Month: <span>July 2022</span>
Month: July 2022

Doug Mitchell, former CFL commissioner and Calgary lawyer, has died at 83

Douglas Mitchell, a former Canadian Football League player who went on to become commissioner of the league as well as a prominent Calgary lawyer and community leader, died on Wednesday at the age of 83.

Mitchell played briefly in the CFL with the BC Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats and later went on to serve as league commissioner for five years in the 1980s. He also spent time on the league’s board of governors, as a representative of the Calgary Stampeders, as well as many other accomplishments in sports and the wider community.

Among his loved ones, he leaves behind his wife, former Alberta lieutenant-governor Lois Mitchell.

His family said in an email shared on Thursday that Mitchell died peacefully and suddenly at home.

“We all know Doug was an inspiration to all who knew him and we will continue to share his legacy each and every day,” said Lois Mitchell in an email.

“Doug lived an incredibly happy, accomplished and fulfilled life in his 83 years. Doug made an impression on each of us and we find solace in knowing his life was full of joy. We know he would want us all to live on with strength, purpose and laughter.”

Among his many accolades, he was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2004, inducted to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2007, inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and most recently inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in June.

Doug Mitchell stands at a clear podium to speak as he's inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in Toronto on Oct.  23, 2019. He wears a red scarf that reads Order of Sport, as he and the other 2019 inductees were the first to be presented with an Order of Sport Award.
Mitchell speaks in Toronto on Oct. 23, 2019, as he’s inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Among his many other accolades, Mitchell was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2004, inducted to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2007 and inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in June. (Frank Gunn/The
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Legal aid organizes clinic for Kitchener encampment residents facing eviction

Legal representation is being offered for encampment residents as the Region of Waterloo turns to the courts to evict people living at the Victoria and Weber Streets property.

The first court date is set for July 20.

The Waterloo Region Community Legal is offering its services pro bono.

The team visited the encampment on Thursday to meet and greet with encampment residents and begin the legal clinic process.

The Region of Waterloo is relying on the courts to determine for the next steps in the eviction process after the eviction deadline set for June 30 passed without action.

“There are people here who don’t trust people in positions of authority, so one of the jobs we have to do is to talk to people and to build some trust with them to make them understand that we are here to make their voices heard ,” said Shannon Down, a lawyer with Waterloo Region Community Legal Services.

Residents at the camp say the legal aid clinic is a relief for those pondering their next steps.

Down said this is a big job with some major barriers for their small clinic.

“We can’t just pick up the phone to call our clients or email them, the people here for the most part don’t have access to technology or communications equipment,” said Down.

“The efforts of the legal aid crew is appreciated, and I don’t think any of us would know where to start an injunction or a hearing or get before a judge,” said Michael Wosik, who lives at the site, a resident of the encampment.

“The region filed an application with the courts Tuesday, seeking a judge’s approval to remove residents and their belongings from the site.

As part of the judge’s orders, legal aid was notified and has taken up

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J.Crew recruits new top lawyer from rival American Eagle Outfitters

A J. Crew store logo is pictured on a building along the Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach, Florida March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

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  • Stacy Siegal has joined J.Crew as chief legal officer
  • Clothing retailer emerged from bankruptcy in September 2020

(Reuters) – J.Crew Group Inc has hired longtime retail company attorney Stacy Siegal away from American Eagle Outfitters Inc to be its new top lawyer, according to a Monday statement.

J. Crew said Siegal will be chief legal officer and corporate secretary of the New York-based company, reporting to CEO Libby Wadle.

Siegal said she is Replacing J. Crew’s interim general counsel, Peter Damiano, who will remain at the company.

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A J. Crew spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement. An American Eagle spokesperson didn’t immediately comment on Siegal’s departure on Monday.

J.Crew filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered temporary store closures of its nearly 500 J.Crew, J.Crew Factory outlets and Madewell stores. A bankruptcy judge approved the clothing company’s reorganization plan in August 2020.

Siegal joined American Eagle Outfitters as general counsel in 2016, according to her LinkedIn bio, which says she also oversaw human resources and communications functions at the company. She previously served in top legal roles for teen apparel retailer rue21 LLC.

J.Crew was sued in December by a former top lawyer, Maria DiLorenzo. She accused the company in a Manhattan federal court complaint of forcing her to work through medical leave after she suffered hearing loss, and then illegally firing her.

A J. Crew spokesperson declined to comment on the litigation Monday. The company said in a statement provided by a spokesperson in December the allegations lacked merit.

