer, Gabrielle Giroday, Marg. Bruineman Copy Editor Patricia Cancilla CONTRIBUTORS Neill May, Jim Middlemiss, Kate Simpson ART & PRODUCTION Designers Marla Morelos, Joenel Salvador Lead, Media Production Coordinator Catherine Giles Global Production Manager Alicia Chin SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Head of Sales-HAB Press Paul Burton Consultant, Strategy and Business Development Ivan Ivanovitch Account Executive Steffanie Munroe CORPORATE President Tim Duce Events and Conference Manager Chris Davis Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil Global CEO Mike Shipley Global COO George Walmsley EDITORIAL INQUIRIES tim.wilbur@habpress.ca CIRCULATION/ADDRESS CHANGES/ SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES Keith Fulford tel: 416 649-9585 • fax: 416 649-7870 keith.fulford@habpress.ca ADVERTISING INQUIRIES steffanie.munroe@habpress.ca "Like the legal profession, we feel it is important to maintain traditions if they continue to serve those for whom they were designed." I n this issue, you may notice some small changes to the design and articles, but the core of what we cover is the same. Like the legal profession, we feel it is important to maintain traditions if they continue to serve those for whom they were designed. So, we continue to explore regional developments across the country, analyze legal trends from a national perspective, offer practice and career development tips and provoke debate with engaging commentary. Our August issue includes our most popular feature of the year, the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers (p. 28) and, other than the list of winners, nothing fundamental has changed for that. We are yet again amazed at the achievements of this group of leaders in the legal profession. While the list has prominent politicians, practi- tioners, academics and public servants as it always does, it also offers leading-edge lawyers in areas such as cannabis and animal rights, where traditions have been put aside to do things differently. We have also included a special report for law students (p. 58). It explores a nationwide conversation about how well the articling system is working and whether it should be scrapped. The adherence to tradition has kept that system going for many years in Canada, but critics say the opportunities for law students are scarce and the system needs to change to take that into account. On our back page, we hear from Jim Middlemiss about how law firms are testing the use of blockchain technology in their legal business (p. 62), as organizations grapple with standards. While tradition often holds the legal profession back from adopting new technologies, law firms will either be willing participants or dragged along kicking and screaming as clients and technology companies build blockchains into their own ecosystems, argues Middlemiss. Finally, we are now including a Law Times supplement in this issue (p. 19). We have changed our coverage on lawtimesnews.com to a daily approach, and the weekly print format was a Law Times tradition that was put aside for the magazine format you hold in your hands now. Like the profession we serve, we believe tradition is important, provided it also allows for change. Tim Wilbur, Editor-in-Chief Maintaining the best traditions and changing the rest