Latest news with #LSO
Cision Canada
22-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Murray Klippenstein announces campaign for leadership of Ontario Law Society following unprecedented scandal and cover-up
TORONTO, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Murray Klippenstein announced today his candidacy for the leadership of the Board of Governors of the Law Society of Ontario ("LSO") in elections to be held for Treasurer on June 18. The election comes amid an unprecedented scandal at the highest echelons of the institution, Canada's largest and oldest law society, which regulates more than 70,000 legal professionals and has operated independently since 1797. Klippenstein stated: "We at the Law Society and in the profession have been badly betrayed by our two top leaders. The fact that former Treasurer Horvat could unilaterally skyrocket the CEO's salary on her way out the door to a lifetime judicial appointment without the knowledge or approval of the board is very far removed from any notion of 'good governance'. How could anybody believe that that was proper? The incompetence, arrogance and hypocrisy are breathtaking. We expect and demand integrity from thousands of our members every day, and we hold them strictly accountable, but then this happens at the top without consequence or accountability." "The LSO board is from where many of our senior judges are appointed. Eight of the forty directors elected in May 2023 are now Superior Court judges. There is no regulatory body that deserves more scrutiny and accountability of its leadership than the LSO", said Klippenstein. Campaign Background In March of this year a report to the LSO by former Ontario Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor found that the LSO's two top officials, its Treasurer and its Chief Executive Officer, had secretly signed a highly lucrative new CEO contract without knowledge or approval of the board, with the new contract being kept secret from the board for many months. The new contract jumped the CEO's compensation by 60% to almost $1 million annually, as well as awarding over $200,000 in a lump sum retroactive benefit. The O'Connor Report revealed that the secret contract was signed by then Treasurer and board chair Jacqueline Horvat just a week before her Treasurer term ended, and just a few weeks before she left the LSO to become a judge of Ontario's Superior Court. Several LSO board members and senior staff had learned about the new contract, including the Chair of the Finance Committee and the LSO's CFO, but kept it hidden from the board for many months. The Treasurer who replaced Horvat in June of 2024, Peter Wardle, also knew about the contract but did not inform the board until November 2024. When the LSO board received the O'Connor Report in March of 2025, it voted to terminate the CEO's employment on the same day, but the current LSO leadership sought to suppress public disclosure of the O'Connor Report. Board member Klippenstein and eight other members of the board issued a public press release calling for the Report to be made public to the profession and the public at large. "We felt it was contrary to our profession's values to have this kept secret, and that the O'Connor Report's release was a first step towards ending the culture of cover-up and secrecy," said Klippenstein. The O'Connor Report was finally released after unprecedented media scrutiny and outrage in the profession at large. Lawyer Carole Hansell, a leading corporate governance expert, recently released a study entitled "Governance Crisis at the Law Society of Ontario: A Cautionary Tale for Boards of Directors". In effect the current governance of the Law Society has become a case study in bad governance. The "what not to do" programme. Campaign Platform In this scandal-plagued environment Klippenstein says he will stand for "Clean-up, not cover-up. Integrity, not hypocrisy. Competence, not arrogance". He is calling for: Former CEO Diana Miles to repay the LSO at least $500,000 improperly received by the ex-CEO. The LSO to formally call for the removal of former Treasurer Horvat as a judge. Release of all the O'Connor Report documentation, including the still suppressed Book of Documents appended to the Report. A forensic audit of the LSO. "Justice O'Connor made it clear that his limited mandate prevented him from fully reviewing many irregularities. Many of the issues O'Connor noted remain unexamined," said Klippenstein. A sunshine list for LSO executives. "But for the scandal the public would not know of Miles' $1.2 million compensation package and they still know nothing about other salaries inside the LSO or how they're determined. For example, the confidential executive compensation report used by the then Treasurer to justify the CEO salary increase (the Gallagher Report) equated the LSO's CEO ( head of a not-for-profit regulator with a budget of $100 million) to the CEO of a $1 billion private sector corporate enterprise. Says Klippenstein: "That comparison was obviously nonsensical. And no one knows about other senior salaries or how they are determined, because LSO leadership refuses to allow salary disclosure under a sunshine list, as is expected of almost every other public interest entity." Current Treasurer Peter Wardle, who is running for re-election, has called for "governance reform". Klippenstein says "Sadly, abstract talk of going-forward 'governance reform' is a distraction from the obvious issue in front of us, which is that certain people behaved badly, and we need to honestly expose that. Reducing elected board members to a minority as some propose would just make