Category Archives: News Items

Ian Mulgrew: Mistrial declared after lawyer channels Carson to mock witness

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Written by Ian Mulgrew

Posted to the Vancouver Sun, July 3, 2012

The lawyer held up a sealed envelope and asked the ICBC accident  reconstruction expert to play a psychic and divine the math problem it  contained.

A puzzled B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Voith prohibited Thomas Harding  from going further, but in closing argument the Surrey litigator spelled it out:  “Although Johnny Carson is dead, the Amazing Carnac lives on.”

The judge said the lawyer went too far lampooning the professional engineer  as the legendary talk-show host’s “wizard buffoon” persona – a “ridiculous,  turbaned and bejewelled caricature” known as Carnac the Magnificent.

To read more, click HERE.

LSUC sends ‘unhappy message’ with Groia ruling: Cherniak

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From Legal Feeds

Written by Glenn Kauth

Posted date June 29, 2012

The Law Society of Upper Canada has sent a “very unhappy message to the bar” with its decision finding Joe Groia engaged in professional misconduct, according to his lawyer.

The comment from Earl Cherniak comes as a law society hearing panel ruled on Groia’s actions in the proceedings against former Bre-X Minerals Ltd. vice chairman John Felderhof. It found “Groia’s attacks on the prosecution were unjustified and therefore constituted conduct that fell below the standards of principles of civility, courtesy, and good faith required by the Rules of Professional Conduct.”

For the full story, click HERE.

Bre-X lawyer violated civility rules: law society

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Bre-X lawyer violated civility rules: law society

JEFF GRAY Law Reporter

The Globe and Mail

Last updated Thursday, Jun. 28 2012, 7:08 PM EDT

Prominent Bay Street securities lawyer Joe Groia’s courtroom rhetoric during the bitter Bre-X trial more than decade ago amounted to professional misconduct, a Law Society of Upper Canada disciplinary panel has ruled.

Mr. Groia was accused of violating his profession’s rules on civility with his behaviour during the trial of John Felderhof, the geologist at the centre of the Bre-X gold scandal in the 1990s. Mr. Felderhof was acquitted of securities charges.

During the trial, Mr. Groia repeatedly clashed with lawyers for the Ontario Securities Commission, accusing them of trying to railroad his client.

But two judges’ rulings later criticized his use of “sarcasm” and “invective” and even “guerrilla threatre” during the trial. And after a Law Society investigation, Mr. Groia faced a professional discipline hearing.

Mr. Groia’s penalty is to be determined at a future hearing. Under the Law Society’s rules he faces anything from a reprimand to a suspension or the revoking of his licence to practise law.

For the full story, click HERE.

National Admission Standards Project

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May 9, 2012
For Immediate Release

On May 9, 2012, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada will be inviting new lawyers and Quebec notaries to participate in a large scale survey on the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to ensure that new members of the profession are competent to practise law. The survey will test the validity of a draft competency profile, a key element of an initiative undertaken on behalf of Canada’s law societies to establish national standards for admission to the legal profession. Continue reading →

B.C. lawyer fined $1,500 for outburst at Ontario colleague

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Written by Michael McKiernan

Posted Date: January 18, 2012

A B.C. lawyer who launched a verbal attack on an Ontario counterpart for sending demand letters to the parents of alleged shoplifters has been fined $1,500 for his outburst by the Law Society of British Columbia.

Gerry Laarakker, a sole practitioner in Vernon, B.C., went on the offensive after a client came to him with a $500 demand letter from Toronto lawyer Patrick Martin, writing on behalf of the Hudson’s Bay Co.

For the full article, click HERE.

Professor Alice Woolley, University of Calgary, posted an excellent discussion of the ethical issues raised by the case to ABLawg on November 3, 2011, titled “Lawyers regulating lawyers?”

Decision Considered: Law Society of British Columbia v Laarakker Law Society of British Columbia Disciplinary Hearing Reports, September 21, 2011

Introduction

A disciplinary decision by the Law Society of British Columbia does not fall within the usual mandate of ABlawg. It is not an Alberta decision, nor even a judicial one, and has no direct precedential significance for Alberta lawyers or courts. The decision warrants comment, however, because the threat it creates to the legitimacy of lawyer self-regulation applies to all Canadian law societies. Specifically, the misdirection in regulatory energy reflected by the decision of the Law Society of British Columbia in this case is something to which all Canadian law societies have shown themselves to be susceptible.

For the full discussion, click HERE.

Businessman files complaint about judge

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From the Ottawa Citizen online: Don Powell alleges Federal Court justice had undisclosed conflict of interest, should have recused himself

By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen December 4, 2011

An Ottawa businessman who sued the federal government after his company lost a $428-million contract has filed a complaint with the Canadian Judicial Council against the Federal Court judge who dismissed the lawsuit in September.

The complaint, made in October by Don Powell, president of TPG Technology, alleges that Justice David Near had an undisclosed conflict of interest and should have recused himself from the case, adding: “The facts in this case may be unprecedented in Canadian history.”

For the full story found on the Ottawa Citizen website, click HERE.

Plagiarizing B.C. judge prompts new trial

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From the CBC news website

osted: Apr 14, 2011 5:05 PM PT Last Updated: Apr 14, 2011 5:25 PM PT

A B.C. woman who was awarded millions of dollars to help care for her brain-damaged son will have to go back to court to try to get the money because the judge in the lawsuit plagiarized most of his decision, a higher court has ruled.

For the full story, click HERE.

Selling pieces of law firms to investors

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From: The New York Times

By JOHN ELIGON

Published: October 28, 2011

Imagine an afternoon trip to a Wal-Mart: You pick up socks, a flat-screen television and a microwave meal. After checking out, you stop in the photo studio at the front of the store for a family portrait, and then shift one booth over to a lawyer, who drafts your will or real estate contract.

For the rest of the story, click HERE.

 

Regulatory Issues in a Global Context

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From The ABA Law Journal

Despite Globalization, Lawyers Find New Barriers to Practicing Abroad

Posted Nov 1, 2011 4:19 AM CST
By Anna Stolley Persky

For the full article, click HERE.

CHANGES ON THE WAY

The Ethics 20/20 Commission already has signaled its intention to recommend amendments to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct that would make it easier for lawyers from foreign countries to practice in U.S. jurisdictions, at least temporarily.

At the same time, however, the commission has indicated that, while it is considering the possibility of recommending some form of law firm operating structure that would involve nonlawyers, it does not intend to recommend that outside investment in law firms be permitted. The commission was expected to issue an initial draft recommendation on alternative business structures before the end of this year.