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Follow on Subscribe to Law Times And receive: • Unlimited access to the Law Times digital editions and to our digital edition archives...FREE • Canadian Legal Newswire, a weekly e-newsletter from the editors of Law Times and Canadian Lawyer...FREE www.twitter.com/lawtimes $4.00 • Vol. 22, No. 15 Untitled-3 1 5/5/10 3:55:30 PM Covering Ontario's Legal Scene earlug.indd 1 Lotto dispute ensnares lawyer Divorced couple turns on wife's counsel following settlement BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times dispute over a $30-million lottery jackpot long after they settled their matrimonial litigation. Alfred Mamo of McKenzie Lake Law- A yers LLP represented Nynna Ionson as she sought a share of Raymond Sobeski's win- nings. Sobeski had obtained an uncontest- ed divorce from Ionson in February 2004 without telling her about his windfall. Two months later, he turned up at Ontario Lot- tery and Gaming Corp. headquarters to collect the $30-million Super 7 jackpot on a ticket purchased in April 2003. In 2006, Sobeski sued Mamo for defa- mation related to comments he made to the media during the high-profile case. The defamation action went dormant after Mamo filed a defence in May of that year. Sobeski and Ionson eventually settled their dispute ahead of a trial scheduled for January 2009 on terms that remain con- fidential. But a short time later, Ionson moved to have Mamo's legal bills assessed. Around the same time, Sobeski revived his defamation suit. Mamo was then denied the opportunity to use files from the matrimonial dispute in his defence of the defamation action when Ionson refused to waive her solicitor-client privilege, an issue that was before the court last month. London, Ont., lawyer has found himself caught in the aftermath of a divorced couple's high-profile According to Perell's decision, Ionson's challenge of Mamo's fees and Sobeski's re- vival of his dormant defamation action came only after the former spouses had reconciled and resumed their relationship. However, Sobeski's lawyer, Brian Shiller of Ruby Shiller Chan, denies his client is back together with Ionson. "It's not accu- rate," he says, adding he's unable to com- ment on what contact there has been be- tween the pair since their settlement. According to Shiller, Sobeski deliberate- ly waited before continuing with the defa- mation action that claims damages of $1.3 million against Mamo. "It wasn't a ques- tion of reviving it," he says. "Mr. Sobeski did not want to be seen as seeking an ad- vantage in the matrimonial litigation by suing Mr. Mamo. So the lawsuit was held in abeyance until the matrimonial litiga- tion was complete." Mamo declined to comment on the case, and Ionson couldn't be reached. Sobeski and Ionson, a former strip- Alfred Mamo finds himself battling on two fronts long after Nynna Ionson and Raymond Sobeski resolved their differences. In ruling on the matter, Ontario Superior Court Justice Paul Perell rejected Mamo's at- tempt to get around Ionson's refusal when he declined to order that the deemed undertaking shouldn't apply to the matrimonial documents. per, met in 1994 at a club she worked at in Woodstock, Ont. Ionson had four children from previous relationships, and Sobeski had two of his own. They married four years later but never lived together. During the matrimonial action, Sobeski denied there was ever a genuine marital re- lationship, arguing the marriage had end- ed within days when Ionson went back on a promise to sign a marriage contract. But the relationship did continue as a "purely sexual arrangement," he said in court documents. See Perjury, page 4 Litigators dominate at 2011 Lawyer Show BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely lawyers." The Nightwood Theatre has adapted one of Shakespeare's most famous quotes for the tag line of its latest effort, the 2011 Lawyer Show. After a successful debut last Lawyer Jay Nathwani gets ready for his debut as Orlando during rehearsal last week. year, a cast of legal profession- als has returned for a sophomore production, this time tackling Shakespeare's classic comedy As You Like It. This year, it has added an extra date with four perfor- mances scheduled at Toronto's Berkeley Street Theatre from June 9-11. The show is a fundraiser for Nightwood, a national women's theatre, to help fund its training and production programs. Three times a week, Night- wood's studio on the top floor of the Cannery building in Toronto's Distillery District fills with a wide- ranging assortment of legal talent that includes sole practitioners, Bay Street lawyers, boutique liti- gators, in-house counsel, and arti- cling students. Living up to stereotypes, most of the performers are litigators who feel as at home on the stage as they do in court, according to Jay Nathwani, who plays the leading role of Orlando. "It's people who like to per- form, like to be on their feet, and like to talk in front of other peo- ple," he says. Even with three hours per night to rehearse, the pace in the studio is relentless. As soon as co-director Kelly Straughan places and poises her human statues, she moves on to ordering a run-through of the scene. Immediately after the performers recite their lines, they clear the stage as the chorus-line lawyers receive their next assignment. "You get to be statues and sheep all in the same evening," Straughan says. Rebecca Peirson, Nightwood's director of marketing, says while rehearsals started even earlier than last year, time is still precious, espe- cially because of the variable nature of lawyers' schedules. "This is pret- ty tight timing compared to our professional shows. We've moved it all forward this year because we realized the thing is kind of a beast and it's good to get started early." Back on the stage, Erin Dann, an associate at Di Luca Copeland See Actors, page 4 FEEDS LEGAL LegalFeeds_Cl_Jan_11.indd 1 Digital LT.indd 1 A daily blog of visit www.lawtimesnews.com LT Digital version.indd 1 Canadian Legal News 1/6/11 11:44:49 AM 4/29/11 11:28:42 AM 6/25/10 12:59:47 PM Contested Elections 8 Focus On Personal Injury Law Quote of the week "The NHL is a multibillion- dollar sport that could fund research but it wants to sweep this under the rug. They don't want to change the game, even though with better helmets and better refereeing and less contact, the sport can still be enjoyable." — Charles Gluckstein, Gluckstein & Associates LLP, See Sports, page 11 Jury Hunt 6 May 2, 2011 11/10/09 11:20:32 AM Inside This Issue 3 Click here to subscribe today to LAW TIMES Includes a FREE digital edition! canadianlaw yermag.com/ legalfeeds Go to: www.lawtimesnews.com Photo: Michael McKiernan

• Cover
• Jury Hunt
• Contested Elections
• Focus On Personal Injury Law