Tune in to the Employment Hour by LawyerLocate.ca Member Lior Samfiru

Posted by Natalie Waddell on May 01, 2013

Lior SamfiruHere at LawyerLocate.ca we love promoting our members, especially when they take time out of their busy schedules to interact with the Canadian public answering questions relating to their practice. Today, we’re showcasing LawyerLocate.ca member Lior Samfiru.

Mr. Lior hosts a weekly radio show on AM640 every Sunday at 1:00 pm ET called the Employment Hour where he discusses Canadian labour and employment law and he also takes calls from interested listeners. If you don’t listen to the radio, you can also listen online at Talk Radio AM640 or via the Chorus app, which is available across iOS, Android mobile as well as the Nokia Symbian. 

Listen to last week’s show that broadcasted on April 28, 2013 here where Mr. Samfiru discussed Contracts and Job Offers. Topics included: Types of Discrimination in the Workplace, Harassment, The Employer’s Duty to Accommodate and much more.

During the week, you will find Mr. Samfiru heading the Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s Labour and Employment Law practice group. Mr. Samfiru is a highly recognized as one of the leading employment lawyers in Ontario. He represents and advises both employers and employees with respect to all workplace matters. Mr. Samfiru has also been quoted in all leading Ontario area newspapers; been interviewed for CBC Radio, CTV, CP24 and Rogers Television and is a regular columnist in Toronto publications.

We’re proud to have lawyers such as Lior Samfiru in the LawyerLocate.ca community. If you are interested in learning more about how to become a LawyerLocate.ca member, please feel free to contact us anytime. 

LawyerLocate.ca is Proudly Sponsoring the LSUC Solo and Small Firm Conference 2013 Webcast

Posted by Natalie Waddell on May 01, 2013

LawyerLocateThe annual LSUC Solo and Small Firm Conference is taking place from May 23 to May 24, 2013 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario. LawyerLocate.ca is proudly sponsoring the webcast for those who cannot attend in person.

Are you on the fence in regards to if you should attend or not? Here are five excellent reasons you should register for the LSUC Solo and Small Firm Conference:

1. E. Susan Elliott of Hawkins LLP and Daniel Pinnington of Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO). are chairing the conference.

2. There are remarkably few Canadian conferences designed specifically for the small firm lawyer and solo practitioners. This conference focuses on practice management tools specifically for your needs. There are also a wide range of vendors that showcase a variety of products and services meant for the solo and small firm lawyer. You will not find anything like it anywhere else.

3. The “Unwind and Rewind” Dinner Event taking place on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at Joe Badali’s Ristorante. Besides the great food, this dinner is a terrific way to network with fellow small firm and solo lawyers. Topics of discussion are sure to include day-to-day challenges, practice management tools and much more. Reserve your seat soon as space is limited.  The cost for the dinner is an additional $40 which includes taxes.

4. You cannot beat the price. The in-person price of conference registration is $325, and the live webcast is $295.  There are group rates if you are interested as well.  Many annual conferences cost thousands of dollars and are not designed specifically for the small firm and solo lawyer.

5. We have to toot our own horn for reason #5. We’re presenting a book signing with ABA best-seller Mitch Kowalski at the LawyerLocate.ca booth on May 23, 2013 during the lunch break. You will want to meet Mitch because he specifically understands the unique needs of solo and small firm lawyers. It will be a enjoyable break from sitting through all of those CLE sessions!

So there you have it, five excellent reasons to attend the 2013 LSUC Solo and Small Firm Conference. You can register here for the in-person conference or live webcast. We look forward to seeing you there!

Meet Mitch Kowalski at the LSUC Solo and Small Firm Conference

Posted by Natalie Waddell on April 18, 2013

meet mitch kowalski at the lsuc solo and small firm conferenceAre you attending the LSUC Solo and Small Firm Conference this year?

If so, you’ll be pleased to know that LawyerLocate.ca is presenting a book signing with ABA best-seller Mitch Kowalski on May 23, 2013 during the lunch break at the LaweyrLocate.ca booth.

Legal conferences are bustling with vendor booths, networking events and more. We know your time is valuable (especially after sitting through a CLE program or two) and that’s why we’re thrilled Mitch could make it.

Why Mitch Kowalski Understands Solo and Small Firm Lawyers

Mitch Kowalski has an impressive list of accomplishments and credentials including:

  • Top 50 Fastcase Global Innovator 2012
  • Author of the ABA best-seller Avoiding Extinction: Reimagining Legal Services for the 21st Century
  • Legal Pundit at Slaw.ca. Mitch writes a weekly column critiquing the legal services industry with comments on how it can improve
  • Legal Blogger for the National Post which is consistently ranked amongst the ABA’s Top 100 Legal Blogs
  • Partner at Shaprio Cho & Kowalski

As a solo or small firm lawyer in Canada, you’ve no doubt witnessed the changes taking place in the legal profession. Technology is transforming the way we practice law in 21st century. Images of high-priced lawyers slaving into the night to meet deadlines can become a thing of the past.

