Law Times

Page 16 March 31, 2014 • Law TiMes www.lawtimesnews.com POLL RESULTS e results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. According to the poll, 86 per cent of respondents say the Ontario Superior Court is right to crack down on place- holder motions in its efforts to reduce delays in civil matters. Superior Court Chief Justice Heather Smith told Law Times recently the court is eliminating motions booked by lawyers on the off chance they'll need them later. Placeholder motions are part of the cause of long wait times for hearings, said Smith. Some lawyers have said the use of placeholder motions is a sign parties can't get hearing dates when they need them and that crack- ing down on them won't fix the delay issue. ARBITRATOR ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT BEING A LAWYER NEW YORK — Not all alternative dispute res- olution practitioners are lawyers, but it's pretty clear you need to be one if you're going to be arbitrating securities cases. But according to Reuters, the outcomes of nearly 40 securities arbitration cases dating back more than 15 years and involving some of Wall Street's best-known brokerages could be in jeopardy because one of the arbitrators who heard them allegedly lied about being a lawyer. e Financial Industry Regulatory Author- ity confirmed it had removed the arbitrator, James H. Frank of Santa Barbara, Calif., from its roster of arbitrators last year. Frank said he was a lawyer and a member of the bar in several states when, in fact, he wasn't, a spokeswoman for the authority said. e dismissed arbitrator said via e-mail that he was unaware of the authority's reasons for removing him other than that it had received a complaint about him from a lawyer involved in a case he had arbitrated. e allegations that he lied about being an attorney and bar member are "inaccurate at best," he wrote. Frank claims he was a "lawyer" — putting the word in quotes — and that the California bar must have lost his records. e case comes to light as advocates for consumers and investors are calling for an end to mandatory arbitration. e authority, Wall Street's industry-funded watchdog, runs the arbitration forum where brokerages and inves- tors must resolve their disputes. e authority has been taking steps to im- prove perceptions of fairness to investors in its arbitration system. It also recently beefed up measures to police its arbitrators. Nonetheless, the latest revelation is likely to be more ammu- nition for mandatory arbitration critics. An arbitrator who misrepresents himself as being a lawyer is an "obvious serious concern," said Terry Weiss, a lawyer with Greenberg Traurig LLP in Atlanta who typically represents brokerages. "at sort of misconduct could be a basis to vacate the final arbitration award if it was brought in a timely manner." Frank's situation first came to light in Au- gust 2013 during a hearing in a case against a brokerage involving a variable life insurance policy sold to a 72-year-old woman, according to Benjamin Blakeman, her Los Angeles-based lawyer. Blakeman looked into Frank's background aer the hearing. A private investigator he hired concluded that only one person named James Frank had a licence to practise law in California but he wasn't the same person as the arbitrator, according to the investigator's report. WITCH DOCTORS AS ADR PRACTITIONERS? NAIROBI, Kenya — Could witch doctors serve as mediators? According to Reuters, a frustrated chief jus- tice has lightheartedly told Kenyans that even witch doctors could help them resolve their disputes without taking each other to the over- burdened courts. Willy Mutunga, a respected lawyer, was ap- pointed in 2011 to reform a judiciary widely seen as in the pay of the political elite and to cut red tape at a time when many Kenyans had lost confidence in the courts. Opening a new court building in Kiambu county near Nairobi, Mutunga said he was concerned that the growing demand for court services was adding to a backlog of thousands of lawsuits. He said people should stop saying "I'll see you in court" and entering a long and costly process when they could first seek help from churches, mosques, elders or neighbours. "Even in Kutui, where I come from, I have told people they can go to the witch doctors to solve issues," he said to laughter from people at the ceremony. LT The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story NEW REGIONAL SENIOR JUDGE e west region of the Ontario Court of Justice will soon have a new senior regional judge as Justice Stephen Fuerth is set to replace Justice Kathleen Mc- Gowan in May. Fuerth first became a judge of the Ontario Court in 2006. In his new role, he "exercises the powers and performs the duties of the chief justice" in his region, according to the Minis- try of the Attorney General. e duties will include schedul- ing court hearings and assigning cases to individual judges. Before becoming a judge, Fuerth was a partner at a firm in Chatham, Ont., and mainly practised family law. He also served as a member of the Con- sent and Capacity Board. LAKEHEAD LAW NEWSPAPER LAUNCHED Still in its inaugural year, Cana- da's newest law school at Lake- head University launched its student newspaper last week. e first edition of the North- ern Law Compass is available online only and predominantly features coverage of recent law faculty activities. "We just really wanted to have an outlet for students, whether it be to voice opinions or dis- cuss events that are going on in the law school," says Elizabeth McLeod, coeditor of the North- ern Law Compass. "We want people to know what's going on and see that we're developing a community and a student culture here." Recurring features will in- clude a section on environmen- tal law, an aboriginal law col- umn, and lifestyle content. e publication will also review im- portant recent Supreme Court decisions that set a binding prec- edent for Canadians. "We're hoping that this column will be a way for the general public to be [introduced to] recent deci- sions," says Scott Mainprize, also a coeditor of the paper. "It's been a long time coming," says Natalie Gerry, the paper's third coeditor. "So we're just looking forward to showing everyone what we've designed and I think everyone is looking forward to seeing other student columns and what they've been writing about." e Northern Law Compass re- ceived funding from the Lakehead law faculty, the university's student union, and the Lakehead Uni- versity Law Students' Society. e editorial team plans to pro- duce a print version of the paper in the future. ey'll continue to run stories on the site throughout the summer with an official second edition published in the fall. TWO LAWYERS DISBARRED Two Ontario lawyers have lost their licences to practise law af- ter the Law Society of Canada found them guilty of misconduct. A hearing panel found Ot- tawa lawyer Kenneth Johnson to have knowingly assisted in dishonesty or fraud in transac- tions involving 11 properties. On March 19, the hearing divi- sion disbarred him with costs determined at a later date. Meanwhile, North Grenville, Ont., lawyer Kym McGahey also lost her licence for not provid- ing the law society with a report on the disposition of her practice within 30 days of her two separate disciplinary suspensions. LT "Talk about alternate business structures! He's suing us and he's not even plugged in!" Chief Justice Heather Smith

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