Surviving Law School

I did not survive law school, never tried it. I tease my children that I will go back to University with them. They pretend to be suitably horrified. I do know that it would be a significantly different experience today from 1987 when I went with my brand new Canon typewriter with correction tape.

If you are in law school today, you have access to help from a really wide network. Not only your small section for your constitutional class, or the people you meet at FABS. Consider this site http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-Your-First-Year-of-Law-School-(USA). A Wiki, with global contributors, a world wide audience, and a very specific goal...sharing tips on being a first year law student.

Law students also have access to things that I wish I had in university. Websites of all of the reading material for a class, the ability to e-mail a prof or TA, University Librarians with Internet access to more than UseNet and listservs, full text of journal articles easily retrievable, citation creation tools. I try hard not to be jealous, but confess, I am not nostalgic for the good old days.

ICE Campaign

A good plan came through our company e-mail bulletin today:

ICE - 'In Case of Emergency'

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call.

Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence

'ICE' – In Case of Emergency Campaign.

The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell (mobile) phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose.

In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE’. For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our Mobile phones today!

It won't take too many 'forwards' before everybody will know about this. It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest.

ICE will speak for you when you are not able to.

Alberta Bills awaiting Royal Assent

Did you know that you can look in the Order Paper on the Legislative Assembly of Alberta website to see the list of bills that have passed but are not assented to? You can also see what is scheduled to be discussed in the session for the day. Just because it is on the schedule does not mean that the legislators will attend to the matter, however it is a great way to see what is coming up.

Here is the list of Alberta bills that have passed third reading but are not assented to yet as of 7:30 a.m. November 4, 2008 MST:

Bills Awaiting Royal Assent

• Bill 7 Post-secondary Learning Amendment Act, 2008 — Mr. Bhullar
  
• Bill 8 Climate Change and Emissions Management Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Mr. Renner
  
• Bill 9 Land Agents Licensing Amendment Act, 2008 — Mr. Mitzel
  
• Bill 11 Insurance Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Ms Evans
  
• Bill 14 Court of Queen’s Bench Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Ms Redford
  
• Bill 15 Family Law Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Ms Redford
  
• Bill 16 Municipal Government Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Mr. Danyluk
  
• Bill 19 First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Mr. Blackett
  
• Bill 20 Agriculture Statutes Repeal Act, 2008 — Mr. Griffiths
  
• Bill 21 Heating Oil and Propane Rebate Act — Mr. Griffiths
  
• Bill 25 Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Ms Redford
  
• Bill 28 Jury Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Ms Redford
  
• Bill 30 Alberta Evidence Amendment Act, 2008 — Mr. Bhullar [Alberta's new apology legislation]
  
• Bill 31 Financial Administration Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Mr. Snelgrove
  
• Bill 34 Employment Pension Plans Amendment Act, 2008 — Dr. Brown
  
• Bill 35 Government Organization Amendment Act, 2008 — Hon. Mr. Hayden
  
• Bill 36 Land Titles Amendment Act, 2008 — Dr. Brown
  
• Bill 37 Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day Act — Hon. Mr. Zwozdesky
  
• Bill 38 Securities Amendment Act, 2008 — Mr. Fawcett

Other great things on the site include a fully searchable Hansard back to 1988, status of bills and a handy activity report, and contact information for the very knowledgable Legislature Library.