Law Times

PAGE 16 January 30, 2012 • Law Times u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James MAYOR PULLED OVER, THEN STOPS OFFICER NORWAY, S.C. — A town mayor pulled over for speeding by a state trooper then proceeded to stop the same officer on the highway. According to the Times and Democrat, officials said Trooper S.M. Williams stopped Norway Mayor Jim Preacher for allegedly exceeding the speed limit by roughly 25 kilometres per hour on Jan. 18. But Preacher, who insists he was acting in his capacity as the town's chief constable in fol- lowing a vehicle believed to have been involved in an attempted robbery, pulled Williams over moments later, the paper reported. He then asked for Williams' licence and registration and, accord- ing to officials, told him to follow him to the town hall so he could give him a summons. Preacher denies telling Williams to follow him but, according to the Times and Democrat, believes the problem is widespread ignorance of the fact that Norway has a law enforcement department. Last year, Norway disbanded its police depart- ment, and Preacher now says he's the town's chief constable. In the meantime, the county sheriff 's office has been conducting law enforcement activi- ties there. The state is now investigating Preacher's status as a law enforcement officer, the Times and Democrat reported. FARC SELLS COWS AS COCAINE CASH DROPS BOGOTA — It's hard to imagine cows could be as lucrative as cocaine. But according to Reuters, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is reporting that the country's largest rebel group is increasingly selling its cattle to finance South America's longest-running insur- gency as income from trafficking cocaine drops. Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has been reeling from more than a decade of a U.S.-backed military offensive that has dealt it major blows and cut cocaine out- put in one of the world's top producers of the drug. "The FARC is designing a complete strategy to counter the problem of lack of financing . . . due to the blows to their funding sources, especially drug trafficking. One of the orders was to sell cattle to get more resources," Santos said. The FARC has been trying in recent weeks to sell cattle stolen in other regions of the country, Santos said in a speech in the southern province of Caqueta. The rebels have for decades funded their movement through control of coca production and have built up ties with drug gangs in some parts of the country and fought for control over key routes and supplies in others. But strikes against the FARC since 2002 have severely weakened the rebels' ability to launch attacks on the country's economic infrastructure. PRIVACY RULES CHANGED TO NAME TOP TAX CHEATERS ATHENS — When you're in a situation as dire as Greece is, privacy laws are no longer the priority. That's why officials were able to release a list of 4,000 top tax dodgers as part of a name-and- shame policy to get evaders to pay up. Tax evasion is endemic in Greece and its inter- national lenders, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, have insisted that Athens improve tax collection. According to Reuters, the list released late Sunday includes a host of failed businesspeople, a prominent singer, the husband of a former gov- ernment minister , as well as a retired basketball star who was recently released from a two-year jail term for illegally owning an arms cache. Athens has been threatening to publish the list for months and had to change privacy laws to follow through on the threat. It had been kept in a safe in parliament, where lawmakers were allowed to read it without taking notes. Greece has about 60 billion euros in unpaid taxes, a figure equivalent to about a quarter of its economy, according to an EU report published in November. Seen, heard, or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at clb.lteditor@thomson reuters.com LT u The INSIDE STORY COURT GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO WINDSOR FIRM Th e Superior Court has ruled a Windsor, Ont., law fi rm may represent the plaintiff s in a class action lawsuit against an Ontario con- struction materials company despite its main litigator having suff ered a debilitating stroke last year. According to the Windsor Star, Superior Court Justice Bruce Th omas ruled Sutts Strosberg LLP will lead the lawsuit against Armtec Infrastructure Inc. last week aſt er both the Windsor fi rm and Siskinds LLP of London, Ont., initiated proceedings against the company. An issue in the case was whether or not the Windsor fi rm could han- Jay Strosberg dle the lawsuit without Harvey Strosberg leading the way. Strosberg suff ered a stroke last year that leſt him unable to speak for a time. He has since made a steady recovery, although he isn't handling the same caseload as he previously was. Strosberg proposed that his son, Jay Strosberg, be lead counsel on the lawsuit. He has been a lawyer for nine years with a signifi cant focus on securities class actions. Siskinds questioned the proposal, but Th omas ultimately ruled the younger Strosberg had a "talented and supportive litigation team" that would help him along the way, according to the Star. LAWYER RAPPED FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT An Ontario lawyer accused of sexually harassing a prospective client in 2007 must attend a sen- sitivity and awareness course as well as counselling, a Law Soci- ety of Upper Canada hearing panel has determined. Following a joint submission proposing that Steven Sinukoff engaged in conduct unbecoming a licensee as alleged, the panel ac- cepted the recommendation that he attend the course and partici- pate in counselling. According to the agreed state- ment of facts, Sinukoff invited the prospective client to lunch in No- vember 2007 aſt er a paralegal in- troduced them. He then asked her back to his offi ce to fax some doc- uments to a colleague he thought might be able to handle her case. "Mr. Sinukoff invited the com- plainant into his board room," the panel decision earlier this month noted. "He closed the door. He then told the complainant that if she per- formed 'favours' for him, he would discount her account by $1,000 and that she could start by showing him her breasts." Aſt er further advances, the woman eventually leſt . Sinukoff , according to the rul- ing, didn't respond to a request to admit the facts. Th e hearing panel therefore deemed him to have ad- mitted them. Besides attending the course and counselling, Sinu- koff must also pay $1,000 in costs. "Each element of Mr. Sinu- "Mark them down as 'very intelligent!' They're calling the privacy commissioner." Get more online Canadian Lawyer | Law Times | 4Students | InHouse | Legal Feeds lawtimesnews.com • canadianlawyermag.com www.lawtimesnews.com Visit Us Online 1-8-5X.indd 1 2/28/11 2:37:34 PM Fresh Canadian legal news and analysis every day koff 's conduct tends to bring dis- credit upon the legal profession," the panel concluded. "Women must be entitled to deal with lawyers, whether as clients or as prospective clients, without hav- ing to worry whether they will be sexually harassed. Legal services are not to be bartered for sexual favours." RETIREMENT EVENT FOR MALCOLM HEINS A celebration next month will honour Malcom Heins as he re- tires as chief executive offi cer of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Heins joined the law society as CEO in 2001 and previously served as CEO of LawPRO. A retirement dinner in his hon- our will take place on Feb. 22 at the Toronto Hilton at 145 Richmond St. W. For ticket information, visit the law society web site at lsuc.on.ca. LAWYERS, JUDGE NAMED TO ORDER OF ONTARIO Several lawyers and a judge were among the appointees to the Or- der of Ontario this month. Th e appointees include Na- thalie Des Rosiers, general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association; constitu- tional, labour, and administrative lawyer Paul Cavalluzzo; Toron- to lawyer Noella Milne; former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory; and Ray Stor- tini, a former Superior Court judge. Th e order honours people for for their contributions to the arts, law, science, medicine, histo- ry, politics, philanthropy, and the environment. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com

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