The printed word plays an important part in the practice of law. So
it’s not surprising there is a close relationship between lawyers and
books.
According to a Globe and Mail report, a Toronto law firm advertised on
its website “the number of lawyers at Goodmans who have written a best
seller: two. Number of lawyers who think they could be the next John
Grisham: 175.”
But if you can’t write the book, maybe you can just keep books from the
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law library. Late last year, the Law Society of Saskatchewan library,
which operates on an honour system, called for lawyers to return
library books they had taken out. An unnamed Prince Albert lawyer was
quoted in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix as saying “I have about a dozen
books that I use regularly without checking them out.” He said he would
take advantage of the amnesty offered by the law society “because I
have to replace last year’s books and get the new ones.”
Courts are also important to lawyers. A variety of interesting things
came to court last year.
A Toronto woman sued her former lover, a bachelor, for deceit. His
offence? At the same time as he was seeing her, he was also seeing
another woman whom he eventually married. While the man’s conduct was
“reprehensible and disgraceful,” the judge rejected the claim, saying
the law has never punished “the untruths, half-truths and other
inducements which accompany seduction.”
In a Saskatoon courtroom, a former official with the Saskatchewan
Indian Gaming Authority, or SIGA, faced charges of defrauding his
employer. At sentencing his lawyer argued SIGA hadn’t suffered as much
as it would appear. Money the accused defrauded was spent at SIGA’s
gambling tables.
Police are also involved in bringing matters to court and sometimes use
interesting tactics. Burnaby, B.C., RCMP acted as squeegee window
washers, washing people’s windows at stoplights. Their goal – to catch
seat belt violations.
Meanwhile in Calgary, the police association set up a beer tent during
the Stampede. A Canadian Press report indicated “some women were
stumbling over hay bales” at the tent and another visitor said he
couldn’t count that high when asked how many beer he drank. Were
uniformed members of the association waiting outside to pick up the
drunks and haul them to court? The report didn’t say.
Don Purich is a former practising lawyer who is now involved in
publishing, teaching and writing about legal issues. His columns are
intended as general advice only. Individuals are encouraged to seek
other opinions and/or personal counsel when dealing with legal matters.
