Marlisse Silver Sweeney

Freelance Journalist

Canada

Marlisse Silver Sweeney is a freelance journalist, writing instructor and retired lawyer. Her work has appeared in print and online publications across North America, including The Atlantic, The Globe and Mail, Salon, Ars Technica, The American Lawyer, The Vancouver Sun, The Columbia Journalism Review and many others. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing and JD from The University of British Columbia and a MS in Journalism from Columbia University. When not writing or teaching, you can find her eating, shopping and allegedly walking through her Kitsilano neighbourhood.

Twitter Icon LinkedIn Icon Email Icon
Portfolio

Legal Writing

Law.com International
06/04/2020
Pay Gaps for Minority and Women In-House Attorneys in Canada Are Unchanged After 2 Years |...

Featured Product A weekly, curated selection of our international content from around the globe, across the business of law, in-house, regulatory, technology and more, with expert insights from our senior editors. Learn More Recommended Stories Varsha Patel | A partner at Cuatrecasas for 23 years, Cani Fernández could be in line to assume a six-year presidency.

The Atlantic
11/12/2014
What the Law Can (and Can't) Do About Online Harassment

Over a third of women report being stalked or threatened on the Internet. Here's what the justice system actually says about their options. It was late summer when we met, on a patio jutting out onto the Pacific. The night was still warm as I sipped my Gewürztraminer and asked him about his exciting career.

Law.com International
05/15/2020
Canadian Lawyers in US Worry Amid Closed Borders, Travel Bans and Tougher Immigration Rules |...

Featured Product A weekly, curated selection of our international content from around the globe, across the business of law, in-house, regulatory, technology and more, with expert insights from our senior editors. Learn More Recommended Stories Eva von Schaper | Hengeler advised Lufthansa, Freshfields advised the banking consortium, and Hogan Lovells advised the German Finance Agency on the largest state-backed loan to date.

Law.com International
05/06/2020
Canadian Law Firms Make Adjustments in the Age of the Coronavirus | Law.com International

For Canada's large law firms, quickly coordinating the work-from-home arrangements of hundreds of legal professionals and support staff across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was easy compared to the task law firm leaders have had to tackle since: figuring out how to preserve cash flow, implement long-term cost-cutting measures and decide when and how to transition back to the office.

The American Lawyer
12/20/2019
Discrimination and Power Imbalances Plague Canada's Lawyer Training Process | The American Lawyer

Featured Product A weekly, curated selection of our international content from around the globe, across the business of law, in-house, regulatory, technology and more, with expert insights from our senior editors. Learn More Recommended Stories Patrick Smith | While implementing familiar cost-cutting measures, Katten Muchin Rosenman is also joining a smaller group of firms working to augment governmental assistance for affected workers.

The Daily Beast
07/31/2013
The Female Lawyer Exodus

Even though they earned half of all law degrees in 2012, women are still leaving the legal profession in droves later on in life. Former lawyer Marlisse Silver Sweeney investigates the lack of work-life balance in the industry.

Ars Technica
05/12/2015
"I'll never ask for another pain pill again": ℞ database damage in Utah

For the most part, attorney Tyler Ayres practices criminal law in Draper, Utah. If you Google him, the first result reads "Utah DUI Attorney." But recently, Ayres has grown into a de facto voice against the third-party doctrine and Utah's drug database, a combination allowing authorities to access citizens' prescription drug histories nearly carte blanche.

Ars Technica
05/12/2015
The big drug database in the sky: One firefighter's year-long legal nightmare

In May 2013, when an investigator called local firefighter paramedic Ryan Pyle down to police headquarters in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, Pyle guessed it had something to do with the morphine. Fire crews had recently discovered that drug vials had been tampered with at several different stations, the morphine removed and replaced with some other liquid.

Columbia Journalism Review
How women journalists can protect themselves online

In investigative journalist and sex columnist Violet Blue's new book, The Smart Girl's Guide to Privacy, released this month, she writes that the term "online while female" needs to be added to the lexicon of phrases connoting prejudice and harassment, such as "driving while black" and "flying while Muslim."

