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How Jack changed my life by Samuel Hu, Law II Jack has ocean front property near Lions Bay. Although this makes the commute to Vancouver painful at times, nothing surpasses the joy of waking up to the sights, smells and sounds of the Pacific Ocean. Jack enjoys the solitude of his humble abode and relishes the fact that he doesn’t know where his closest neighbor lives. For the past five winters Jack has lived this surreal life on Crown Land. You see, Jack is what people generally refer to as a squatter. A few large boulders and a thin sheet of tin keeps Jack dry and warm in the most beautiful city in Canada. Two weeks into what I have dubbed as the most exciting time of my life and I am ready to end it. “Law school will be an amazing but rewarding challenge.” “You’ll meet lots of people with similar goals and aspirations.” “This is something that you’ve always wanted to do so here’s your chance.” Bullshit – fed to me by friends, family and myself. A fortnight into my foray at achieving a law school education and I had experienced about as much hostility, unfriendliness and unhealthy competition that I ever wanted. Sure it may be my depression talking. I have suffered from clinical depression since grade eleven and there are times where everything seems to fall apart. But this was different. (For an accurate and painful view into living life with depression, I recommend Elizabeth Wurtzel’s Prozac Nation.) I didn’t have the desire to find out if venous blood turned from blue to dark red as it was exposed to oxygen after I slit my wrist. Nor did trying to take two weeks worth of Celexa seem appealing to me. But things just weren’t ‘right.’ Besides school not being what I expected it to be – an intellectual but nurturing debate on what we need to do to change the world – I was experiencing a sense of failure on various fronts. Motivating people at work (as a project manager of an engineering company) was from CONFERENCE page 1 A controversial panel discussion involved the Christian Brothers litigation, in which victims of sexual abuse at Newfoundland’s Mount Cashel Orphanage were successful in bringing various tort claims against the Christian Brothers of Canada. The Ontario Court of Appeal agreed with the claimants that two Vancouver Schools – St. Thomas More Collegiate and Vancouver College – should be sold in order to satisfy the judgment, instigating criticism that the Court broke with traditional principles regarding the exigibility of assets held on trust for charitable purposes. BC Attorney General Geoff Plant participated in the panel in dramatic fashion, revealing the Legislature’s response to Christian Brothers in the recently passed Charitable Purposes Preservation Act. Not surprisingly, critiquing the new legislation became a favourite new hobby at the many health breaks throughout the conference. Another topical panel addressed BC’s Tobacco Legislation, which establishes a cause of action for the government to recoup proving to be difficult and fruitless. It also became painfully clear that a woman I recently met and not so secretly admired did not reciprocate those feelings. It even seemed like my cat had about as much of me as she was willing to tolerate. Saturday September 20th. After spending the day in the office with glimmers of hope but ultimately, with major failure, I decided that a trip to anywhere but here was in order. After some miraculous sense of reason entered my withered brain and convinced me that flying to Thailand was not a good option, I googled “Hostels in Squamish.” “The Squamish International Hostel – Where you can check out but never leave” “Hi, I was wondering if I could get a room for tonight?” “How many people will come coming.” “Not sure right now, hopefully there will be two or three of us” “Sounds good, I have a few private rooms available. There are three beds in each with a private bathroom. Also included at no charge is an amazing view of the Chief.” (laugh) “Perfect.” “All I need is a credit card to hold the reservation.” “No problem, Visa 4500 …” Now that step one was complete, I needed to find the other people that would occupy beds two and three. “Hey have a got a deal for you – a night in Squamish where rest and relaxation will be plentiful.” “Sorry – can’t make it tonight – maybe another time?” “How’s it going? Would you consider coming up to Squamish with me for the evening and day tomorrow?” “Tempting but don’t think it’ll work out.” “Come one come all for an all expenses paid vacation to Squamish, British Co- health care costs caused by smoking. UBC Professors Liz Edinger and Robin Elliot, who were consulted by the BC government in the case brought by cigarette manufacturers challenging the validity of the legislation, discussed the constitutional and conflicts problems that arose. Also present was Daniel Webster, QC, who acted as counsel for the province at trial and in its successful appeal at the BC Court of Appeal. The 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Transport North American Express v. New Solutions Financial was discussed in an academic heavyweight panel with Professor Stephen Waddams of the University of Toronto along with Professor Ziegel, joined by UBC’s Professor Ljiljana Biukovic and chaired by former UBC Dean, Madam Justice Lynn Smith. The case involved a loan with onerous terms that breached the criminal rate of interest set out in s. 347 of the Criminal Code. In this case, the deal struck between sophisticated business parties did not warrant finding the entire contract void ab initio. While agreeing with the decision, Professor Ziegel continues to call for the repeal of the trouble- lumbia” (posted to a Internet dating site.) No response. Well, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Finding friends has never come easy. People that spend significant time with me and still grant me honor of calling me ‘friend’ are far and few in between. Nevertheless, I