Court records

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Traci Feit Love continues to deliver pro bono services while negotiating through the trauma and injustices she witnesses

Pro Bono

Traci Feit Love continues to deliver pro bono services while negotiating through the trauma and injustices she witnesses

MallikaKaurheadshot2

Mallika Kaur.

Lawyers have been organizing in large numbers during the last six years to offer pro bono legal services to immigrants, racial minorities and small businesses affected by COVID-19. The new post-Roe landscape is no different.

Among the significant forces behind this pro bono organizing effort is Lawyers for Good Government, a nonprofit that grew out of a popular Facebook group started by Traci Feit Love in 2016. In this interview, I talk with Love about the work she continues to do with unstoppable zeal. She paused long enough to explain that her drive is also a way of coping with the injustices she witnesses in the world.

Our discussion highlights how reactions to individual or collective traumas never look the same and need not cause an inability to function. They may even inspire extreme productivity, as exhibited by Love. Maintaining a personal routine that facilitates her work keeps Love going and inspires others. L4GG has delivered more than $15 million worth of legal services. While the cumulative toll on Love has made her feel as if she aged 20 years in six years, the work seems to be the only way to not give in to cynicism.

Mallika Kaur: Let’s begin with the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. How have you and the team at L4GG responded in the immediate wake of that decision, especially while balancing a range of personal reactions?

Traci Feit Love: We responded by focusing on the work; trying to identify what the short-term, medium-term and long-term legal needs would be and what

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Attorney General Lynn Fitch and 16 Attorneys General Warn Google Not to Discriminate Against Pregnancy Centers 072122

Below is a press release from Attorney General Lynn Fitch:

Attorney General Lynn Fitch today sent a multistate letter to Google, led by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, expressing concerns about recent political pressure Encouraging Google to discriminate against crisis pregnancy centers in search results, online advertising, and other products like Google Maps. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has advocated for the shutting down of crisis pregnancy centers, and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), joined by 19 of their Democrat colleagues, sent Google their own respective letter, urging them to discriminate against these private charities by removing them from search results.

In their letter, the Attorneys General promise to investigate potential violations of antitrust laws and religious discrimination, should Google fall to this political pressure and attack free speech.

“For years, pregnancy resource centers have formed the backbone of a safety net for women in need of everything from bare essentials like diapers to help finding ways to finish their education and get job training,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “And they have done it with love, compassion, and respect. It is a shame that at a time when we should be fortifying this network, some in Washington are putting politics over people and seeking to diminish it.”

Crisis pregnancy centers are private charities that show compassion and practical support to women in a time of need. In 2019, crisis pregnancy centers served over 1.8 million clients and provided services valued at over $266million for little or no cost. These included ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, STD testing, parenting and prenatal education classes, post-abortive care, recovery counseling, free or reduced-cost diapers, baby clothes, car seats, and strollers.

Joining Attorney General Fitch are Attorneys General of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,

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Lawyer accused of breaching 14 separate Rules of Professional Conduct ordered to pay over 60k to LSO

The LSO further sought disbursements of $11,075.08, which comprised two charges, $10,357.96 for Ellwood Evidence Inc. – the last-minute responding expert report – and $717.12 for printing and delivery.

Considering the Perrelli factors, the tribunal wrote that the proceedings were above average complexity and required the LSO to call additional witnesses, which lengthened the hearing due to the vast materials, multiple complaints, and “aggressive defense” by Deokaran, including raising last-minute defences.

“The lawyer’s service, at the last minute, of a purported expert report required the law society to retain an expert on a rush basis, leading to higher costs and a longer hearing,” the tribunal wrote.

The tribunal wrote that because Deokaran raised the issue regarding another cause of the disputed emails, she should bear all the resulting expenses, specifically the entire costs incurred for the responding report of Ellwood Evidence Inc. However, the panel declined to award any fees related to printing expenses as the tribunal operates electronically to the extent reasonably possible.

Deokaran’s interlocutory suspension is partly due to her disciplinary history of failing to cooperate with the LSO. For example, she was licensed to practice in 2011 but was administratively suspended for 19 days in 2012 for unpaid LawPRO premiums.

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‘No reason why’ metaverse can’t facilitate legal services

Singapore’s Second Minister for Law is excited about the “new frontier” for legal technology and the future delivery of legal services around the world.

Editor’s note: The Autumn 2022 edition of Lawyers Weekly’s quarterly digital magazine included a feature titled The Metaverse, the law and the future. To read that feature, click here.

