Aus Stephan Handschug, Einführung in das kanadische Recht:

bq. In Kanada … hat diese Unterscheidung [zwischen Barrister und Solicitor] nur noch historische Bedeutung. Zwar findet sich die Differenzierung nach wie vor auf den Briefköpfen der meisten Anwaltskanzleien wieder. Dies hat allerdings vor allem traditionellen Gründe, da jedes Mitglied einer Rechtsanwaltskammer der jeweiligen Provinz sowohl die Tätigkeit eines Barristers als auch diejenige eines Solicitors ohne Einschränkungen wahrnehmen darf.

Recently, on a mailing list, a translator who rarely does legal texts asked the meaning of ‘have your signature witnessed by a lawyer or attorney or member of the town council’ (that wasn’t an exact quote). She knew there are two kinds of lawyers in England and Wales and wondered if these were them.

I don’t think I will now define all these terms: lawyer, attorney, barrister, solicitor, advocate, jurist, paralegal, legal executive and what have you.

Suffice it to say that the English division between barristers and solicitors (‘the divided legal profession’) was followed by some former colonies. Some didn’t follow it, some dropped it.

In Canada, there is now no distinction, but all lawyers can call themselves ‘barrister and solicitor’ – I’ve even seen ‘barrister, solicitor and attorney’. This is really confusing. So now I’ve found a picture of one and would like to link it as a reminder. It comes from the weblog of a Canadian lawyer the daily snivel (admirable cat content in the latest entry). Here it is, entitled Barrister and Solicitor.

bq. I’m pictured above in my legal robes, which are required court attire in the Superior Court and every appeal court, and you can’t be Called to the Bar without them. While some people simply borrow or rent theirs, I know I’ll be needing them sooner or later, and I wouldn’t feel like a proper lawyer if I didn’t have them ready for an unexpected trip to the Supreme Court (as happened to one of my mentors within a week of his first being Called). They cost me $500, all told, but I think they’re worth every penny scrimped and borrowed to afford them.

While YouTube is still online, here is a link to a video of the No Sanity Clause exchange between Groucho and Chico Marx in A Night at the Opera at the ContractsProf blog.
I quoted some of the text in an earlier entry.

(Via Law & Justice – and congratulations on the blog’s first anniversary)

The Domesday Book is now online, but at the moment unreachable, not surprisingly. A bit can be glimpsed in Google caches.
Wikipedia on the Domesday Book.
It can also be accessed here, but the actual excerpts can’t be downloaded free of charge.

Something went wrong here at the last minute. The audio CD notice was sneaked in without translation. Things often go wrong just before publication.
(Click to enlarge)

AnimalsAsia Foundation (English, Deutsch, other languages too) has reacted to the brutal killing of over 50,000 pet dogs in Yunnan Province by meeting with the authorities and presenting suggestions of humane ways to approach rabies.

On their website is a sample letter / email (scroll down) – they want as many people as possible to write and complain to the authorities in China.

Protestbrief an die Behörden in China auf Deutsch (unter der Rubrik Töten von Haushunden).

I don’t know if this will help, but it seems the only way that might.

From an email from AAF:

bq. As you may have read from international news reports, government authorities in Chuxiong in Yunnan province, embarked on a 5-day dog killing campaign between July 25th and July 30th following the deaths of 3 local people from rabies. Over 50,000 dogs, including pet dogs, were brutally beaten to death, hung or electrocuted. Initially the government offered dog owners 5rmb (62 US cents) to kill their own dogs, but when this measure failed a special task force was set up to raid suspected homes and kill all dogs found. (Only military and police dogs were spared by the slaughter squads.)

bq. We are requesting urgent meetings with the authorities in Chuxiong to discuss far-reaching, practical and above all – humane – solutions and would like to request your help by voicing your protest to the Chuxiong authorities. Please go to:
http://www.animalsasia.org/dogcull.php

I know this weblog hasn’t got enough cat content, but the comments to the workplace bullying article indicate that at least one reader thinks money should go to animals instead of office bullying victims.