ALLGOOD TO JOIN DENTONSFollowing his departure from the Royal Bank of Canada in April, David Allgood is making the switch to life at a law firm.
Allgood, former executive vice president and general counsel at RBC, is joining Dentons Canada LLP as counsel at the firm.
“Dentons’ core focus on diversity and inclusion,
pro bono, and community service makes the firm a natural fit for me,” said Allgood.
“I look forward to working with the highly talented Dentons team and to being a part of the strategy, drive, and energy at the firm.”
Allgood, who had held the position at RBC since 2000, will join Dentons on June 15.
“We are delighted to welcome David and we look forward to working with him to bring his exceptional experience and invaluable perspective to our clients and our people,” said Elliott Portnoy, Dentons’ global chief executive officer.
FRENCH-LANGUAGE PILOT LAUNCHEDAfter the Ontario Court of Appeal raised significant concerns about the provision of bilingual services during a drug trial, the province is launching an effort to improve courthouse access to assistance in French in Ottawa.
On May 29, the Ministry of the Attorney General announced a pilot project to improve services for French-speaking litigants, lawyers, and others. Among other things, the program will designate French-speaking counter service representatives and set up a system to electronically advise when a client selects a French-language service ticket.
“I look forward to seeing the results of this important initiative for Ottawa’s French-speaking community,” said Ontario Chief Justice George Strathy.
“The concepts tested here will help us determine how we can continue to improve justice services for the francophone population in courts across Ontario.”
The pilot project comes as the appeal court made a strong statement about bilingual services in
R. v. Munkonda last month. Besides issuing a costs order against the Crown, the appeal court also quashed the committal for trial in the case of a francophone defendant who suffered linguistic disadvantages in the proceeding.
OTTAWA LAWYER JOINS THE BENCHThe federal government has appointed a new judge of the Ontario Superior Court.
On May 29, it announced Ottawa lawyer Sylvia Corthorn would replace Justice Lynn Ratushny on the bench.
Corthorn, a lawyer at Kelly Santini LLP in Ottawa, primarily practised personal injury law, medical and dental malpractice, and insurance defence, commercial, and estate litigation. She had been a partner at the firm since 1994. She joins the bench after Ratushny elected supernumerary status on June 30, 2014.
POLL RESULTSThe results of the latest
Law Times online poll are in.
According to the poll, 60 per cent of respondents felt the Superior Court was right to order a new trial over a paralegal’s donation to a Small Claims Court deputy judge’s cycling fundraiser.
The poll followed a ruling in
Robinson v. Lepage. Nine days before the trial, deputy judge Lyon Gilbert received an undisclosed amount as a donation from Phoenix Paralegal & Advocacy Services for his cycling fundraiser in support of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
On Gilbert’s web site, paralegal Tami Cogan, who represented the respondent, had left a comment after making a donation: “A great effort for a great cause. Enjoy the ride Mr. Gilbert!”
The situation created a reasonable apprehension of bias, according to Justice Patrick Smith in his May 13 ruling in which he set aside Gilbert’s decision and ordered a new trial.
