My Zaidie Harold lived through the depression and served in WWII. His general philosophy was that there were few problems that could not be solved by putting some salami on the barbecue.
Here’s a PSA. Pretty much everyone you know is having a rough time right now. People are lonely, bored, sad, anxious or some combination. I’ve spoken to two friends today who admitted how hard it has been. So it’s a good week to be as kind as you can to the people in your life.
Conservative MPs are supporting a white nationalist movement and I’m supposed to be upset with the PM for pointing this out to a Jewish MP? Nope. I’m upset because she is still sitting next to them in the House of Commons.
I’m not a JT fanboy but I have to admit “The Charter of Rights is not a buffet where you get to pick and choose whose rights you want to protect” is a great line.
I have never heard a more coherent, clear-eyed, unequivocal, honest, or compelling speech by PM Trudeau than this. This is what all of us should expect from every Canadian politician and public servant. It gets better and better the longer he speaks.
Just a reminder that unless you are in hiding because your country has been invaded by a genocidal army, and you can’t set foot outside for two years, it’s probably best not to compare yourself to Anne Frank. At least not out loud.
Can someone tell me exactly what the government should have done differently in procuring vaccines? Not a different outcome but different realistic steps that would have led to a different result?
We - the bar - should be thanking, acknowledging and congratulating defence lawyers like
@Nader_Hasan_law
whether they win or lose these big cases.
In my opinion, they have the hardest job in law: representing the unpopular in the face of the entire apparatus of the state … /2
So proud of my dad who is retiring after almost 50 years of OB/GYN
@MountSinai
. He has delivered over 10,000 babies and, after last night, one opening pitch (over the plate but a little high. Not bad for a career catcher). Mazel tov - we love you!
Oral contraceptives have a higher prevalence of blood clots than the AZ vaccine. I’m not saying a pause is a bad idea, I’m just saying there’s no reason to panic.
Here’s a dirty little secret. In Canadian law schools, cold calling is not a thing. The prof asks questions and people put up their hands to answer. (Often it’s the same people over and over, which gets annoying.) And yet we somehow come out prepared for practice.
I wish him well. In the sense that I hope he makes a full recovery, then loses in a landslide, then gets arrested for tax fraud, and goes to jail where he lives a long time.
@cmathen
The combination of:
- real winter weather (which we didn’t have much of last year in Ontario)
- the disappointment of vaccines not being a cure all
- the uncertainty of not knowing if this wave is the last
Has made it an extremely difficult month.
How about this:
- we keep bars and gyms closed indefinitely
- the government proved income support for those affected
- we recognize will need to pay higher income taxes and GST
- we consider it a worthwhile investment because it saves lives and allows kids to be in school
FEB 27:
#CovidVaccine
in Ontario🇨🇦
Total vaccinations: 668104 (+24339)
💉delivered: 903285 (as of Feb 25)
💉freezer/fridge: 235181 (26.0%)
Fully vaxed (2x💉): 260972 =2.25% ON adults
See thread for deliveries/projections🧵⤵️
Data:
When we advise journalists in defamation matters, a big issue is whether their sources are likely to be believed in court. There is no bigger red flag than the “disgruntled former employee.”
I will ban puppy mills, these facilities ignore the needs of the pups and their mothers. I will also crack down on unethical breeders who falsely claim to offer rescue animals or pets bred humanely.
One of the most enjoyable parts of law practice is assigning something to an articling student, getting her work product, and seeing that she has knocked it out of the park.
The Nightmare Before Vavilov
(Also known as “didn’t get much done today”)
Twas the night before Vavilov
And all of
#lawtwitter
’s
Admin nerds were wide awake
With pre-trilogy jitters.
A trifecta desired
For more than a year
it comes in mere hours
The time is so near
I’m looking forward to riding my bike home through U of T campus without having to look at an encampment full of people who have too much sympathy for Hamas and not enough for its victims.
This is not legal analysis. This is just an emotional reaction to a long few months.