threw my books in the car, a toothbrush, contact’s solution, a clean pair of underwear and was on my way. “Where’re you headed?” “Just by Lion’s Bay.” “No problem – I’m on my way up to Squamish.” And that’s how I met Jack. Picking up hitchhikers is not something I recommend for everyone but in my limited experiences, I’ve come to appreciate each hitchhiker’s story. From “Hallelujah – Jesus saves!” to “Damn I need to make it to the city to sell myself for some drug money.” “So you just get off the ferry?” – I picked up Jack around Horseshoe Bay. “No, I worked today in the city – painting. How ‘bout you?” “No, I’m just going up for the night – need to get away if you know what I mean.” “So this is a vacation for you?” “Well, it’s just for the night.” “Anytime you can get out of a city, you should call it a vacation.” Jack seems quite nice. A little rough looking – not really the Lion’s Bay type but friendly. “So you live up in Lion’s Bay?” “Sure do. I’ve got ocean front property.” (laugh) If you’re not sure why Jack laughed, you obviously didn’t read the opening paragraph. “So what do you do for work?” “I guess you could say a general labourer. Landscaping, painting, laying carpet – it pays the few bills that I have (laugh). It’s great when I get work up in Lion’s Bay. Let’s me get into a part of people’s lives.” some criminal interest rate provision. Corporate governance was a topic coined by panel chair Fred Pletcher of Borden Ladner Gervais as a concept which “has joined both apple pie and motherhood as something entirely good.” Professor Sarra discussed the governance standards revealed in her qualitative study of 23 Canadian natural resource firms, noting the shift towards board independence, financial and environmental sustainability measures; a continued lack of diversity in terms of gender and race; and the increased power and importance of institutional investors in governance of corporations in global capital markets. Robert Yalden of the Montreal Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt office discussed changes in Canadian disclosure requirements and in particular, critiqued the regulatory process by which decisions are being made. Professor Raymonde Crête of Université Laval addressed the issue of executive compensation. Professor Chris Nicholls of Dalhousie Law responded to these papers, noting first that he only spent as much time reviewing them as the out- “So are you excited about the Olympics?” “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I try to talk and listen to people around here. People up here are money people. Primarily interested in the Dow and US economy. They don’t have much time for rhetoric and empty promises that our local politicians make.” Quite an interesting response I though to myself. “So what’s a kid like you doing taking a vacation?” “I work – kind of stressful right. Also just recently went back to school.” “Oh yeah, to study what?” “Law – or at least that what they tell me I’m studying.” “You don’t sound to keen – let me tell you about Adam – the lawyer that changed my life. When I was younger I use to drink a lot. Before I knew it, I could control my drinking. Oh shit! That’s my stop – well, to make a long story short, Adam kept my ass out of jail a few times. I eventually realized that I can’t drink and although I’ll never to be able to repay, let alone find Adam, I owe him a lot.” “Interesting, I guess lawyers can do some good.” (internal laugh) “Yeah – are you planning on doing any work pro bono? By the way, my name is Jack.” “Sam, pleasure to meet you. Have a good night.” Epilogue Monday morning 9:30 am - Room 102. “As we examine Harvela v. Royal Trust, we see the distinction between fixed bid and auction sales. Furthermore, we can use the Contract A/B analysis as outlined in Ron Engineering to determine if a contract did indeed exist.” Pro bono publico – for the public good Over the next few years that we spend together, I hope that everyone in this class will get the chance to meet Jack. side directors at Disney did on Michael Ovitz’s severance package. On another aspect of governance, Professor Ron Davis examined the difficult issue of successor status on bankruptcy of the firm, with Mr. Justice Tysoe of the BC Supreme Court chairing the panel. Another panel debated whether or not Canada should have a national regulatory system, and the Law Faculty was honoured to have the Chair of the BC Securities Commission Doug Hyndman and senior counsel Charlotte Morganti weigh in on this important debate. Before addressing her main points on Ford v. OMERS, a case involving the valuation of shares in a going-private transaction, new UBC Law Professor Kim Brooks thanked the student volunteers who appeared to be working busily leading up to the conference, noting that she wasn’t sure what the volunteers got out of it, but instructed those attending from law firms to “please, give them jobs.” Indeed, the efforts of the student volunteers at this event were remarkable, and noted by almost every speaker throughout the weekend. Page 8 The Legal Eye November 2004
