Law Times

May 3, 2010

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PAGE 16 WillBuilder Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com ntitled-7 1 The NEWMARKET LAWYER DISBARRED A Law Society of Upper Cana- da disciplinary hearing panel has revoked the licence of Anthony Stephen Rein and ordered him to pay $27,200 into the com- pensation fund in addition to the LSUC's costs of $13,500. The panel found the Newmar- ket, Ont., lawyer had engaged in professional misconduct by mis- appropriating trust funds total- ling $38,550 from 10 clients and failing to co-operate with the law society's investigation. TORYS HEARING RESUMES TOMORROW The disciplinary hearing for two lawyers facing conflict of interest allegations related to the Conrad Black case got off to a sputtering start last week when Torys LLP admitted it had failed to pro- vide the Law Society of Upper Canada with 41 CDs contain- ing the equivalent of 168 boxes of relevant material. Ronald Foerster, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and counsel for Torys, called the error an "inadvertent omission." He went on to explain in excru- ciating detail to the law society panel how the materials could have fallen between the cracks while reiterating that all docu- ments were now disclosed. Darren Sukonick, a part- ner at Torys, and Beth DeMer- chant, who is no longer practis- ing, face charges related to their activities in the period between 2000 and 2003 when Black's Hollinger empire sold its Ca- nadian newspaper holdings to CanWest Global Communica- tions Corp. and Osprey Media Holdings Inc. Paul Stern, counsel for the law society, found out about the omission on April 19, a week be- fore hearings were due to begin, when counsel for Sukonick and DeMerchant announced they planned to use documents con- tained in the 168 boxes. "Assurances had been pro- vided that productions had been made, where it turns out today they had not," he said, calling the mix-up "a fiasco." William Simpson, chairman Reinventing the Will www 1/26/09 3:38:37 PM Inside Story of the hearing panel, adjourned the matter until today, but a further meeting on Thursday re- vealed the parties would attempt to reconvene the hearing tomor- row. "This has been set since last October, and it's very unfortunate in this case that it was not until last week that it was discovered a number of documents were not produced," Simpson said, noting the detriment to counsel, the law- yers facing the charges, the panel, and the public interest as a result of the delay. STIKEMANS LAUDED FOR GOING GREEN Maclean's and Canadian Business magazines have named Stike- man Elliott LLP one of Cana- da's "Green 30" businesses. The list honours organizations that incorporate environmental approaches into their business models and corporate culture. Stikeman Elliott chairman Pierre Raymond pointed to the firm's GoingGreen program as a contributing factor in the award. The program, which fo- cuses on actions to reduce waste and improve energy efficiency, helped Stikemans become Canada's first certified carbon- neutral firm in April 2009. "We are thrilled that our firm members have embraced our organizational commitment to sustainable operations," Ray- mond said. "Our people are the catalysts for many of the initia- tives that we have undertaken." OGILVYS PARTNER TAKES BANKING AWARD Andrew Fleming, a senior part- ner at Ogilvy Renault LLP, has won a 2010 Client Choice Award for banking in Canada. The awards are handed out by the International Law Office to recognize law firms and partners around the world that stand apart for client care and service quality. The organization whittled down a list of more than 2,000 indi- vidual assessments received from corporate counsel worldwide to name 201 winners. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. BIG BOX LANDS GRANNY IN COURT WICKFORD, England — In the town of Wickford, they take the law very seri- ously, especially their recy- cling rules. Lynne Doyle, a 59-year-old grandmother, was accused of dumping "controlled waste" after she placed a flattened cardboard box between two bins at a local supermarket back in October. The box, which had housed her new washing machine, was too big to fit into the nearly full re- cycling bin. Security cameras filmed Doyle pushing the box between the two bins to pre- vent it from blowing away. What happened next was nothing short of a load of garbage. Doyle was given a fine of £300 (Cdn$462) by an envi- ronmental officer who tracked her down at her dress shop. She threw the ticket away and refused to pay the fine. On March 22, to her shock, she received a summons that formally charged her with de- positing controlled waste and ordered her to court. But after requesting that her case be heard before a Crown court jury on the advice of her lawyer, Doyle received a letter stating that the council was dropping the case. No apology or explana- tion was given. ™ May 3, 2010 • Law TiMes Bizarre clients. Also not to be missed: butterflies and daisies. Briefs By Viola James LAWYER SUES OWN FIRM, AMUSES OTHER LAWYERS CAMBRIDGE, England — It's normal to be upset with the results of a divorce settlement. But most people wouldn't sue their own law firm in such a situation. Andrew Grove isn't like most people. The partner with Cam- bridge's Andrew Grove & Co. is suing the firm for al- legedly providing him with poor advice during his di- vorce. Citing negligence and seeking damages of around £300,000 (Cdn$462,000), Grove is also suing his barris- ter Bernard Limbrey of Three Dr Johnson's Buildings. According to The Lawyer, the settlement that caused Grove so much grief required him to transfer the entire eq- uity of his home, £370,000 ($570,000), and pay £12,000 ($18,500) a year in child sup- port. The decision was based on an expert witness' appraisal of Grove's firm at a value of £347,500. Grove claims it's worth no more than £12,000, which seems to back up the fact that he might not be thinking clearly at this point. A visit to the firm's web site (andrewgroveandco.com/oldin- dex.shtml) uncovers vague tes- timonials about its work with abuse cases, and there is even a section with poems written by WOMAN LAYS CLAIM TO ENTIRE MOUNTAINSIDE MISSOULA, Mont. — Look- ing to buy a new house? Try doing what Californian Jackiya D. Ford allegedly did: change the locks on a house for sale in the mountains, move your belongings in, and claim you own the entire mountainside. And for good measure, re- quest an absurdly large pay- ment in pure silver and gold. Homeowner Bob Paff- hausen was stunned when Ford, a former prospective buyer, presented him with paperwork in which she claimed ownership of the house as well as a 32-kilome- tre radius of land around it. She allegedly told him she would give the house back if he paid her $900,000 in pure silver and gold. Following this turn of events, Paffhausen visited the house, only to find the locks and codes to the garage doors had been changed. No- tices were posted on all of the doors stating the house had been given to Ford by "our Lord and Savior Yahushua." After seeing all of this and, presumably alternating be- tween laughing and weeping, Paffhausen called the cops. When police arrived, they shut off the gas and electricity to the house and then waited for Ford to return. Upon her arrival, they arrested her. Ford claimed she was a sov- ereign citizen of the republic of America, meaning they had no authority over her. She also stated the entire mountainside belonged to her. LT "Whether we deal with your problem by using the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act or by employing provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act depends, really, on your personal situation." THERE IS A DIFFERENCE RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Untitled-5 1 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca www.lawtimesnews.com 3/23/10 11:35:15 AM

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