I was critical of this judge and now I’m going to reverse myself. This is one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen in law practice. The humility and humanity that comes through are everything we would want from a Justice system and the people who administer it.
The biggest anti-vax myth is that vaccinated and unvaccinated people spread the virus at the same rate. So here’s a super nerdy thread on conditional probability. 1/10
Honest itinerary for a videoconference:
2:00-2:05 struggle to log in
2:05-2:07 “who’s on the call?”
2:07-2:09 “Bob we can hear you but we can’t see you. Oh we can see the top of your head! Re-direct your camera!”
2:09-2:10 “how’s everyone doing on lockdown? Everyone ok?” /1
Beloved
@UofTLaw
professor Stephen Waddams passed away.
He was the ultimate law professor. I was in his first year small group and helped us understand law as a discipline, not just his topic (contracts). He was super shy, but helpful, nice and even sometimes funny. RIP
Intentionally targeting civilians for murder, rape and kidnapping is always wrong. If you are making an exception when it happens to Jews you aren’t a “decolonialist” or “supporting resistance.” You’re an anti-Semite.
So by my math:
- graduate high school at 18
- finish undergrad at 22
- law school at 25
- called to the bar at 26
So if we are talking under 30, we are talking about fourth year lawyers. That’s a lot of pressure to put on people at a very early stage in their career.
We know how competitive the legal industry can be, especially for new starters, which is why we hold our coveted 30 Under 30 awards each year. Outshine your peers by taking home a 30 Under 30 award. Start your entry today:
@TaylorRootLegal
@CKGSearch
This morning I saw a guy walk from his gym locker to the showers fully naked except for a mask and thought that pretty much sums up 2021 in a nutshell.
Law as a profession has alarmingly high rates of depression, anxiety and suicide. Don’t suffer in silence. Help is available and if you don’t know where to find it, My DMs are open.
#BellLetsTalk
Happy New Year. I just wanted to let you all know that I value our
#lawtwitter
community both in Canada and abroad, and I wish good things for all of you for 2022.
My sons (23 and 20) are travelling in Spain together. At first I thought I was jealous because they are in Spain. Then I thought I was jealous because they get to travel with their brother without parents. But now I realize I’m jealous because they are 20 and 23.
@lindaholmes
Hi, I’m a lawyer in a movie. I do brilliant cross-examinations of “surprise” witnesses on the spot with no preparation. After court is over, I go to a bar and hang out with friends instead of going back to the office to prepare for trial tomorrow.
Just so I understand: all of the people who were screaming “we’re
#42
in the world” are totally silent as 70+ year olds get vaccinated in Quebec, Alberta and BC, but are projected to start May 1 in Ontario?
Are you SURE it wasn’t partisan politics? ‘cause I’m not.
@jacksiegel
I truly believe she got a bum rap. She wasn’t perfect and there were a few epic fails but mostly I think she absorbed the electorate being sick of her party after 14 years in office. (Although as we are seeing now, be careful what you wish for.)
So thanks Nadar (and your colleagues). Your professionalism in the courtroom and with the media reflects well on all of us. And congratulations on the win.
#workingfromhome
story of the day.
On a conference call last night, a child’s voice suddenly appeared in the background: “I have a poo in my pants! I can feel it!”
The unfortunate dad was so surprised he repeated it into the phone “you have a poo in your pants? OH MY GOD!”
I don’t agree with this fellow’s submission but gotta hand it to him for not faking a seizure when Justice Brown said “I granted you leave to intervene and when I read your factum, I regretted I did.”
When the Premier says that the problem with Legal Aid is that there’s “too much money going to the lawyers and not enough to the people,” you can’t help but wonder whether he understands HOW LEGAL AID WORKS????
Procure earlier - would not have made a difference in a world where there are production shortages. No indication that we are being shorted because of when we bought (as opposed to not being in the US/EU). ❎
I don’t like pumpkin pie but pecan pie is the single best dessert in the world.