things worse. This is not an issue about training, record-keeping, and more clarity in policies. This is about misconduct. We need to face it head on and be consistent with our professional values. Otherwise, we are being profoundly hypocritical when we enforce these values on our membership but try to wiggle out of them at our top levels." "I have spent my whole career fighting for disadvantaged individuals and communities both inside and outside Canada and they, like the rest of us, need an honest profession and judiciary." "I hope that more than a small group of current directors can be persuaded to act during this election campaign. I am the only candidate for Treasurer who believes that past accountability is required before we can have the future respect of the public." Candidate Klippenstein has had a long career as a litigation lawyer and rights advocate, and has won numerous awards for his work.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Murray Klippenstein announces campaign for leadership of Ontario Law Society following unprecedented scandal and cover-up
TORONTO, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Murray Klippenstein announced today his candidacy for the leadership of the Board of Governors of the Law Society of Ontario ("LSO") in elections to be held for Treasurer on June 18. The election comes amid an unprecedented scandal at the highest echelons of the institution, Canada's largest and oldest law society, which regulates more than 70,000 legal professionals and has operated independently since 1797. Klippenstein stated: "We at the Law Society and in the profession have been badly betrayed by our two top leaders. The fact that former Treasurer Horvat could unilaterally skyrocket the CEO's salary on her way out the door to a lifetime judicial appointment without the knowledge or approval of the board is very far removed from any notion of 'good governance'. How could anybody believe that that was proper? The incompetence, arrogance and hypocrisy are breathtaking. We expect and demand integrity from thousands of our members every day, and we hold them strictly accountable, but then this happens at the top without consequence or accountability." "The LSO board is from where many of our senior judges are appointed. Eight of the forty directors elected in May 2023 are now Superior Court judges. There is no regulatory body that deserves more scrutiny and accountability of its leadership than the LSO", said Klippenstein. Campaign Background In March of this year a report to the LSO by former Ontario Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor found that the LSO's two top officials, its Treasurer and its Chief Executive Officer, had secretly signed a highly lucrative new CEO contract without knowledge or approval of the board, with the new contract being kept secret from the board for many months. The new contract jumped the CEO's compensation by 60% to almost $1 million annually, as well as awarding over $200,000 in a lump sum retroactive benefit. The O'Connor Report revealed that the secret contract was signed by then Treasurer and board chair Jacqueline Horvat just a week before her Treasurer term ended, and just a few weeks before she left the LSO to become a judge of Ontario's Superior Court. Several LSO board members and senior staff had learned about the new contract, including the Chair of the Finance Committee and the LSO's CFO, but kept it hidden from the board for many months. The Treasurer who replaced Horvat in June of 2024, Peter Wardle, also knew about the contract but did not inform the board until November 2024. When the LSO board received the O'Connor Report in March of 2025, it voted to terminate the CEO's employment on the same day, but the current LSO leadership sought to suppress public disclosure of the O'Connor Report. Board member Klippenstein and eight other members of the board issued a public press release calling for the Report to be made public to the profession and the public at large. "We felt it was contrary to our profession's values to have this kept secret, and that the O'Connor Report's release was a first step towards ending the culture of cover-up and secrecy," said Klippenstein. The O'Connor Report was finally released after unprecedented media scrutiny and outrage in the profession at large. Lawyer Carole Hansell, a leading corporate governance expert, recently released a study entitled "Governance Crisis at the Law Society of Ontario: A Cautionary Tale for Boards of Directors". In effect the current governance of the Law Society has become a case study in bad governance. The "what not to do" programme. Campaign Platform In this scandal-plagued environment Klippenstein says he will stand for "Clean-up, not cover-up. Integrity, not hypocrisy. Competence, not arrogance". He is calling for: Former CEO Diana Miles to repay the LSO at least $500,000 improperly received by the ex-CEO. The LSO to formally call for the removal of former Treasurer Horvat as a judge. Release of all the O'Connor Report documentation, including the still suppressed Book of Documents appended to the Report. A forensic audit of the LSO. "Justice O'Connor made it clear that his limited mandate prevented him from fully reviewing many irregularities. Many of the issues O'Connor noted remain unexamined," said Klippenstein. A sunshine list for LSO executives. "But for the scandal the public would not know of Miles' $1.2 million compensation package and they still know nothing about other salaries inside the LSO or how they're determined. For example, the confidential executive compensation report used by the then Treasurer to