Law Times

Page 4 January 14, 2013 Law Times • NEWS Family claims interest in insurance proceeding cases such as these do occur "from time to time." In 2011, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that secondary beneficiaries of the estate if Papasotiriou Ved Dhingra, a 66-year-old man who had killed his is convicted. Together, the pair claims to have an "inwife, wasn't entitled to receive his wife's life insurance. terest in the subject matter" of the proceeding dealing That case, however, considered the question of whether with Lanteigne's affairs and have proposed to become Dhingra could still get the money as he had been found interveners in the case as per rule 13.01(1) of the Innot criminally responsible. surance Act. Dhingra had a history of hospitalization and suf"The common issue is whether Demitry is entitled fered from schizophrenia when he killed his 58-yearto the proceeds, and if not, to whom should they be old wife, Kamlesh Dhingra. The Toronto man was the paid," wrote Dash. only beneficiary of his wife's estate and was awarded the According to Dash's ruling, the victim's mother life insurance money after he was ruled not criminally claims she "may be adversely affected by a judgment responsible. in the actions" if her right to inherit Lanteigne's estate However, the Ontario Superior Court thought difis extinguished. ferently when Justice Andra Pollak ruled the money "They're still deeply saddened by their son and should go to a court account. brother's death," says Martin. "And their objective is The case eventually went to the Ontario Court of to make sure that if Demitry was responsible for that Appeal. On April 24, 2012, the appeal court ruled that death, that he doesn't profit from that responsibility. It's Canadian law may enable a person found not criminalour position that if you follow those steps of logic, then ly responsible to remain a primary beneficiary and alAllan's mom is the person who would be entitled under lowed Dhingra to claim his former wife's life insurance. the Succession Law Reform Act." In Papasotiriou's case, he claims that if he's convictPapasotiriou was charged with first-degree murder in ed and disqualified from inheriting the victim's estate, his husband's death in November following his suspenLanteigne's relatives aren't entitled to the victim's life insion on Sept. 10, 2012, by the law society for professional surance regardless of "whether or not he was involved misconduct. A hearing panel suspended Papasotiriou for in the murder." a four-month period for, among other things, "failing to 'There is a public policy rule in the common law that says a person can't profit from For Wahbi, the question is why Papasotiriou would be on guard against being duped by unscrupulous clients their crime, so a person who is convicted of murdering someone cannot benefit from prefer the state to have Lanteigne's insurance money inor associated persons in connection with purchase, sale, their estate,' says Charles Ticker. Photo: Robin Kuniski stead of his family members. "If he freezes the estates and mortgage transactions involving four properties." long enough until the Crown proceeding is over, I guess Lanteigne was found bludgeoned to death on has suspended the legal dispute over Lanteigne's life March 3, 2011, after police responded to a call from 934 insurance until the criminal trial is finalized. In the mean- he could think that maybe if he isn't found guilty then he Ossington Ave. in Toronto. The 49-year-old victim had time, he has granted Rosaline Lanteigne leave to intervene. could benefit," she says. Gordon McGuire, counsel for Papasotiriou in the life worked two jobs as an accounting clerk at the University He awarded her $18,000 in costs in a decision on Jan. 2. of Toronto and at a catering company. Although cases similar to Papasotiriou's are rare, they insurance matter, wasn't able to comment on the case by LT But with Papasotiriou's criminal case ongoing, Dash aren't uncommon. As an estates litigator, Ticker notes that press time last week. Continued from page 1 Alternative services 'a real challenge for regulators' Continued from page 1 In Kowalski's fictional law firm of the future, lawyers bill by the project, not by the hour. Partnership structures give way to more of a corporate structure. Outside investors can buy shares in law firms. Knowledge management is done in the Philippines. The firm doesn't take on articling students and none of its lawyers has less than five years' experience. "It's imperative that lawyers stop looking at the present through a rearview mirror," said Kowalski, who's currently a visiting professor at the university. "It's time to stop allowing the past to shape our future. It's time to ask ourselves why do we deserve to have a monopoly over legal services in this country." While panellists agreed with Kowalski that Canada's legal profession is headed for a transformation, reaction to his proposals varied widely. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, an expert on the Internet, electronic commerce, and intellectual property, likened the changes coming to the legal profession to those that have been transforming newspapers. If anything, Kowalski understates the extent and the speed of the change the legal profession is about to experience, he said. "I buy a lot of what Mitch is selling in his book because I think the changes that he talks about are coming. . . . The time to begin to move and reimagine is now." Geist said CanLII is making it easier to access legal information. Companies like LegalZoom that handle wills, incorporations, and other types of transactions are attracting new clients, taking business away from existing law firms, and moving up the value chain in terms of the services they offer. "Those are two million clients that over the last number of years previously would have looked to small- and mediumsized lawyers predominantly to provide those kinds of services and yet they are able to leverage the technology to take that business away the same way Craigslist took away the classified ads from newspapers almost overnight," said Geist. For his part, Conway said companies like LegalZoom are a test for law societies. "Services like LegalZoom . . . present a real challenge for regulators of legal services because you don't really know who's there and whether the services are competent and where they are coming from." Margaret Ross, a partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP who focuses on medical litigation, said the key to survival for the legal profession is nurturing the relationship with clients. While many lawyers can do the same job, clients often look for someone who cares about them and their business. "Ultimately, you are trying to find someone who understands your interests and your problems and your issues and will make them paramount," she said. "You want somebody who cares about your problems. Getting and staying retained by clients in my mind is all about earning and keeping that trust." Creating efficiencies, consistent training, and rigorous knowledge management are also key, said Ross. Ross said several of the strategies that Kowalski recommends are already being implemented in many firms. However, she said she was troubled by the idea of firms not hiring students. LT AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN PRINT WIpN GACard le ift REACH ONE OF THE LARGEST LEGAL AND BUSINESS MARKETS IN CANADA! ting 500 Aepyour current lisnced a Upgrad or Silver enh 13 ld 20 to a Go by June 30, in. listing hance to w for a c r details $ lo See be w fo PLUS! Monthly draws from January to June, 2013 for a $100 Apple Gift Card just for asking how you can develop your business with an Annual Gold or Silver Enhanced Listing. Untitled-3 1 With more than 179,000 page views and 31,000 unique visitors monthly canadianlawlist.com captures your market. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Colleen Austin T: 416.649.9327 | E: colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com Visit www.canadianlawlist.com for full contest details. www.lawtimesnews.com 13-01-08 1:26 PM

• Cover