We’re Coming Back

Thank you for your patience as we have restricted our services in light of the pandemic. This week, we started our return to the library. While the Great Library will only be accessible to library staff, we are adding back chat and phone reference. And, of course, we have full access to our collection. Our staff are available from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.

Additionally, if you would normally come in to get a document and now have to ask us to send it to you, ask anyway. For the time being, we are waiving our document delivery fees for print-sources materials and will continue to fulfill document delivery requests for electronic documents for free. Call, email, or chat and let us know what you need. We can fulfill your requests electronically.

Thanks again for your support and patience. Our staff continue to look forward to serve you remotely. We look forward to serving you in person in the future.

House of Bills: A Monthly Update on Ontario Bills

A photo of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario building – front-facing

We have created a monthly recap of the bills that moved through the Legislature in May. Details can be found below:

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Bill 141, Defibrillator Registration and Public Access Act, 2020

Third Reading, carried (May 26)

Bill 159, Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act, 2020

Second Reading, carried on division (May 26 & 27)
Ordered referred to Standing Committee on General Government (May 27)

Bill 184, Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, 2020

Second Reading, carried on division (May 26 & 27)
Ordered referred to Standing Committee on Social Policy (May 27)

Bill 190, COVID-19 Response and Reforms to Modernize Ontario Act, 2020

First Reading (May 12)
Second Reading, carried (May 12)
Third Reading, carried (May 12)
Royal Assent (May 12)

Bill 191, Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Presumption Respecting COVID-19), 2020

First Reading (May 19)

Law on the Big Screen

This being the end of COVID-19 week 10, we thought it might be a good time to update our blog post of a few years ago on great legal movies. If your pandemic entertainment has so far consisted of bingeing Netflix series or scrolling through memes, maybe it’s time to settle in and watch a good legal drama, comedy or documentary. 

Here are some “best legal movie” lists to help you remember all the classic courtroom dramas and discover a host of entertaining and thought-provoking new legal films:

The 25 Greatest Legal Movies: Expanding the Boundaries (American Bar Association, 2018) 

Top legal-themed films selected by a panel of experts (lawyers, law professors and a judge). Each selection has a brief synopsis and a bonus bit of trivia about the film. See also the ABA’s 25 More Great Movies: Honorable Mentions (2018).

All-Time List of Best Legal Films (LawyerFriend.com, 2020)

The best lawyer movies in chronological order, from 2019 back to the 1930’s. 

Law-Related Movies (Ted Tjaden, updated January 2020)

Almost 200 law-related movies organized by title, subject and genre.

Best Legal Movies of All Time (Oklahoma Legal Group, 2014)

Top 10 list accompanied by an infographic showing Academy Award data and Rotten Tomatoes rating for each film. 

Happy viewing!

*The picture used for this post, “12 Angry Men” by mdmdeals, is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0*