Law Times

Law Times • June 23, 2014 Page 5 www.lawtimesnews.com availed himself of that service," said Strosberg. LAO removed Kennedy from its roster of lawyers after LAO president's designate George Biggar in 2009 found "strong factual evidence of misinformation and of decep- tion in his accounts as submitted to LAO" following an investigation by investigator Gerald Rif kin. The law society hearing panel, chaired by Barbara Mur- chie, made a finding of professional misconduct on the same date as the hearing. It has set a penalty hearing for Aug. 19 and 21. The law society will be seeking revocation of Kennedy's licence. But Kennedy's counsel, Brian Radnoff, who's rep- resenting the lawyer on a pro bono basis, said he would call medical and character evidence to support a lesser penalty. Kennedy has no previous discipline record. Radnoff tells Law Times there's no criminal proceeding against Kennedy in the matter. Since 2005, LAO's online billing protocol has allowed lawyers to bill for services without providing detailed ac- counts and dockets except in exceptional circumstances. When they submit their bills online, lawyers acknowledge they've provided accurate accounts. LAO began its investigation into Kennedy's files after a supervisory duty counsel in Sarnia, Ont., complained that the lawyer had been accepting certificates from his duty counsel clients. Between January 2005 and September 2006, Kennedy represented 68 clients whom he had also assisted as duty counsel, according to LAO's investigation. In the past, the law society has disbarred lawyers who bilked LAO. In 2010, it took away lawyer Massimiliano Pecoraro's licence to practise law after finding he had bilked LAO out of $30,000. Pecoraro admitted to professional misconduct for knowingly overbilling LAO on 22 accounts related to 14 clients he represented between 2002 and 2005. He altered charge details to increase the tariff and billed for applications, motions, and even trial dates that never occurred to boost the number of allowable hours. In that case, Pecoraro had paid back all of the funds in question to LAO. That case hinged on the credit he should receive for co-operating with a law society investigation and paying back the money to LAO. The panel struggled with the question of whether disbarring lawyers who had paid back the money would discourage others from doing the same. But in the end, the panel decided disbarment was the only decision it could arrive at. "Under the circumstances of this case, revocation of li- cence is the only conclusion we can come to," panel chair- man Gerald Swaye said at the time. In 1989, the law society disbarred former lawyer Harry Kopyto for overbilling Ontario's legal aid plan by $150,000. The regulator also took away Angelina Codina's licence after it found she had charged LAO $20,000 for services never rendered. Codina also received a six-month sentence in a separate criminal proceeding related to the matter. LT NEWS CANADA'S ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION CASL - THE TOUGHEST LAW OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD. IN FORCE JULY 1, 2014. ARE YOU READY? TO ORDER • CASL: 1-877-298-5868 • E-MAIL: REGISTER@LEXPERT.CA • WEB: WWW.CPDCENTRE.CA/LEXPERT | EXPERT IND TRY AD I E VIEW WEBCAST ON DEMAND VIEW WEBCAST ON DEMAND | EXPERT INDUSTRY ADVICE EXPERT INDUSTRY ADVICE Untitled-1 1 14-06-11 1:25 PM Continued from page 1 Berardinetti, David Zimmer, Bob Chiarelli, Madeleine Meilleur, and Yasir Naqvi among the government caucus. Liberal MPP Steven Del Duca has a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School but was never called to the bar in Ontario. The NDP's Jagmeet Singh and Pro- gressive Conservative party's Christine Elliott are the sole elected MPPs from the legal profession among their respective parties. Elliott is the wife of late federal finance minister Jim Flaherty and a co- founder of tort and accident benefit litiga- tion firm Flaherty Dow Elliott & McCar- thy LLP. Elliott's law partner Todd McCarthy, a Progressive Conservative, ran for office in the June 12 election in Ajax-Pickering but lost to Liberal incumbent Joe Dickson. "There's no question that lawyers as candidates and lawyers as elected mem- bers of provincial and federal parliaments has been on a steady decline for the last two to three decades," says McCarthy. But for his part, McCarthy, who had pre- viously run in a provincial election, says he's ready to hit the campaign trail again in 2018. "It would be great to take a break for a couple of years and focus on the practice of law . . . but I believe in the system and in the majesty of democracy as much as I ever did and I'd be honoured to run again," he says. In total, 22 lawyers ran in the recent elec- tion, including the seven who won their seats, according to the OBA. That's 22 law- yers among 321 candidates who ran for the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, and the NDP. "That's a very small number," says Gowling Laf leur Henderson LLP counsel and Conservative fundraiser Ralph Lean, who notes he himself has never had a de- sire to run for elected office. "Growing up, your prime ministers and premiers were heavily lawyers and your cabinet ministers were lawyers. [Pierre] Trudeau was a lawyer, [Dalton] McGuinty was a lawyer, John Tory was a lawyer, [Brian] Mulroney was a lawyer, Bob Rae was a lawyer," he says. Former premiers Ernie Eves, David Peterson, and Bill Davis are all lawyers as well. According to Elizabeth Hall, the OBA's director of policy and public affairs, "law- yers are disappearing from campaign of- fices across the country" as well. "Twenty-four years ago, when I first leant my considerable envelope-stuffing and stamp-licking expertise to a politi- cal campaign, you could not walk into a campaign office without knocking over a lawyer," wrote Hall in 2011. "At the time, all three party leaders in both the federal and provincial houses were lawyers and Attorneys General [Roy] Mc- Murtry then [Ian] Scott sat with their pre- miers on the front benches of the Ontario legislature. To that point, every premier and prime minister in my lifetime had been a lawyer. "A quarter century later, it is not un- usual for me and my coerced husband to be the only lawyers in our local campaign office." So, what's driving lawyers out of politics? "That's a very good question," says Lean, who notes it's hard to say whether the de- cline is accidental or part of a greater shift. Being a lawyer used to be an advantage for candidates, he says, but there are fewer role models now for those who want to get into politics. McCarthy says change in the legal pro- fession itself could be a reason for the de- cline in political involvement. "I think perhaps the practice of law has become so much more of a business these days — whether you're with a boutique firm, a large firm or in sole practice — that it's very difficult to find the time to devote to a cam- paign or preparation for a campaign, to take a leave of absence from practice," he says. The other explanation, he suggests, is that lawyers aren't immune from growing political apathy and the decline in voter turnout over the last couple of decades. "You've got people viewing politics with disdain, and so lawyers are no dif- ferent from other segments of society [that say], 'It's not worth it,' when in fact, as a candidate, I can tell you it is indeed a high calling and a noble pursuit just to be among the candidates for the 107 seats in our provincial parliament," he says. According to Crone, the fact that few- er lawyers are running in and winning elections is likely the result of a societal shift towards being more open to having diverse professions in office. "And that's not a bad thing," says Crone. "It's just the way it is." For its part, the OBA says fewer law- yers in the legislature mean an increased responsibility on its part to monitor activi- ties at Queen's Park and f lag any concerns from a legal standpoint. At the OBA, "a gi- ant committee of lawyers" probes proposed laws and regulations, says Crone. "The OBA is playing a more important role than ever. We keep a close eye on new bills and regulations both with a view to protecting the profession and protecting the public. The OBA is often the first to raise serious concerns about a proposed law or policy shift. The government listens to us." He notes the OBA pushed for three items in Premier Kathleen Wynne's May 2 budget: increasing legal aid funding, improvements to family law, and a new Toronto courthouse. LT Fewer lawyers signal added responsibility for OBA Continued from page 1 Disbarments ordered in previous legal aid cases Christine Elliott, