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the McGill conference. The conference was carried out in collaboration with Germany's Cologne University Institute of Air and Space Law and the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety in The Netherlands. The Erin J. C. Arsenault Trust and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs spon- sored the event. Jakhu, who has a PhD in space law but isn't a member of the Barreau du Québec, says space law is a highly spe- cialized form of law currently more directed at the public level mostly involving governments. "It's not at the private law level yet, but that's com- ing," he predicts, citing litigation that will eventually arise with satellite col- lisions causing damage to person and property. The IASL was established at McGill in 1951 to provide graduate-legal education for students from around the world. In 1963, it became the first institution on the planet to offer a course in space law. Close to 900 students from 120 countries have taken the course to date. Jakhu, who was the first director of the master of space studies program at the International Space University in Strasbourg before moving to McGill in 1998, points to the courses offered to half a dozen students here each year: general principles of space law; law of space applications; government regula- tion of space activities. "In brief, there is no aspect of space law that we do not cover in our educational program," he says. The day before the space debris con- ference, the IASL held an international and interdisciplinary roundtable on — MIKE KING mking@videotron.ca Court rules ex-partner must pay Aird & Berlis $500,000 in costs lost a lawsuit claiming the firm should have paid him a bigger bonus before his departure. The parties in Springer v. Aird & A Berlis LLP agreed before the trial that the quantum of damages in the matter was just under $586,000, although the plaintiff 's statement of claim sought $1 million. Ontario Superior Court Justice Frank Newbould granted costs on a substantial indemnity basis after Jan. 25, 2009, when the law firm offered to settle the matter for $100,000. It offered $150,000 the following month. "We're really pleased with the result. We think it's a further vindication of ird & Berlis LLP has been awarded nearly $500,000 in costs from for- mer partner Harold Springer who our client's position throughout the trial," says Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP managing partner Linda Rothstein, who represented Aird & Berlis. "Our client made an offer to share of partnership units for 2001 and 2002 and that he should have received more money from a withdrawal pay- ment. Newbould dismissed the action in April. Aird & Berlis had sought about settle because every sophisticated cli- ent knows that this kind of litigation is very expensive, as was borne out by the costs award." Springer and his lawyer, Thomas Dunne of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, could not be reached for comment. Springer, a former partner at Aird & Berlis, alleged that he deserved a larger $524,000 on a partial indemnity scale until the settlement offer, while Springer suggested the proper amount would be about $262,000. The plaintiff did not oppose the disbursements of about $47,000. Springer questioned the amount of time spent on the case by Aird & Berlis' counsel, including Rothstein and fellow Paliare Roland lawyers Robert Centa, a partner at the firm, and associ- ate Jean-Claude Killey, who began work- ing on the case as a student. Newbould took odds with Springer's failure to submit information regarding www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JULY 2009 9 space governance, essentially a workshop on its peaceful use. IASL director Paul Stephen Dempsey says Montreal is the appropri- ate venue for the institute since the city is also home to the UN International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association. The Canadian Space Agency is based in suburban Saint-Hubert. On May 13, Quebec City-born astro- physicist and medical doctor David Saint-Jacques was announced as one of Canada's two newest astronauts. "As an aviation and space lawyer, we want you to think of McGill as the centre of your professional universe," says Dempsey.