The Federal Courts in Canada have a pretty good website. They also have a very nice docket search tool. Note that this search tool, although it is linked from the Federal Court website, offers a radio button for searching the Federal Court of Appeal docket as well.

Hat Tip to the Courts Administration Service for setting me to rights on that. Thank you especially to the Registry Officer who took the time to locate my email address and send some followup information after providing most of the answer to my question by phone. Above and beyond the call …

When electronic devices work properly, you have no worries. But when they don’t, it’s a real pain in the rear! One of the most common trouble-shooting options is a factory reset – that special and specific combination of button presses and steps that restarts the device with standard factory settings.
Finding the right reset code usually requires finding the operation manual for the device. Yeah right! It might be in somewhere in the basement, or more likely went out in the garbage with the crumpled holiday wrapping paper.
So what do you do when you need to find a factory …

Having had the benefit of a few days of reflection after attending ABA TECHSHOW 2013 in Chicago last week, I thought I would highlight certain aspects and themes arising from the conference and in particular, why lawyers should be attending this or similar conferences (and indeed why it may be obligatory to do so).

The Borg

Prepare to be assimilated.  Only in this case The Borg = The Cloud.   This was particularly brought home in the session with Wells Anderson and Catherine Sanders Reach.  Microsoft is moving to a monthly subscription model.  The benefits to users to going to Office …

Things get so busy in law that sometimes we get behind.  For instance, Research posts are supposed to appear on Wednesdays here at Slaw Tips.  We all know that notes, tasks, and to do lists help us keep on top of the things we need to do.  The same is true for legal research.

Today’s Tip is to use a detailed  ‘sources consulted’ list.  My personal preference is to put this list in the last section of a research memo.  A Sources Consulted list can take the form of a bibliography (the texts you visited) or it can be more.  …

On many occasions, the frequent surfers among us will have struggled to view a website that refuses to load. This raises a simple but profound question: “Is this website down for everyone or just for me?”
Now, you could call someone or send out an email asking if others are having the same experience. But, you might get a quicker response with a tweet. But even better yet, there is a humble website that will answer this important question: www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com.
What will they think of next?

For the next 2 1/2 days, ABA TECHSHOW will be taking place in Chicago, Illinois. This year there are sessions over 8 tracks ranging from Advanced IT to Cloud & Collaboration, e-discovery, iOS, Large Firm, Litigation, Mac, Social Media, Solo and Small Firm (I and II), Tech Grab Bag, Tablets & Smartphones and others all on the theme: “Bringing Lawyers and Technology Together”.

If you can be there, you can experience the incredible range of sessions, speakers and topics that are the hallmark of ABA TECSHOW.  Sessions such as 60 Sites in 60 Minutes and 60 Tips in 60 Minutes …

Hat tip to BLG’s Neil Guthrie for his digest titled “Submitting a fake judgment: not a good litigation strategy”. The case reference is D’Souza v Linton, 2013 ONSC 70.  The opening paragraph of this endorsement reads:

This matter came before me on July 31, 2012 as a motion to set aside an ex parte default judgment.  The judgment, dated June 19, 2012, purports to bear my signature.

It is interesting to me that the word “purports” and its variations appears in 425 decisions – so far in 2013.

On another note, this case comment came to me via Lexology…

With purses or wallets full of debit and credit cards, and all sorts of options for electronic payments and web-based banking, most of us have moved away from being reliant on cash. And most of us do all our banking at single bank or credit union.
There are some benefits to doing your banking electronically, but there are also some hazards. One of those hazards if finding yourself in a pinch if your bank or financial institution’s computer systems go down. This doesn’t happen often, but it is not unheard of. Another possible hazard is having your bank account access …

Garry Wise: Last week, my co-scribe, Mr. David Bilinsky, posed a particularly simple, yet oh-so-important question:

What do you think that lawyers can do to make theirs – their client’s and their regulator’s – life a bit easier?

It all starts with communications.

And, when it comes to communications, I think I can actually answer David’s question – or begin to – in a short, but worthy SlawTip:

Once a practice has matured, no lawyer can do it alone. The solution to the communications conundrum is probably as simple as this – develop good communications systems for …

One of my colleagues asked a great question that makes for an excellent tip:

The definitions of the Minor Injury Regulation say in (g)(ii):

any insurer made a third party to the claim by the Court under section 635(14) of the Act

But there is no s.635(14) in the current Insurance Act. There was a s.635(14) before the July 1, 2012 amendments, which was Rights of Creditors. That section is now 579, 579(15) to be exact.

The question was “What am I missing”.

The answer is “Nothing” since the correct section number that should be referenced can be identified.

Regulations …