Law Times

to apply to the California bar. e acrimony grew until the 1987 incident in which Taylor, during a fi ght at Conway's offi ce, stabbed the lawyer. Taylor argued he was acting in self-defence, but the court found his account to be "not credible." PARALEGAL, LSUC MEND FENCES AFTER DRAWN-OUT BATTLE He's now a paralegal bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a recipient of its distinguished paralegal medal, but Brian Lawrie didn't always have such a close relationship with the regulator. In 1997, the LSUC sought $182,000 in court costs from Lawrie a er his unsuccessful malicious pros- ecution action. Lawrie had been on the receiving end of a law society prosecution for unauthorized practice in the 1980s. He fought back with a malicious prosecution action a er the court acquitted him. But in a show of how adversaries can mend fences, Lawrie has gone on to be a prominent paralegal member of the LSUC. BINNIE APOLOGIZES FOR REMARK ABOUT 'FAGGOTY DRESSUP PARTY' Not long a er joining the bench, much-admired for- mer Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie found himself in hot water over an off -the-cuff remark. As controversy swirled in 1998, the Ca- nadian Judicial Coun- cil found Binnie's com- ments about attend- ing a "faggoty dressup party" didn't amount to misconduct. Binnie made the remark about an initiation ritual featuring wigs, can- dles, and dramatic lighting. e comments raised concerns in the gay community, but Binnie quickly apologized. " e ex- pression popped out . . . without any refl ection on my part about its precise signifi cation," he wrote in a letter a er the incident. "I don't consider the word 'faggoty' to be appropriate, nor is the pejorative atti- tude that lies behind it acceptable, nor do I subscribe to it." CONTROVERSY OVER BAR ADMISSION COURSE In 1998, controversy erupted over a proposal to ad- mit a slew of law students who had failed the bar ad- mission course. Responding to concerns that a number of failing students were from disadvantaged groups, then-Law Society of Upper Canada treasurer Harvey Stros- berg commissioned a committee to look into the is- sue. e eff orts led to non-binding reports based on interviews with about 40 students who had failed the course. At the time, bencher Rob Martin expressed horror at the proposal to admit the students. "I fun- damentally reject the notion that aboriginal or mi- nority students need assistance to meet law society standards," he said at the time. SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL MARS TORY TORY MERGER WITH U.S. FIRM e merger of Tory Tory DesLauriers and Binning- ton with a U.S. fi rm got off to a bad start with the resignation of the American presiding partner amid sexual harassment allegations. On Nov. 19, 1999, omas Haythe was in To- ronto to celebrate the merger of New York's Haythe and Curley with the storied Tory fi rm. A er the for- mal program during the day, a number of lawyers went out to celebrate. During that time, there were "a number of incidents that violated our sexual ha- rassment policy" that involved "a number of female lawyers," Les Viner, who's still managing partner of Torys LLP, said at the time. e incident le the fi rm with having to change its name just as the merger was getting off the ground. Haythe was one of the founding partners of Haythe and Curley, a 75-lawyer fi rm that had merged with its much larger Canadian counterpart. U OF T GRADE SCANDAL Are job pressures leading fi rst-year law students to doctor their marks? at was a question in 2001 following revelations of an investigation into allegations that as many as 30 of the 170 fi rst-year students at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law had misrepresented their fi rst-term test results in their bid for summer jobs at law fi rms. While the issue was an obvious concern, the inci- dent prompted questions about the wisdom of fi rms off ering jobs at the end of fi rst year, a move requiring students to submit their applications earlier with only one set of mid-term marks. e allegations suggested students had lied about their mid-term marks in the knowledge the fi rms couldn't check them against of- fi cial transcripts. FORMER LSUC TREASURER IN HOT WATER It's not o en that the leader of a regulatory body like the Law Society of Upper Canada himself ends up in disciplinary proceedings. But that's what happened to former treasurer George Hunter in 2006. e misconduct allegations against Hunter fol- lowed his sudden resignation from the treasurer's post in late 2005. In September 2006, the law society alleged