And if your view is the opposite now is not the time to say mean things. Just send me your pecan pie and I will send you my pumpkin pie and we will both be happier.
As I get ready for an interesting hearing this week I got to musing about how I learned a particular skill: oral argument. The short answer is: voluntary and involuntary mentors, and also being a mentor. A thread.
I wrote my LLM thesis on unwritten principles of constitutional law. And if I only could find a computer that could read a 3.5 inch disk, I’m sure I’d be interested to read what I said.
The caretaker convention requires that the government not make any big decisions during an election. This means not waiving any significant rights the government has, including the right to JR this decision.
You can be against the war in Gaza and be deeply concerned about the plight of Palestinians and not be an antisemite. But if you are breathlessly rooting for Iran to bomb civilian targets in Israel, you are.
I’ve just heard that 550 front line health care workers from Toronto get to attend the Leafs game tonight.
And I have to ask: haven’t they suffered enough over the last 15 months?
(Credit:
@MatthewBhoops
)
This is a really bad article that lacks context, nuance or any semblance of having a clue about Canada’s Supreme Court.
It’s one redeeming feature is that it describes
@adamgoldenberg
as a Professor of Law at University of Toronto. Which is wrong but at least it made me laugh.
I will be honouring Christopher Plummer. He played Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth, and CAPTAIN VON TRAPP.
Plus he was Canadian and died earlier this year. I hope wherever he is there’s Edelweiss (the flower - the song is kind of annoying).
Appeal dismissed from the bench without hearing from the respondent.
Important lesson for young lawyers
#1
: it’s important to lose graciously.
Important lesson for young lawyers
#2
: almost everything in practice gets easier with time. Except losing, which never gets easier!
AND representing the entire bar and the administration of Justice to the public. That was a wonderful statement to the media.
These cases are gruelling and stressful (especially I suspect when you are convinced your client is not guilty) and don’t even pay very well.
/3
@asymmetricinfo
Harris is a GenXer. That’s why we don’t hear from her. She’s let herself into the Naval Observatory with a latchkey, she’s in her room listening to Nirvana on her Walkman, and she’s afraid that if she shows too much enthusiasm for her job, her slacker friends will call her a nerd
You know the most important thing is that you vote. Unless you are planning to vote for the PPC. Then the most important thing is that you stay home because you are probably unvaccinated.
@svershbow
Imagine there’s this couple next door and they are richer and more influential and more popular than you. Then they start fighting and EVERYONE can hear them and the block is like “they are still rich but they’re crazy and their house is a dumpster fire ... maybe they’ll move?”
When the pandemic is over I think we should have a huge bonfire where we sacrifice all the sweat pants and hoodies we have been wearing for the last 10 months.
Let’s keep in mind that the whole common law was created by individual trial judges making rules and letting the court system work out if the rules are good. So I have no problem with a trial judge finding a new tort. Now let’s see if it sticks.
Just to remind you, there are 3000 known active cases of COVID in Ontario. The numbers are improving and the trend is in the right direction but we are far from out of the woods. So please, let’s be careful out there.
If you see me on Twitter today please reply “go write your factum.” I have PCSD (post coup stress disorder) and am finding it hard to concentrate. But concentrate I must!
What I did in a week (mostly) off Twitter.
- got new glasses
- read more
- worked a lot
- marginally improved my mental health
That’s pretty much it. I missed you all but I think I will take a Twitter break every month or so.
Taylor Swift is not a pop star. She’s a full-fledged cultural icon. It’s damn good music and she deserves all the respect she’s getting and then some.
PS - kids, never date a singer-songwriter. When it ends messy everyone will know about it.
Pandemic court attire.
And yes my blazer is tight on me - it’s because I have been working out* so much, my pecs** have gotten bigger.
Footnotes
*”working out” = eating
** “pecs” = stomach
Is anyone else a little sad that we are officially in the second half of August? Not like “can’t get out of bed” sad, just “good things seem to go by too quickly” sad?