Dershowitz puts America on trial by Jesse Nyman, Law III Santayana’s famous line about those who forget the past being destined to repeat it is the recurring theme of Alan M. Dershowitz’s new work on non-fiction, America On Trial. From colonial America right up to 2004, Dershowitz takes the reader on chronological tour of “America’s greatest trials.” Through the lens of these selected cases Dershowitz illustrates how many of the issues that shaped US history continue to surface today. These issues include persecution of minority groups, protection of civil liberties, claims of governmental secrecy, and the need to ensure that procedural protections are adhered to for those accused of crimes. As well as being renowned as a litigator – having acted as counsel for Claus Von Bulow, O.J. Simpson and Mike Tyson – Alan Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University and is the author of numerous books, including Shouting Fire and Just Revenge. In his latest literary contribution, Dershowitz begins in colonial America with the Salem Witchcraft trials and moves through the defined periods of American history. The Dred Scott case; the trial of the Lincoln assassins; the Scopes trial; the Rosenbergs; Brown v. Board of Education; Roe v. Wade; Mike Tyson’s and O.J. Simpson’s trials; and the Texas sodomy trial are all examined in their historical context. In each period Dershowitz has selected cases that illustrate or arose out of the definitive issues of the time. In this regard, America On Trial is an interesting study in US history, particularly for those of us who only have a passing knowledge of the subject. By the time I completed the book I felt as though I had a much greater appreciation for themes and challenges that shaped America into the country it is today. The book is divided by time period and each time period commences with an overview. It is in the context of this overview that Dershowitz introduces the selected cases of the time and their location within, and effect upon, that period. Dershowitz then goes on to discuss each case separately in more depth. His discussion relates to what he perceives as the key issues in the case and their specific impact upon the time in which they were heard. In most instances he discusses the long term effects of the case or how the result, or the issues raised, relate to current realities facing the US today. Many of the case analyses contain excerpts from the trial transcript or the deci- November 2004 The Legal Eye sion; however some do not. Fortunately, even where excerpts are used, they are generally kept to a paragraph or two. This is an advantage in that it makes interpretation fairly simple by keeping the focus on the key points or aspects of each case. As a result the vast majority of case analyses are under 10 pages, usually less. Think Creatively! The disadvantage is that because the analysis is reduced to Dershowitz essentially telling the reader what the case stands for it and why it is important, it is impossible for the reader to draw their own conclusions. This is a difficulty because many of the issues and their resolution are contentious. It is precisely this reason that the majority of these cases are “the greatest trials of their time.” That said if the reader accepts that the book is really Dershowitz’s view of importance of the selected cases and lessons to be learned, the book is an enjoyable and informative read. At 568 pages the book is deceptively short. The writing is clear and fast. Several sections can be read within a few hours without missing the point. Even where Dershowitz falls into retrying cases he lost – for example the Mike Tyson appeal – he is at least compelling and thought provoking. If you are looking something lighter than the regular legal fare, this is a good book to take on vacation or keep by your night stand for evening reading. America On Trial by Alan M. Dershowitz is published by Warner Books and can be purchased in hard-cover for $45.00 plus GST. What is Esoteric Magazine? Esoteric is a magazine-style journal started by several UBC law students who saw the need for a creative publication in the legal community and at the Faculty. Why does the school need a creative publication? A great lawyer has to be able to think both creatively and flexibly, in order to serve the interests of clients and justice. Esoteric provides a place for members of the legal community, including students, professors, practitioners, judges and others to publish all forms of creative expression. What kinds of submissions will be published? We will consider poetry, short stories, drama, creative non-fiction, essays, opinions, drawings, paintings, photography, and multi-media visual pieces. Do submissions have to be related to the law? No. Not at all. We have published a few law-related pieces in the last few editions, but the content of the magazine is primarily non-law-related. Who may contribute to the magazine? We have so far published work from students of UBC Law, as well as students from Faculties from Victoria to New Brunswick, and law professors and practitioners from all over. We would love to receive work from anyone involved in the legal community in any capacity. What is the deadline for submissions? We would like to receive all creative work by November 12th, but if you need a few extra days, please e-mail us and let us know that your work is forthcoming. Please also send us your work by email. If you prefer to submit work in hard-copy, we can return your original photos to you, but not until approximately March 2005. Where can I find a copy of Esoteric? The 2004 edition is still available, and we will be pleased to hook you up with one if you email us at esotericmagazine@hotmail.com. Our website is about to be launched at http://faculty.law.ubc.ca/esoteric, and content from three editions of the magazine will eventually be available there. If you are at the UBC Faculty of Law, there will also be a few copies available in Candida’s. How can I become involved? If you would like to support Esoteric, the first thing you can do is come out to our benefit on November 3rd at the Marine Club (see advertisement at left). If you are interested in sponsoring the magazine by taking out an ad, please contact us by email. And if you would like to participate by becoming a member of the editorial board, please let us know. Contact Esoteric Magazine at esotericmagazine@hotmail.com, or by mail: Esoteric Magazine c/o UBC Faculty of Law, 1822 East Mall Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z1 Page 9
Page 1 and 2: First years, first month, free pizz
Page 3 and 4: It’s high time for some big chang
Page 5 and 6: A visit with Judge Mary Ellen Turpe
Page 7: tivities that the future may see. U
Page 11 and 12: All events are at the Curtis Law Bu

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