justify the CEO salary increase (the Gallagher Report) equated the LSO's CEO ( head of a not-for-profit regulator with a budget of $100 million) to the CEO of a $1 billion private sector corporate enterprise. Says Klippenstein: "That comparison was obviously nonsensical. And no one knows about other senior salaries or how they are determined, because LSO leadership refuses to allow salary disclosure under a sunshine list, as is expected of almost every other public interest entity." Current Treasurer Peter Wardle, who is running for re-election, has called for "governance reform". Klippenstein says "Sadly, abstract talk of going-forward 'governance reform' is a distraction from the obvious issue in front of us, which is that certain people behaved badly, and we need to honestly expose that. Reducing elected board members to a minority as some propose would just make things worse. This is not an issue about training, record-keeping, and more clarity in policies. This is about misconduct. We need to face it head on and be consistent with our professional values. Otherwise, we are being profoundly hypocritical when we enforce these values on our membership but try to wiggle out of them at our top levels." "I have spent my whole career fighting for disadvantaged individuals and communities both inside and outside Canada and they, like the rest of us, need an honest profession and judiciary." "I hope that more than a small group of current directors can be persuaded to act during this election campaign. I am the only candidate for Treasurer who believes that past accountability is required before we can have the future respect of the public." Candidate Klippenstein has had a long career as a litigation lawyer and rights advocate, and has won numerous awards for his work. SOURCE Klippensteins, Barrister & Solicitor View original content:
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MEF and Console Connect Advance Industry API Integration with Launch of Open Source LSO Adaptor Tool
New Open Source tool simplifies integration between proprietary systems and MEF-standardized LSO APIs, available now via MEF's LSO Marketplace LONDON, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MEF, a global industry association of enterprises and network, cloud, security, and technology providers accelerating enterprise digital transformation, today unveiled the release of the MEF Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) Adaptor Tool, a significant Open Source mapping tool now available as an Open Source project on GitHub and also via MEF's LSO Marketplace. Spearheaded by Console Connect, PCCW Global's on-demand platform for intelligent data movement, the LSO Adaptor Tool enables seamless communication between proprietary APIs and MEF's standardized LSO Business APIs, accelerating industry adoption of network automation. Designed to empower the broader telecom ecosystem, the MEF LSO Adaptor Tool equips service providers with proprietary APIs to interact with industry standard MEF LSO Business APIs, dramatically expanding their ability to connect and transact with LSO-conformant partners. By enabling mapping between disparate API frameworks, the tool allows service providers and technology partners to integrate efficiently without the need for a complete overhaul of existing operational APIs. 'The MEF LSO API Adaptor Tool marks an important step toward accelerating the adoption of standardized APIs for global interoperability,' said Pascal Menezes, CTO, MEF. 'By making it easier to integrate proprietary systems with MEF LSO APIs, we're reducing friction in ecosystem collaboration and enabling scalable, dynamic service automation.' Key Benefits of the MEF LSO Adaptor Tool: Simplified API Integration – Reduces development effort by abstracting the complexity of different API structures, offering a plug-and-play model. Enhanced Interoperability – Aligns existing APIs with MEF LSO API standards without disrupting current workloads, ensuring compatibility across systems. Flexibility and Scalability – Supports a wide range of API mappings and configurations to meet evolving business and network requirements. Console Connect contributed the tool as an Open Source project in support of MEF's vision for end-to-end network automation. 'API standardization is fundamental to unlocking the full potential of automated, on-demand services across the telecom ecosystem,' said Paul Gampe, CTO, Console Connect. 'As innovators in this space, we are proud to contribute the LSO Adaptor Tool a practical solution that will accelerate the industry's journey toward seamless, software-driven service delivery.' The MEF LSO Adaptor Tool is available now in GitHub and via the LSO Marketplace. For more information about MEF LSO APIs and the LSO Marketplace, visit About MEF MEF is a global consortium of enterprise and service, cloud, cybersecurity, and technology providers collaborating to accelerate enterprise digital transformation. It delivers standards-based frameworks, services, technologies, APIs, and certification programs to enable Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) across an automated ecosystem. MEF is the defining authority for certified Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) business and operational APIs and Carrier Ethernet, SASE, SD-WAN, Zero Trust, and Security Service Edge (SSE) technologies and services. MEF's Global NaaS Event (GNE) convenes industry leaders building and delivering the next generation of NaaS solutions. For more information about MEF, visit and follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube. Media Contact:Melissa PowerMEFpr@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Herald Scotland
