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REGIONAL WRAP-UP B.C. LAWyER TRAILBLAzING IN THE D.R. CONGO is hardly a tourist hotspot with its high crime rate, drugs, inflation running at 19 per cent, and in October a major outbreak of cholera. The UN has played a peacekeeping role after what has been called Africa's world war, a five-year conflict that saw government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, fighting rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. Despite a peace deal and transitional government formed in 2003, people in the east of the country still live in terror of marauding militia and the army. During the civil strife, an estimated three million lives were lost either as a direct result of fight- NEW TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM ANNUAL REVIEW OF CIVIL LITIGATION 2011 EDITED BY THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE TODD L. ARCHIBALD AND THE LATE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RANDALL SCOTT ECHLIN DISCOUNT OF UP TO 50% ON PAST EDITIONS* Regularly cited by appellate courts across Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada, for over 10 years the Annual Review of Civil Litigation has been providing leading edge coverage of issues that matter to you. ORDER # 983522-68418 $149 Hardcover 740 pages October 2011 978-0-7798-3522-5 Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE Topics were carefully chosen and written by authors from across Canada. Annual Review of Civil Litigation 2011 has a truly national flavour, relevant and appealing to litigators in every province. FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 *Offer expires December 31, 2011. Offer not valid in conjunction with any other Carswell offer TOPICS COVERED • Trial Advocacy • Perils of Multiple Directorships • Environmental Liability • The Doctrine of Estoppel by Convention • Employment Law • Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Lawyers by Non-Clients • Implied Obligations of Good Faith • Broker Liability • The Tort of Injurious Falsehood • Interlocutory Mandatory Injunctions • Judicial Review of Damages – The Telezone Case • Class Actions • Consequential Damages for Breach of Contract ASK ABOUT OUR ing or because of disease and malnutri- tion. UN official Margot Wallstrom had publicly denounced the D.R.C. as the "rape capital of the world" in 2010, call- ing for Security Council action. There has been a growing pressure to move out peacekeepers and establish an effective and accountable justice system in the D.R.C. Since July 2010, the UN has focused on protecting human rights and civilians, setting up a task force and sending out a call internationally for prosecutor advisers to work with the country's legal system. Lester, who is a third-degree black belt in karate and a second lieutenant in the Canadian military reserve, has no qualms about volunteering. "It's a bit of an adventure and there is the opportu- nity to help people and knowing you are doing legal work that has some conse- quences," he says. Lester is not operating under any illu- sions that the legal system will change overnight, but he's hoping the presence of the six-person international legal team that he joins will help to bring about an accountability to assuage some of the daily fear that individuals face when bringing forward a crime. "Many people still live in extreme fear and maybe if you can reduce that fear you can give people a bit of hope and by doing that they will start a new life," he says. Lester, who will be attached to a Canadian military unit, will travel to rural areas throughout the D.R.C. as well as being based in its capital. He expects he will be helping in the inves- tigation of mainly sexual assault and homicides, participating in witness interviews and aiding in prosecutions. "There is such a huge volume of crime. Last year there were thousands of sexual assaults reported in the D.R.C.," he says. Lester is also hoping other Canadian lawyers will follow. He's launched a web site, johnsaysthis.com, where he will blog about his experiences once he's got Inter- net access. Before leaving in September, Lester, who worked as a journalist before studying law, posted an overview of the D.R.C.'s turbulent history. — JEAN SORENSEN jean_sorensen@telus.net 14 N O VEMBER / D ECEMBER 2011 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com C ontinued fr om pa g e 13