The location of the gas cap on any car you own or drive regularly is probably second nature to you. But when you drive a rental car into a gas station, how do you know which side the gas cap is on? Can you spot it in the side view mirrors? Probably not. Do you need to get out and walk around the car to spot it? Absolutely not.
If you look on the fuel gauge of most modern vehicles, you will see a tiny fuel pump icon with a triangle on one side. That triangle points to the side …

Today’s Tip is about our languages thanks to a tweet from Susannah Tredwell, Manager of Library Service at Davis LLP in Vancouver.

Susannah shared news about TERMIUM Plus (R), the Canadian Government’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

What is in this data bank? According to the site:

• Almost 4 million English and French terms;
• More than 18,000 Portuguese terms;
• More than 200,000 Spanish terms;
• More than 4,000 monthly updates;
• Accurate, specialized and up-to-date terminology;
• The Government of Canada´s standardization tool;
• 17 diverse and user-friendly writing tools.

A quadralingual databank gives the precise English, French or Spanish or Portuguese equivalent …

Some people still worry about overcharging the batteries on their mobile devices. Those of us that have been around a bit longer will remember the days when you were supposed to fully charge and then fully discharge your batteries so they would maintain the ability to take and retain a full charge through many charging cycles. This was an issue that was necessitated by nickel-cadmium batteries, which are rarely used in modern devices.
Lithium-ion batteries are now found in most modern smartphones, tablets, laptops and other mobile devices. Charging your lithium ion battery after a partial discharge is totally fine. …

♫ He’s got this dream about buyin’ some land
He’s gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he’ll settle down, in some quiet little town
And forget about everything…♫

Lyrics, Music and recorded by Gerry Rafferty.

New Year’s Resolutions?  Phfft.  Been there, Done That, Got that T-Shirt.

We all resolve to get fit, lose weight and spend more time out of the office etc etc etc.  Speaking personally I have had my fill of resolutions that are born from the best of intentions but then die a cold …

It is pretty easy to remember to look for legislation that applies to an issue. In the legal research card game legislation trumps case law unless an argument can be made that the legislation is wrong or should in turn be trumped by some other legislation – the Charter is a Joker.

Some legal research arguments require a searcher to be aware of policies.  All kinds of policy references appear in judicial decisions including this reference to Peter Hogg at para 107 of Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72 (CanLII).

The doctrines of overbreadth, disproportionality

Yes, I acknowledge that the Tuesday Technology Tip this is supposed to be a general bite-sized tip that is practical and easy to implement. However, when I came across this post from my good friend Jim Calloway today, I felt obligated to share it on SLAW Tips. Speech Recognition – It Really, Really Works was posted on the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Management Assistance Program page.
This post is very practical as it answers most of the common questions I get about what is available in speech recognition for different devices and platforms. It has tons of tips on making the …

Did you know that emails appearing to come from companies you trust and know may actually be from criminals trying to steal your money or identity? Because they are so successful at duping people, “phishing” emails have quickly become one of the most common and devastating scams on the Internet.

Phishing scams use spoofed (meaning faked or hoax) emails and websites to trick you into revealing your personal and financial information. By using the trusted brands and logos of online retailers, banks, or credit card companies, phishing scammers trick surprisingly large numbers of people. The phishing email directs users to …

Time to bare the soul time. There are days when all of us…and here I speak of no other than myself –  get ground down by the daily grind: days where the simple acts of life seem to be oppressive and it is difficult to see the joy in life given all that you have to do. But all of us know that you can’t let this get you down. Silly really, given that we all live in a continent that brims with wealth and opportunity. We all know that you have to get up and set your eyes …

As we sign off on our Practice Tips for 2013, here’s a thought – if you have a bit of spare time on your hands over the break, why not complete a self audit of your firm – Aussie-style.

Australia’s Legal Services Commission makes it easy (and mandatory) with its online self-assessment audit form.

Addressing firm risk-management in areas including competency, communications, timeliness and delay, cost-disclosure, billing practices and termination of retainers, conflicts of interest, records management, undertakings, supervision of staff and practice, and trust fund handling, the Australian self-audit could afford you with a new window on the …