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Review: RSNO conductor Nodoka Okisawa's Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger has single-handedly increased the catalogue of concertos for his instrument beyond measure with his orchestral commissions, and the RSNO built this concert around the Scottish premiere of one of the latest, by Helen Grime. It is neither a completely new work – the LSO first played it three years ago and there have been other performances in Europe – nor an especially virtuosic one, and the RSNO's programme was a mixed success in giving it a context. Its closest kin in the programme was Toru Takemitsu's gorgeous How Slow the Wind, but that was written for a much smaller orchestra, and first performed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 1991. The Japanese composer's distinctive response to nature, with the crucial addition of orchestral piano and celeste to the sonic palette, is also more compact and to the point. Read more by Keith Bruce: Review: A composer whose remarkable works are very much his own RSNO Hahn review: An odd programme on paper, delivered with remarkable eloquence Grime's Trumpet Concerto: night-sky-blue is inspired by gardens after sunset and most affecting in the muted passages for the soloist at its opening and closing. Percussion, harp, high-pitched winds and the orchestra's trumpet section provide the initial support, while vibraphone and glissando strings add crucial colours at the end. As conductor Nodoka Okisawa appeared to appreciate, it seems to be aspiring to be more lyrical than the orchestra actually sounds during the central parts, while the music for Hardenberger himself recalls both Baroque predecessors and brass band music. The Stokowski arrangement of Debussy's Claire de lune, which opened the second half, also featured Principal Percussionist Simon Lowdon's sparkling vibes playing, alongside the more obvious combination of Katherine Bryan's flute and Pippa Tunnell on harp. The concert had begun on familiar ground with Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture and it ended in the darker territory of Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead, which share some structural similarities but could have both benefitted from a less austere approach than that taken by Okisawa. The Tchaikovsky received a very measured, almost rigid, reading, with even the big string climax far from lush, although it was redeemed by the closing bars. Her Rachmaninov was perhaps more organic, and the Dies Irae theme that haunts the composer's works beautifully realised, but the work never really felt as ominous as it should.
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Excursions of Mr Brouček review – Simon Rattle embraces Janáček's baffling but beautiful opera
Simon Rattle's survey of Janáček's operas in concert with the London Symphony Orchestra has already taken in the three best-known of them – big, rewarding works that inspire grand thoughts about life and love – and now arrives at something a little more awkward: The Excursions of Mr Brouček. First performed in 1920 and based on satirical stories by Svatopluk Čech, the opera comprises two drunken dreams, linked only by their self-important dreamer – a man who cares for little other than beer, sausages and always being right – and by the singers playing the main roles. It's eccentric enough when staged; on the concert platform, even with surtitles to translate the sung text and an interval in which to scour Wikipedia for the details of 15th-century Czech history, it's baffling. Since the release of the Prague National Theatre's version last summer, there's no longer a clear gap in the market for the recording that will be made from the LSO's two performances. However, that recording is likely to be first-rate. Behind the brittleness of the opera's characters there's music full of fleeting moments of beauty, and these receive their full due in a genial performance from Rattle and the LSO. In the first dream, Brouček finds himself teleported from a moonlit gutter to the moon itself, colonised by the kind of artsy, vegetarian luvvies he despises. The second takes him to a besieged Prague in 1420, where he is horrified to find he is expected to fight alongside his Hussite hosts; here the music takes on a nobility that's knowingly at odds with Brouček's bluster, and the crowd scenes have reedy bagpipes lending a splash of medieval colour. Tenebrae deliver the choruses enthusiastically, although having them singing across the stage rather than straight at the audience slightly dulls their impact. In both dreams, Rattle keeps the pace up, letting the music dance as it glides seamlessly in and out of waltzes and mazurkas, and propelling it through the militaristic episodes without making them march too inflexibly. Few singers could make as convincing a job of the title role as Peter Hoare, who gives a perfectly judged portrayal, periodically swigging from a lager bottle as he goes. The three main women he encounters – one real, two dreamed – are taken by Lucy Crowe, her soprano especially gleaming in the moon episode, with its silvery sound world; the corresponding male roles are sung by the clarion Czech tenor Aleš Briscein, currently peerless in this repertoire. There's strength in the smaller roles too, especially from Gyula Orendt, sounding velvety in the long oration for the author Čech, Stephan Rügamer, gamely throwing in some yoga poses as he sings, and the diamond-bright soprano Doubravka Novotná. At the Barbican Hall, London, repeated on Tuesday