Speaking last week at TechLaw.Fest 2022 in Singapore, that nation’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong SC (pictured) said that the metaverse — what he described as a conjunction of the word “meta” (meaning beyond) and “universe” and generally refers to the concept of a highly immersive virtual world — is an “exciting new frontier” for all forms of technology, including legal.

“What might seem impossible today, could be possible or a reality tomorrow, with the advancement of technology,” he mused.

“Whilst we cannot as yet be certain of the final state at this point on what the metaverse will evolve into, many are confident of its future,” he noted, with a recent Bloomberg Intelligence report having estimated that the market opportunity in this space is worth approximately US$800 billion.

To Minister Tong’s mind, there is “no reason why” legal services cannot be delivered in the metaverse, in the same way that “a highly personalized, very intimate, once-in-a-lifetime event, like solemnisation of marriages, can take place in the metaverse”.

“The pandemic has already shown us that even dispute resolution — once seen to be a physical, high-touch process. You must see the witness, look at the whole demeanour. Cross-examination was one particular skill that is needed to be very much in-person — can also be held almost entirely online,” he recalled.

“Many lawyers have already embraced it. And still do. Today, with life in most parts of the

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Former Kenya’s Attorney-General dubs book ‘valedicory speech’

By TONY MOCHAMA

Kenya’s former Attorney General Githu Muigai launched his book Power, Politics and Law on July 15, describing it as his “valedicory speech”.

Muigai is known for his biting humor and poetic diction in both legal and learning circles.

In attendance were the current Chief Justice Martha Koome as the guest of honour, and former CJ Willy Mutunga.

Prof John Osogo Ambani, the dean of Kabarak University’s School of Law noted that Kabarak University Press published the work.

“We must be proud of our homegrown industries, including faciliators of the intelligentsia,” Muigai said, “and not imagine that what makes one great is being printed by the Oxfords and Cambridges, and other places that lie across high seas.”

Muigai writes about how Constitutional Law shaped the politics of the Kenya.

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It is an inter-disciplinary work about political positioning, legislative bargaining and constitutional amendments that are deliberative among political, parliamentary and judicial elites.

The book shows the trajectory of civil servants and politicians as the architects of constitutional order. In the mid-1990s, the courts became increasing independent of the Executive.

Shining example

Koome applauded the sharing of Muigai’s thoughts and experiences, terming the book a “shining example of legal scholarship” and an “invaluable contribution to our academic and cultural heritage by a serious senior official of state”.

“We Judges spend so much time writing judgments and not writing any books,” Koome said, adding that she has a manuscript that she has been tossing about. “When I retire, I will not only go to Kabarak University to teach about Children’s Law , but also get their university press to publish my book, the way they have for the former AG.”

Mutunga said Power, Politics and Law explains the political, ideological and legal instruments that define our jurisprudence, adding that

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Celebrating 35 years of community building in Surrey!

In 1987, Mr. Charan Gill and seven other community workers in the Lower Mainland pitched in $10 each to create a new organization that promoted harmony and intercultural understanding to build a healthy and just society for all.

35 years later, Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) continues to help new immigrants, seniors, farm workers, women and youth from its head office in Surrey, and also satellite services in Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George, Abbotsford and other Lower Mainland locations.

Mr.  Charan Gill founded Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) in 1987 with seven other community workers in the Lower Mainland.

Mr. Charan Gill founded Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) in 1987 with seven other community workers in the Lower Mainland.

Youth at the opening of the Rainbow Community Health Cooperative in 1997.

Youth at the opening of the Rainbow Community Health Cooperative in 1997.

In the very early days PICS focused on farm workers’ rights, especially among Indo-Canadians. But their services quickly expanded to include many other groups — through 35 years they’ve continued to identify gaps and devised programs to serve those in need.

“PICS is proud of the support we’ve provided to many Canadians over the last 35 years, and the strong relationships we’ve established with other community service providers, businesses, governments, media and other stakeholders,” says Satbir Singh Cheema, CEO of PICS.

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PICS began with a focus on farm workers’ rights, and has since expanded to help many other social causes.

Progressive Intercultural Community Services

  • Employment Programs: Foreign credential recognition; trades training (agriculture, transportation, construction, public works and more); skills training for youth, survivors of domestic violence, anti-gang families and more. Explore services at pics.bc.ca/programs/employment.
  • Language, Settlement and Social Programs: Assisting newcomers and temporary migrant workers access services, receive training and get oriented in British Columbia, including free English classes, anti-racism
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