Canadian Lawyer

letters to the editor this month exCluSIVelY oN mag.com Get information on the latest legal trends, practice management, careers, insights into practice areas, and more. . . Comments from canadianlawyermag.com Re: A very texting question November/December 2013 This issue [of the seizure of past communications] was recently considered by the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench in R. v. Croft, (october 30, 2013). "having concluded that the acquisition of text messages recorded by telephone service providers in their transmission infrastructure in the course of the telephone service provider transmitting the text message from the sender to the receiver, even where the recording was made in the past, is an interception of private communications, and having concluded that, properly interpreted, s. 487.012 does not permit the authorization of interceptions of private communications, I find that the production orders in the case which purported to authorize such interceptions were invalid, and the interceptions of private communications effected pursuant to them, were, in effect, unauthorized." — online comment from SIMON RENOUF, Edmonton The Future Files Trials & Tribulations Make it Count Human Rights . . . Here & There Re: Signing on the dotted line easy as 1-2 in the digital world Definitely Mabey Great article on a subject that is still very abstract for most people. however, I just wished to clarify a detail in the article. Notarius provides secure digital signatures to its partner members, not an electronic signature. we presently service 20 associations from coast to coast with digital signatures. — online comment from MARC, director of sales Toronto lawyer and legal tech evengelist Ben Hanuka brings you the latest tech news for your practice. January 13 Margaret Waddell ruminates on issues of import and interest to litigators. January 13 Pro tips on business development and legal marketing from the CMo at field Law in Alberta, Simone Hughes. January 13 university of ottawa's John Packer, focuses attention on human rights and international law. January 13 The IT Girl Lisa Lifshitz takes over the column which looks at the intersection of law and technology. January 20 Stephen Mabey examines the thorny issues facing law firm management. January 20 Law Library Trial by Fire Newfoundland family lawyer Damian J. Penny reviews books — and more — of a legal nature. January 20 Associate Lindsay Scott shares the ups and downs of learning on the job. January 20 November/December 2013 It should be noted that in B.C., lawyers and notaries public have been using "digital signatures" since January of 2004, using certificates issued by the Law Society of B.C.'s "Juricert" system. over three million digitally signed land title documents have been accepted by the B.C. Land Title System. Extensive analysis was done by the LSBC and Juricert on the use of "digital" or "electronic" signatures, in conjunction with a committee of the federation of Law Societies. The only thing that is remarkable is that there is not more widespread use of affordable, effective, and secure systems like Juricert. — online comment from RON USHER, general counsel, The Society of Notaries Public of B.C. and former CEO of Juricert Services Inc. Re: McCormick worrisome for partnerships November/December 2013 Class Acts The Immigration Line Kirk Baert takes a critical look at class action litigation across the country. January 27 Jennifer Nees lets us know what's on the mind of the immigration bar. January 27 webTV Well said. as you point out, the irony of this litigation, and similar litigation in the u.S., is that it is individuals who reaped the econonomic and fiscal rewards of partnership/ownership status who now invoke age discrimination legislation to attack the policies and agreements they themselves created and benefitted from. yet another example of collective myopia in respect of the impacts on law firm economics and succession to the next generation of partners from the "Selfish Generation." — online comment from GARY ROSEN RE: A bit of a pickle November/December 2013 TV Making Rain Executive coach Debra Forman's video column on career and business development. January 27 6 Jan uary 2014 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m Perhaps your closing line ["Then all the rest of these concerns about fairness will be moot."] is a Freudian slip. In my repeated experiences dealing with the courts I found that concerns about fairness are always moot. — online comment from CHRIS BUDGELL

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