The Supreme Court clarified the test for civil contempt of court in Carey v. Laiken, 2015 SCC 17, and restored a finding that a lawyer who complied with a client’s instruction to return trust funds subject to a Mareva injunction was in contempt. The lawyer argued that the funds were beneficially owned by the client and thus had not been “transferred” within the meaning of the order, that the fact that they were in a trust account attracted solicitor client privilege, and that he was professionally obliged to follow the client’s instructions to return them. The court disagreed, finding that the lawyer’s “assumed duty to guard solicitor-client privilege did not conflict with his duty to comply with the order. To fulfill both, he needed only to leave the funds in his trust account once they had been deposited there. In doing so, he would have respected any obligations arising from solicitor-client privilege to maintain the confidentiality of the funds and he would have abided by the terms of the Mareva order not to transfer funds held in trust….” (para. 56)

The Manitoba government introduced Bill 19, The Legal Profession Amendment Act, on May 7, 2015. As noted in the government news release, the bill proposes “amendments that would give the Law Society of Manitoba greater regulatory oversight of the legal profession.” This includes new powers to regulate law firms (not just individual lawyers) and to hold them accountable to the public consumers of legal services; the ability to disclose the identity of lawyers charged with professional misconduct; and an increase in public oversight with the addition of two non-lawyers to the governing body.

If data security is not already a top concern in your firm, the recent passage of Bill C-51 in the House of Commons provides another reason why it should be. The bill has implications for law firms and their clients according to the author of this Legal Feeds’ blogpost, who argues that provisions of the proposed Anti-terrorism Act, 2015 should “light a fire under law firms that have not already migrated their electronic communications to encrypted channels.” The House of Commons passed Bill C-51 on May 6, 2015, and it is currently before the senate.

Law practice technology experts have weighed in on the best takeaways from the annual ABA Techshow. Not surprisingly, cybersecurity, privacy, and confidentiality concerns were at the forefront and many of the tips relate to these areas. On the lighter side, the always popular 60 Sites in 60 Minutes summary contains links to mostly non-legal websites on a broad range of topics.

Lawyers are no strangers to procrastination, despite its sometimes devastating effects. In fact, procrastination and lawyering often go hand in hand according to the author of the article When Procrastination Rears Its Ugly Head, who points out that procrastination is often a coping strategy when work becomes intolerable. The author suggests several ways to tackle the procrastination problem, including tips for boosting self-confidence and for using schedules and workspaces more effectively.

The most recent Small and Solo edition of the CBA’s PracticeLink addresses several issues of concern to solo and small firm practitioners. It features articles on office options, trust accounts, succession planning checklists, reputation management on twitter, and ransomware. The latter topic has generated a lot of discussion in the last few months, including the Canadian Lawyer post, Think before you click, and this podcast from the Law Society of Upper Canada website. Succession planning is also an “issue” for the legal industry, as noted in the Slaw post Law Firm Succession Planning – Is the Client Too Often the Forgotten Variable? The author of this post stresses the importance of consulting clients in the succession planning process.

Recent social media disasters such as the forced suspension of a rookie Alberta MLA highlight why maintaining a professional online presence is so important. And even if you’re too old to be concerned about youthful indiscretions online, you almost certainly have some sort of online presence which might need tweaking. As the Attorney at Work article Assess Your Online Image notes, potential clients will check you out through an online lens. Follow the steps outlined in the article to see and update your online image. The article doesn’t address negative reviews, a growing concern in online reputation management. Use Google Alerts and en.mention.com to monitor what’s being said about you online and consider posting a measured response to unfair criticism.

The July & August CPD Replay schedules are now posted online. If you missed attending one of these popular programs the first time around, these replays are a cost effective way to catch up on your CPD hours during the slower paced summer months. Find a program and date that works for you, with a wide variety of programming topics offered on 9 separate dates. Don't see a time that fits your schedule? These DVDs are available for purchase and can be viewed at your own convenience.