Bridging the gap between law and business

Last week, Osgoode Hall Law School student Martin Hui presented a project he worked on with law students from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and Peking University School of Transnational Law in China, reported Canadian Lawyer April 21. Hui, a third-year in Osgoode’s combined JD/MBA with the Schulich School of Business, collaborated virtually with his team to create a business proposal for a website that would be a platform for law firms and personal injury victims to appeal to outside sources, including the general public, for litigation funding. Read full story.

Patagonia dreaming: Kris Tompkins works to build the best national park
Over the past two decades, American clothing executives Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and Douglas Tompkins have accomplished more than many nations at establishing a network of new parks, expanding existing ones and linking them into wildlife “corridors”. . . . “What they’ve built there is quite beautiful,” said Carlota McAllister in Bloomberg Businessweek April 17, “and their long-term vision great, but they could have been more sensitive to the cultural traditions. They’ve been so clumsy with community relations, they’ve hurt their own cause.” McAllister, an anthropologist and director of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at Toronto’s York University, has been conducting extensive fieldwork in the region for more than a decade. Read full story.

Brand doctor: Is the Tangerine rebranding working?
“With its distinctive colour and highly competitive product and marketing communications stance, ING Direct carved out considerable success in Canada: over 1.7 million clients, over US$38 billion in assets and more than 900 employees,” said Alan Middleton, marketing professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, in Marketing magazine April 21. “Small compared to the ‘big five’ banks, but not bad for a teenager! Can it keep growing, especially when the big banks are becoming nimbler?” Read full story.

Whitby man lends a hand to Afghan youth in need
Soroush Fakhri knows first hand the challenges many young immigrants face. The 23-year-old Whitby resident arrived in Canada from Afghanistan with his family in 1997 at the age of six. While grateful to escape the unstable conditions of their home country, Mr. Fakhri says there were other obstacles they had to overcome, reported Whitby this Week April 10. Mr. Fakhri is relying on his personal experience to reach out to others in similar situations with the help of a grant he recently received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Mr. Fakhri is currently studying social work at York University. He plans to use the money to launch various support programs for Afghan youth living in Durham Region. Read full story.

Kathleen Wynne should take heart from Quebec election
“The unexpected outcome of Quebec’s election – a majority for the Liberals – is good news for Canada as talk of sovereignty is shelved for the foreseeable future,” wrote York University political science Professor Thomas Klassen in the Toronto Star April 21. “However, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne can take special satisfaction from the results of the vote.” Read full story.

Survey showed need for first Healthy Living Show
To celebrate the arrival of spring, a Healthy Living Show is being held on Saturday, May 3 at Innisfil Town Hall from 9am to 2pm, hosted by the Innisfil Community Health Committee, reported the Innisfil Journal April 21. . . . The show grew from a survey done last year by a group of nursing students from York University who conducted an extensive survey asking residents and agencies about Innisfil’s health care needs. Read full story.