Columbia Journalism Review
Enforcing digital privacy might be tough

Freedom from surveillance is shaping up to be a major human rights issue in the post-Snowden era. The UN human rights committee is calling for a review of how member states collect residents' data, and a Pew study last month found that most Americans are concerned with government and corporate data collection.

The American Lawyer
09/14/2015
Drew Days III Profile

The first African-American to head the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Days, now 74, served as solicitor general under President Bill Clinton.

The American Lawyer
09/01/2013
Abe Krash Lifetime Achievement

Krash downplays his role in the Gideon appeal, but according to journalist Anthony Lewis's account of the case in Gideon's Trumpet, Krash's office diary shows that he spent six hours every workday on Gideon's case from the receipt of the record to the filing of the brief.

Opinion

Vancouver Sun
Opinion: A non-medical view of medically assisted dying

The pleas from her are especially vocal after visits to my 87-year-old grandmother who's been suffering from vascular dementia for the past decade. At first, the disease wasn't so terrible. Her body was strong and so was her personality. "When are you going to find a boyfriend, Marlisse?" she'd ask at dinner.

Mic
02/13/2014
What 'House Of Cards' Gets About Modern Love

Break out your bottles of Bourbon and Seamless in a side of ribs, it's officially House of Cards season. Though House of Cards many not be an obvious choice for Valentine's Day viewing, February 14 is the day that the Netflix powers-that-be have...

Mic
03/19/2014
7 Things TV Gets Really Wrong About Being an Attorney

Here's a deductive reasoning question for all past and present LSAT takers: Legal shows are to law, as: A) Grey's Anatomy is to medicine B) The Newsroom is to journalism C) Girls is to spoiled 20-something hipsters living in Brooklyn D) ...

Mic
02/01/2014
Understanding the Super Bowl's Bizarre Bruno Mars Decision

For those of us who hear "pig skin" and think it's just the newest material in Rebecca Minkoff's line of M.A.C. bags, the Super Bowl halftime show is the only redeeming quality of the Titanic-length spectacle. (Besides, of course, the consumption of...

Features

UBC Law Alumni Magazine
01/01/20
The Sparrow Test

R v. Sparrow was the first Supreme Court of Canada case to test section 35 of the newly minted Constitution Act.

Salon
07/29/2013
"I write street lit because that's the life I lived"

Besides, half the women in the prison system were trifling, street-level thugettes, and some things she just couldn't flow with... She spent most of her days working out or working on her writing. For years, Nick had indulged in reading urban fiction novels until one day she came across a novel that should have put the author to shame with the way it was written.

UBC Law Alumni Magazine
01/01/2016
Henry Vlug: Defending the Deaf

Henry Vlug is Canada's first Deaf person to graduate from law school and practice law in Canada. His impressive career includes a long list of successful wins in fighting for the rights of the Deaf community.

American Lawyer Magazine
11/01/14
A Capital Idea

A report from the Canadian Bar Association endorses nonlawyer ownership of law firms. How will Canada’s lawyers react?

Lifestyle

telegram.com
Mini going mainstream in food

It's a meal that could send even the most seasoned eater into a food coma: A creamy chocolate milkshake, served with a juicy sirloin burger and side of rich truffle fries, followed by a round of gooey mac 'n' cheese with a thick cut of meatloaf and finished by a slice of caramelized pecan pie.

Cottage Life
12/13/2018
How to prepare your cottage for short-term rentals | Cottage Life

Short-term rental insurance? Check. A welcome gift? Check. A clear way to communicate rules to guests that are in their best interest? Hmm... "Our hot tub cover has several bite marks in it," says Danny Effron, the owner of Whitewater Chalet near Nelson, B.C. "There are grizzly bears everywhere...guests cannot leave trash around."

HuffPost Canada
02/17/2016
Meet Barbara Philip, Canada's Only Female Master Of Wine

When you read Barbara Philip's biography, it sounds like she has the best job in the world. She's a category manager for B.C. Liquor Stores, where she's responsible for buying European wines and she also runs a wine consulting business with her husband, Iain Philip.