Directly inspired by Richard Susskind’s ground-breaking The End of Lawyers (Oxford Univ. Press 2008), Mitchel counsels lawyers on how to deliver real results and keep their clients, and themselves, happy in the process. Say goodbye to cranky clients and burned out lawyers!

What Others are Saying

"This is the most innovative law practice management book I've ever seen...an engaging novel about the lives of working lawyers with an illuminating treatise on how law firms must respond to extraordinary change in the legal marketplace. Avoiding Extinction is as entertaining as it is instructive, and it couldn't be more timely."

~ Jordan Furlong, Partner, Edge International

The Details

 

LawyerLocate.ca Member Charles Ticker Awarded Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Posted by Natalie Waddell on March 29, 2013

LawyerLocate.ca member Charles Ticker wins awardHere at LawyerLocate.ca we love sharing our member’s accomplishments. Today we’re proud to tell you about a Toronto-area estate lawyer, Charles Ticker, who was recently awarded the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The Diamond Jubilee Medal was created in 2012 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Her Magesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. It is awarded to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians.  The medal design was created by the Canadian Heraldic Authority and it’s manufactured at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa.

Charles Ticker runs a busy law office with a focus on estate litigation, estate administration and mediation. In addition, he volunteers a tremendous amount of time to the community by serving meals to the homeless through the Out of the Cold program. He also provides pro bono wills to cancer patients through Wellspring Toronto. Finally, he has helped out with passport clinics for constituents in Thornhill.

Charles Ticker is well versed in Estate Law and has been providing solutions for clients for over 30 years from his office in Markham, Ontario. He is well known for his detailed knowledge of the law and for his close relationships with clients. Charles graduated from McGill University in 1974 with a B.Sc. (Hon) in Psychology and he received his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1978.  Charles went on to attend Harvard Law School in 2007 to become a certified mediator, as compulsory mediation is now part of the estate litigation process.  

Outside of the courtroom and office, Charles plays keyboards with “The Faded Genes”, his garage band. He is also presently writing a book on estate litigation. If you’re interested in learning more from Charles, you can follow him on Twitter at @CTicker, view his LinkedIn profile or check out his blog, The Sibling Fight. 

Bob Buckingham Launches Class Action Against Canadian Government

Posted by Natalie Waddell on March 20, 2013

LawyerLocate.ca Member in the News

LawyerLocate.ca member, Bob Buckingham, recently initiated a class action lawsuit against the Canadian government after the personal information of 538,000 Canadians was lost. The information was stored on a portable hard drive and it related to individuals who took out student loans between the years 2000 and 2007. The Human Resources and Skills Development Canada announced the privacy breach to the public on February 8th, 2013 with an update on February 19th, 2013.  

You might be wondering what type of information goes missing in these sorts of mishaps. This privacy breach included names, birthdates, Social Insurance Numbers, student loan balances and addresses. If this information got into the wrong hands, criminals could apply for credit cards or passports. This could cause a lot of headaches for Canadians across the country.  According to the HRSDC, there is no evidence that the data has been stolen by fraudsters; however, Mr. Buckingham is concerned how this information might be used should it get into the wrong hands.  Because the privacy breach was avoidable, Mr. Buckingham believes he has a very strong case against the government.

Bob Buckingham filed the class action lawsuit on January 17, 2013. “This is a privacy and security issue affecting half a million Canadians. The information lost is exactly what identity thieves look for; your social insurance number is your identifier as a Canadian citizen. It's vital that the government step up here, that they help those affected to deal with the financial and emotion costs of this situation," he said in a statement to LawyerLocate.ca on January 23, 2013. He goes on to say, “We've had more than 275,000 hits to our website in the last week or so and our Facebook group, which had less than 500 friends a week ago, now has more than 6,000 friends. We're swamped with phone calls and emails, and to date about 16,000 people have filled out the Class Action form on our website."

Bob Buckingham maintains an active practice in criminal law, family law, wills and estates, civil litigation and corporate/commercial work. He is well known for his extensive experience representing the victims of sexual abuse, particularly the victims of the Canadian Branch of the Christian Brothers of Ireland, the United Church of Canada and Dr. Stephen John Collins.  

If you’ve been affected by the Canada Student Loans Privacy Breach, visit http://studentloansclassaction.com/ to register as a class action participant. 

