Scholarly approach

In his article about the demise of Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie (“Case Study,” March), Jonathan Kay indulged an urge to mock academic institutions when he wondered whether the firm’s lax approach to personnel decisions could be found anywhere else “except, perhaps, academia.”

To the contrary, personnel decisions at academic institutions are regimented. Given the importance of their reputations and their abilities to attract students, universities fear nothing more than scandal and litigation. As with any organization, there are occasional outliers, but I would challenge Kay to identify any other institutions that conduct their business so transparently.

Dale Askey

Montreal, QC