Cottage Life
02/22/2019
3 important tips for beginner mushroom foragers | Cottage Life

With the farm-to-table movement in full swing (and not slated to go away any time soon) and the possibility of bumper crops of morels in wildfire ravished B.C. backcountry , it seems like a good time to take-up mushroom picking. But where do you even start?

The Daily Meal
04/04/2013
Drinking Politically: The Republicans' and Democrats' Choice of Beer

They may not be able to agree on how to cut spending, but 23 percent of both Democrats and Republicans join on one important issue: beer is their preferred alcoholic beverage. A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling between Feb. 21 and 24 of this year surveyed 500 registered voters about their food and alcohol preferences.

Cottage Life
12/20/2018
How a candlemaker captures the smell of different parts of Canada | Cottage Life

Nick Rabuchin was unemployed - taking time off as an event planner and floral designer, when his partner, Farouk Babul brought home an expensive candle to their apartment. "How can you be buying this? I don't have a job!" He admonished Babul. But the moment they lit the candle, they stopped fighting.

The Daily Meal
06/04/2013
The Rise of the Wiener

With barbecue and baseball season in full swing, you don't need to be Bobby Flay or Babe Ruth to enjoy a hot dog. Indeed, it seems that so many Americans are taking to the tube steak that the U.S.

International News

Global News
Pennsylvania shooter allegedly suffering from PTSD; what is it?

Bradley William Stone, 35, is suspected of killing six people and wounding one today in Pennsylvania. According to District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, all the victims have a "familial relationship" to the gunman, who reports say is a veteran.

Global News
Why is the Afghan Taliban condemning the Pakistan Taliban attack?

Militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) have taken responsibility for the horrific attack at a school is Peshawar, Pakistan, where 141 people were killed, most of them children. CNN's national security analyst Peter Bergen called the act " Pakistan's 9/11" and the Taliban in Afghanistan has come out on social media condemning the attack as un-Islamic.

Local News

Mansionglobal
03/08/2016
Why Is Vancouver's Property Market So Hot Right Now?

When it comes to prime house price growth, Hong Kong and London are out, Vancouver is in. According to Knight Frank's annual Wealth Report, the West Coast Canadian city saw a 25% jump in house prices last year-the greatest of any world city. "It's like the wild west," said realtor Christopher Boyd of The Rennie Group.

Global News
Why American laws are hurting Canadians' online reputations

Vancouver woman Anisa Salmi has joined the likes of former New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner and Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean. Nude photos of Salmi were posted on the gossip website, TheDirty.com. She had originally sent them to a boyfriend, who Salmi said posted them on the web once they broke up.

Global News
A closer look at Imperial Metals Corporation and the Mount Polley Mine

VANCOUVER - Imperial Metals Corporation has been a part of the BC economy for 55 years, since it was incorporated in 1959. It's now the central figure in what locals are calling an environmental disaster at its Polley Mine site after a tailings pond breach. Here's a closer look at the company.

Global News
What is proposal "E80" and why is it so contentious?

Vancouver - We've heard a lot of rhetoric about clause E80 in the teachers's dispute. Today, B.C. Teachers' Union president Jim Iker said it's one of the biggest impediments to the two sides reaching a deal. Here's some more information about what it is and what it means to both parties.

Global News
Former B.C. student joins extremist group ISIS

WATCH ABOVE: We're learning more about the B.C. connections of a Canadian now fighting for ISIS in Syria. Jeremy Hunka reports. VANCOUVER - There's a B.C. connection to the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Jihadist organization that has been beheading American journalists and causing other terror in the Middle East.

Global News
Dog walker Emma Paulsen charged with six offences

VANCOUVER - Langley dog walker Emma Paulsen has been charged with six offences under the Criminal Code of Canada and the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act after allegedly leaving six dogs in the back of her truck, where they all died from apparent heatstroke. "This is a situation which is precedent setting.

Podcast

Lecturing