TWO NEW PARTNERS AT CASSELS BROCK
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP has taken on two new partners.
Wendy Berman, formerly a partner with Heenan Blaikie LLP’s litigation group, will practise commercial litigation with an emphasis on securities-related and regulatory matters.
Lara Jackson, also a former lawyer at Heenan Blaikie, also joins Cassels Brock. Her practice will focus on commercial and securities litigation, class actions, and insolvency.
“Cassels Brock has one of the largest and most active public markets practices in Canada,” said Mark Young, Cassels Brock’s managing partner.
“To fully support our issuer and underwriter clients in today's increasingly complex and litigious environment, we saw a strategic need to expand our advocacy capabilities in the area.
Wendy and Lara have outstanding reputations, and their expertise is a perfect complement to our existing platform.”
OMNIBUS CRIME BILL TAKES EFFECT
Four components of the omnibus crime bill will come into force over the next five months.
The first, involving increased penalties for sexual offences against children, will come into force Aug. 9.
The second, dealing with harsher penalties for violent and repeat young offenders, will follow on Oct. 23.
The last two components that target serious drug crimes and eliminate house arrest for serious and violent offences will come into effect Nov. 6 and Nov. 20, respectively.
HISTORY AWARD WINNERS NAMED
The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History has awarded two scholars the R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship in Legal History and the Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History.
York University graduate Patrick Connor received the fellowship on June 26 for his work to further the understanding of the country’s legal history. He’ll use the fellowship to complete the first comprehensive history of crime and criminal justice in Upper Canada.
Edward Cavanagh, who’s entering a doctoral program at the University of Ottawa, received the Peter Oliver Prize for his article about the Hudson’s Bay Co.
“We applaud both award recipients for enriching Canadians’ understanding of the country’s legal history,” said Jim Phillips, editor-in-chief of the Osgoode Society.
“Through their work, this year’s award recipients have helped promote the public’s interest in the history of law and the legal profession.”
POLL RESULTS
The results of last week’s Law Times online poll are in.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents believe the government should appeal a recent assisted suicide ruling.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia struck down parts of Canada’s law banning assisted suicide after ruling they infringed a woman’s right to life, liberty, and the security of person.
