& — Sunday, August 31, 1997 — North Shore News north shore news VIEWPOINT Business beefs USINESSES, as horrible as it may seem to some, are the backbone of any community. Basically, business owners are the ‘ people willing to put their money to “work, willing to hire others and will- ing to take risks, : .To as great an extent as possible, “they should be encouraged, not dis- couraged.. And that’s why a recent ‘report from the Canadian Federation - , -Of Independent Business is so disap- . . pointing. The report shows North Vancouver District and City at the “bottom of the municipal pack in ‘Western Canada when it comes to dealing wich. business. :, Although the survey is undoubted- ‘ly.too harsh on the city and district, ; ire problems. : _ ae You just have to look to city coun- reje “of a pub application E-North Shore News Free Speech Defence ‘Fund has moved beyond the halfway point. — '¥@ To ‘press time Thursday, donations from over 1,745 News readers and: free speech supporters to the fund D0 ) gal. fees expended thus’ far by the sNews have’ already exceeded $200,000. The final bill will er. All funds received will help defray the $120,744: Legal be mich: hi “Vancouver in the survey. Monday to see that there’s room for improvement. Even though more than 54% of the neighbors supported the pub applica- tion, it was nixed because a recent law says 60% must support it. Coun. Darrell Mussatto acknowl- edged Canada’s liquor laws are behind the. times, but the disjointed logic that says 46% of citizens are more important than 54% carries the day. Such thinking must change. The federation’s report should be looked upon by the city and district as a wake-up call. District Mayor Don Bell’s willingness to try to. identify the problems is laudable because local businesses say the concerns are real. Otherwise, other Lower Mainland municipalities would: not have scored three to four times better than North | PICKERING NUCLEAR PLANT “EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH"! peat i Legal beagles tell it li AS if life isn’t tough enough for struggling ambulance-chasers, lawyers are now being urged to niques in order to survive in the litiga- ’ tion jungie. This is a bit of a study Wal-Mart marketing tech- ining the whole topic of law firm mar- . keting or “rainmaking”—the legal code word for hustling to sell the firm’s ser- vices to new clients and to sell more of © its services or ongoing contracts to exist- ; ing clients. By carly 1993, once unheard-of lawyers’ ads were already dotting the "newspapers and turn-.,, - legal: costs faced. by the News in its battle with the Human Rights Tribunal over a complaint laid against: the newspaper and its columnist Doug Collins by the Canadian Jewish Congress. The hearing into the matter, which began on May 12, concluded on June 27 with final ments at the Century Plaza Hotel, 1015 Burrard St. The deci- sion, from Nitya lyer, the tribunal of onc hearing, the‘complaint,:is expected some time later this -. “There are many demands on our funds, not the least of which is the payment of obscene saxes to “finance the obscene conduct of our Maoist politi- . hans and bureaucrats, Forcing us to use whatever we have left to defend ourselves against these mindless, myopic, pathologically ignorant, casually i amoral people is the ulrimate obscenity and sup- 1d working definition of institutionalized insani- — Ernest Mainwood, Abbotsford : ‘goo Donations to the fiind can be sent to: 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M.:2H4. Cheques should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence — trenshaw@direct.ca ‘Mert Saare Hews, Souncied in: 1969 as art independert suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 1113, Paragraph 111 ct the Excise Tax Act, is pubkshed each Wednescay, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ud. and dictnbuted to every door on the North ‘Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publicabons Mail Sales Product Agreement No, 0087238. Fuman Resouves Maraget 965-2131 (17) 900-8511 (318) 985-2131 (101) Mading rates avaSable on request, Creative Services Manager 985-2131 (127) shock to us old cnough to remember the local lawyer as an aloof pro- fessional—a pillar of the community right up there with doc, and the parson—who did your ' mortgage and will - Alas, no more. The naked truth was given last week to the annual conference of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) by pollster Angus Reid. Continuing growth in the number of lawyers means too many of them chasing too little business. Competition is intensifying, with more and more potential clients shopping around to find the best legal bargain—just as they do. with retailers. Reid had two other messages for his. audience, both of them depressing. If they aim to swim with the sharks, lawyers must shed their “19th century mindset” and become computer-literatc. Worse still, they rank low in public esteem— just above politicians and far below dec- tors, teachers and clergy, according to American surveys. They badly need to pep up their poor public image. Actually, however, there’s little new ‘in Reid’s warnings. More than four years ago the CBA magazine itself was cxam- Send fed Sales 8 Mating Dior ; ay Photography Manager 985-2131 (160) PETER SPECK Publisher the Anierica drome just to. il Now, however, the wont correction powers of our, a ing up regularly on TV and radio. oo In short, new business , development, long the key to survival for all industrial and commer- cial enterprises, had arrived with a jolt after the boom years of © clients fining up at.lawyers’ doors. But in today’s litigation-crazed North American society there’s really no mys- tery about lawyers suddenly being redu hither and yon versity, do him or her a kindness::Se your child on the rival attractions of: MBA course—paid for with _at Wal-Mart! ced to fighting for market share like fast food outlets in a shopping mall. A comparison of two economic. giants—the © be! US and Japan—with vei gation culsures tells it all. 2 0. The US has roughly one lawyer for. every 360 people, with Canada rapidly catching up. Japan has‘one lawyer for °- about every 9,600. (Interestingly, the per capita US-Japan ratios for engineers are approximately the reverse.) Back in the early 1990s then U.S. _ vice-president Dan Quayle, who’s a Sot. brighter than his tormencors will ever fet you know, drew the inescapable conclu- sion. He accused American lawyers—70% of the world’s supply—of seriously dam- aging the national economy with 18 mil- lion Tawsuits a year. All that energy and different liti- - troubles: come ‘from’ sa soon and “no” too late. 8: — The North Shore News beliens LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, ful address & telephone number. VIA Internet: trenshaw @ direct.ca COMPUTER BBS - 980-8027 User 0; smalibox - Password:letters os Class Manager 906-8222 (202) 985-2131 (212) 3 Bal grove Promotions & Acting Display Manager Genesa! Office Manager. 05-2131 (114) | 905-2751 (105) Andeaw (ered ~ Spaite/Commusaity Editet sreppe abe ac, eee 61.582 (erage cicutation, Wednenta, Feday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Lid. Alt rights reserved. Internet https/orerw.esatirs.com 905-2131 (147): 2. The North Saore News is published by Hosth Shore Free Press Ltd., Publisher Peter Speck, from 1139 Lonsdaie Avenue Worth Vancouver, B.C., v7" au. S