Canadian Lawyer

REGIONAL WRAP-UP Keeping up with the class action action A in real-time, developing information about all class actions registered across Canada. new bilingual web site launched in Quebec in February is aim- ing to centralize and give, the sheer, ever-increasing volume of class action court cases — many filed in more than one jurisdiction by more than one law firm and with different statements of claim, some of them intended to be www.ERASSURE.com ERASSURE® trademark of Estate Risk Protection Plan Inc. is a registered It's a somewhat daunting task given national in scope, others provincial. But Philip Paquette, the entrepre- neur behind the new cyber-venture MyClassAction, says that is precisely why he spent a year setting up the platform he bets will become the go-to resource for both plaintiff and defence lawyers and members of the public. "By centralizing everything in one place it is much easier for the public to find the information they are looking for and it is much easier for lawyers to reach their public," says Paquette. "Every law firm that does class actions "I believe executor insurance should now be recommended for every estate. It's smart security for both executor and the lawyer." Ian M. Hull Hull & Hull LLP has a web site where they put their infor- mation on class actions, but there are over 200 of those web sites," he adds. "It is getting very difficult for the public to find the information. For instance, if someone was part of three class actions they would need to find the three law firms that filed those class actions and they would need to monitor those sites, some of which are not even updated. "The other problem is a lot of lawyers The new best practice in estate law Protect yourself by protecting your clients with ERASSURE Executor Insurance. The legal climate is changing in Canada, putting your executor clients at increased risk of being sued. As an estate lawyer, you consequently face greater risk as well in two main ways: 1. If the executor does not have adequate resources or insurance to cover their liability, you and your professional E&O coverage could be the next target for a claim from the beneficiaries. 2. If you have failed to communicate to your executor clients about their personal liability and the availability of executor insurance, they could sue you if they have an uninsured claim for damages. Put ERASSURE® between your client and your professional E&O coverage – on every estate. Call 1-855-636-3777 to book a 10-minute orientation about implementing this best practice today. are able to reach settlement agreements with the defendants, but they are not able to reach the public afterwards to tell them," says Paquette. He points to anecdotal evi- dence that take-up rates — the measure for how many plaintiffs claim settlement money — range from 30 to 60 per cent, often because people are not informed about a resolution. MyClassAction has detailed informa- tion on at least 1,300 class actions — there are at least 2,500 before the courts but information is not yet available for all — and Paquette estimates that, on average, two new class actions are filed each week and there are two or three judgments on a class action proceeding every day. Each case has a description, the state- ERASSURE is the exclusive Preferred Supplier of executor insurance for Canadian Bar Association members. ment of claim and any other documents or related judgments, and contact infor- mation for the plaintiff 's lawyer. The search engine enables visitors to filter information on class actions by prov- ince, category, or status. Other class action databases, like Quebec Superior Court's Registre des 10 M AY 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com ntitled-3 1 12-04-18 3:01 PM

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