Hunter was in a confl ict of interest in relation to a cli- ent named J.H. According to the notice of application, Hunter "began a sexual/romantic relationship with J.H., while retained by her in a family law matter, with- out adequate disclosure of the circumstances that could make a confl ict of interest likely such that J.H. could make an informed decision that she consented to your continued representation of her in the circumstances of a sexual/romantic relationship or with respect to enter- ing into a sexual relationship with you." In 2007, a panel found Hunter guilty of miscon- duct. It suspended him for 60 days and ordered him to pay costs. GOODMAN AND CARR CLOSES With Heenan Blaikie LLP fresh in everyone's minds, it wasn't that long ago that another prominent fi rm, Goodman and Carr LLP, closed its doors. In 2007, the fi rm , known for its tax and real estate practices, announced it would wind down its opera- tions. In a situation also reminiscent of the Heenan Blaikie collapse, the decision followed the departure of more than 30 lawyers, many of them senior part- ners, during the previous year. JUDGE RESIGNS In 2009, former Superior Court justice Paul Cosgrove avoided possibly becoming the fi rst judge in Cana- dian history to be voted out of offi ce by Parliament. Cosgrove resigned that year following a recom- mendation by the Canadian Judicial Council to the justice minister to oust him. Cosgrove's problems related to his actions during the late 1990s murder trial of Julia Elliott. e Ontario Court of Appeal overturned Cosgrove's stay of the proceedings a er fi nding he had made a slew of er- roneous fi ndings of Charter of Rights and Freedoms violations. e appeal court also noted Cosgrove had made "unwarranted and unsubstantiated" miscon- duct fi ndings against the Crown and police. FORMER AG ARRESTED, VINDICATED It wasn't long a er leaving politics that high-profi le former attorney general Michael Bryant found him- self on the other side of the law. In 2009, police charged Bryant with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death following a colli- sion with cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard in down- town Toronto. e idea of the province's former top lawyer go- ing on trial sparked fears of potential favouritism by some critics, but the province was careful to do its best to avoid allegations of bias by appointing noted lawyer Richard Peck as prosecutor. In 2010, Bryant got a reprieve when Peck withdrew the charges a er concluding there was no reasonable prospect of con- viction. Among other things, experts found Sheppard had been trying to attack Bryant during a confronta- tion with him and that he was legally justifi ed in trying to get away. ACCUSED WITCH ARRESTED It's not o en that police lay witchcra charges, let alone in the case of someone accused of posing as a lawyer and off ering legal services. In late 2009, police charged Vishwantee Persaud with fraud as well as fraudulently pretending to exercise witchcra , sorcery, enchantment or conjuration. Her victim was lawyer Noel Daley, who said he had lost $148,000 a er taking her under his wing. Persaud told Daley she was a law student whose family was having fi nancial trouble. While he gave her a job and mentoring, she gave him a Tarot card reading that Daley accused her of using to exploit his religious beliefs to get money out of him. Persaud pleaded guilty to fraud the next year. GROIA DECRIES 'CHILL' It's a case that resonates today and proof that the civility debate isn't an easy issue for anyone to resolve. In late 2009, the Law Society of Upper Canada launched misconduct proceedings against lawyer Joe Groia over his aggressive defence of John Felderhof during his trial stemming from the Bre-X Minerals Ltd. fi asco. Groia decried the misconduct case, suggesting it would send a chill to lawyers who forcefully advocate for their clients. But an LSUC hearing panel concluded otherwise when it found Groia guilty of misconduct. Last year, an appeal panel chopped Groia's suspension in half. Ian Binnie www.lawtimesnews.com "A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer." Dean Acheson We believe you would rather have an answer than a memo. Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law Practical. Experience. www.dww.com 150 York Street, Suite 400, Toronto, Canada M5H 3S5 Tel 416.941.9440 t Fax 416.941.9443 E-mail info@dww.com twitter.com/DWW_IPandITlaw ntitled-2 1 14-03-19 3:08 PM Vishwantee Persaud Page 17 Law TiMes • March 24, 2014 Continued on next page

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