LawyerLocate.ca Is Proudly Sponsoring the World's 2nd Twitter Moot #Twtmoot

Posted by Natalie Waddell on November 14, 2012

twitter moot trialWest Coast Environmental Law is holding the World’s 2nd Twitter Moot on November 20, 2012 at 10:00 am PT (1:00 pm ET) where students from Canadian law schools will debate a public right to a healthy global atmosphere and climate change. In 140 characters or less, students will get to practice their advocacy and debating skills using the popular social network, Twitter. This means the general public can watch the debate as it happens in real time.

The Twitter Moot includes five teams of two students each from Schulich School of Dalhousie University, Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, University of Ottawa, University of Alberta and Thompson River University. The Supreme Twitter Court of Canada judges are Michael Geist, Polly Higgins and Lisa Taylor.

Here’s How to Follow The Twitter Moot

1. Follow the Twitter Moot List. Go to www.twitter.com and follow the West Coast Environmental Law Twitter List that includes all the moot Team Members and Judges: https://twitter.com/WCELaw/twtmoot. Please note you don’t need to be a Twitter user to follow this list. Most mobile apps don’t allow users to follow Twitter lists so make sure you’re at a desktop computer.

2. View the Live Twitter Feed on West Coast Environmental Law’s Website on November 20, 2012 at 10:00 am PT (1:00 pm ET). This page will display all the content from the Twitter Twitter Moot List. You can also follow the #Twtmoot hashtag on this site to see what people are saying about the Twitter Moot trial prior to the event.

Here’s How to Participate in the Twitter Moot

If you want to discuss climate change along with the students and other Twitter users during the World’s 2nd Twitter Moot on November 20, 2012 you can do so using the #Twtmoot hashtag. Please note you can use this hashtag leading up to, and during, the event. There was a lively discussion during the first Twitter Moot where students argued an appeal from the BC Court of Appeal decision in West Moberly First Nations v. British Columbia.

You are welcome to tweet your opinions, your support for the students and anything else related to the event. LawyerLocate.ca is proudly sponsoring the World’s 2nd Twitter Moot taking place on November 20, 2012. We look forward to seeing you there!

Is it improving access to justice?

Posted by Natalie Waddell on April 07, 2011

ACCESS.jpgDaniel Lublin's weekly column in the Metro News was a caution to the public about buying legal services over the internet. The article highlighted a situation where a business got "burned" by using a "contract" form they had purchased online. They thought they could save money by not paying for the lawyer's time.

The companies that provide forms (such as DynamicLawyers.com, lawdepot.ca, megadox.com here in Canada), all have the same general philosophy; that some people just can't afford a lawyer's services, and by providing forms they are providing them with some level of access to justice.

As pointed out by Sapna Mahboobani, there are varying degrees of online legal services - from forms, to lawyer prepared forms, to online lawyer services. An online lawyer is a service where the client only consults with the lawyer virtually (by email, skype, etc.) Again, the idea for the public is that with an online lawyer there is an expected cost savings. 

But wouldn't the public be better served if the legal industry in Canada moved towards the unbundling of legal services?

Andrew Feldstein asks a pertinent question in a recent video blog:

...why shouldn’t individuals retain lawyers on a limited retainer basis and have them complete the work which they do not want to or are unable to complete on their own?

Could an alternative lawyer-client relationship not help provide access to better justice for those individuals who typically can't afford comprehensive legal services but are in desperate need of help?

LawyerLocate.ca featured in CBA's National Magazine

Posted by Natalie Waddell on March 10, 2011

Special thank you to Michael Rappaport of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Magazine for his comments about LawyerLocate.ca in his article entitled “Connecting with Clients“. Here’s what Michael wrote about us:

Finding the right fit: LawyerLocate.ca

maze.jpgAbout 15 years ago Natalie Waddell’s marriage was breaking down leading her to call the law society’s lawyer referral service. “The lawyer they recommended wasn’t a good fit. He wanted to litigate for my husband’s future earnings. I wanted an amicable split,” Waddell recalls. The experience left her thinking there must be a better way to match clients with lawyers.

So Waddell founded Lawyer Locate Inc. Since launching her website www.lawyerlocate.ca in 2002, the service has processed more than 83,857 referrals from individuals and businesses around the world to lawyers across Canada.

Potential clients can visit the website, search for a lawyer by practice area and geographic location, read detailed bios of each lawyer and contact them directly or they can call a 1-800 number for assistance in finding a lawyer.

“We make it easy for both lawyers and clients.”

“Unlike law societies’ referral services, we don’t require lawyers to give a half-hour free consultation or file a report with the law society after each consultation. We make it easy for both lawyers and clients.”

Lawyer Locate Inc. currently has 579 lawyers as members, who pay from $62.50 to $75, every month, depending on their membership plan. The service processes an average of 250 to 300 referrals per week and the website had 1.5 million page views last year. Beyond providing lawyers with a source of referrals, Lawyer Locate actively promotes members through its integration with social media, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs.

 

Special Thank You  to Michael Rappaport of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Magazine for his comments about  LawyerLocate.ca in his article entitled “Connecting with Clients“.  Here’s what Michael wrote about us:

Finding the right fit: LawyerLocate.ca 

About 15 years ago Natalie Waddell’s marriage was breaking down leading her to call the law society’s lawyer referral service. “The lawyer they recommended wasn’t a good fit. He wanted to litigate for my husband’s future earnings. I wanted an amicable split,” Waddell recalls. The experience left her thinking there must be a better way to match clients with lawyers.

So Waddell founded Lawyer Locate Inc. Since launching her website www.lawyerlocate.ca in 2002, the service has processed more than 83,857 referrals from individuals and businesses around the world to lawyers across Canada.

Potential clients can visit the website, search for a lawyer by practice area and geographic location, read detailed bios of each lawyer and contact them directly or they can call a 1-800 number for assistance in finding a lawyer.

“We make it easy for both lawy

Special Thank You  to Michael Rappaport of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Magazine for his comments about  LawyerLocate.ca in his article entitled “Connecting with Clients“.  Here’s what Michael wrote about us:

Finding the right fit: LawyerLocate.ca

About 15 years ago Natalie Waddell’s marriage was breaking down leading her to call the law society’s lawyer referral service. “The lawyer they recommended wasn’t a good fit. He wanted to litigate for my husband’s future earnings. I wanted an amicable split,” Waddell recalls. The experience left her thinking there must be a better way to match clients with lawyers.

So Waddell founded Lawyer Locate Inc. Since launching her website www.lawyerlocate.ca in 2002, the service has processed more than 83,857 referrals from individuals and businesses around the world to lawyers across Canada.

Potential clients can visit the website, search for a lawyer by practice area and geographic location, read detailed bios of each lawyer and contact them directly or they can call a 1-800 number for assistance in finding a lawyer.

“We make it easy for both lawyers and clients.” 

“Unlike law societies’ referral services, we don’t require lawyers to give a half-hour free consultation or file a report with the law society after each consultation. We make it easy for both lawyers and clients.”

Lawyer Locate Inc. currently has 579 lawyers as members, who pay from $62.50 to $75, every month, depending on their membership plan. The service processes an average of 250 to 300 referrals per week and the website had 1.5 million page views last year. Beyond providing lawyers with a source of referrals, Lawyer Locate actively promotes members through its integration with social media, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs.

ers and clients.” 

“Unlike law societies’ referral services, we don’t require lawyers to give a half-hour free consultation or file a report with the law society after each consultation. We make it easy for both lawyers and clients.”

Lawyer Locate Inc. currently has 579 lawyers as members, who pay from $62.50 to $75, every month, depending on their membership plan. The service processes an average of 250 to 300 referrals per week and the website had 1.5 million page views last year. Beyond providing lawyers with a source of referrals, Lawyer Locate actively promotes members through its integration with social media, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs.

Ontario Young Lawyers To Have Fun & Fundraise for a Great Cause

Posted by Natalie Waddell on June 24, 2010

baseball.jpgAll work and no play is no fun. And in the throughs of the all G20/G8 "hoopla" this week and into next, we will all be in need of some fun when the downtown core gets back to "normal".

The Young Lawyers' Division of the Ontario Bar Association is, once again, throwing a fundraiser in support of the Jays Care Foundation. This year's Summer Social is scheduled for Thursday, July 8 at the Rogers Centre. (a.k.a. The SkyDome, as some of us still like to refer to it as.)

This is a unique way to have fun, support an important cause, while networking and enjoying a major league baseball game.

The Jays Care Foundation has been empowering children and youth in need, inspiring them to make positive choices and helping them realize their dreams by providing access to programs that support physical activity, education, and life-skill development.

You can register online for the Blue Jays Care Fundraiser Social Event.

Quebec Branch of CBA Honours Marc-André Landry

Posted by Natalie Waddell on May 25, 2010

thumb_Up.jpgJulius Melnitzer of the The National Post reported today (Blakes’ associate youngest CBA award winner) that Marc-André Landry has become the most recent recipient of the Jules-Deschênes prize. At the young age of 32 years old, he is officially the youngest recipient in the award's history.

The prize, bestowed by the Quebec division of the Canadian Bar Association, is to recognize a member who demonstrates exceptional commitment and continuous involvement of the Quebec branch of the CBA.

Mr. Landry's contribution has been his outstanding commitment to the Citizenship and Charters Program. This program helps secondary students draw a connection between the Charters and their rights and obligations as Canadian citizens. And it helps students develop advocacy skills and gives them an opportunity to interact with lawyers and judges.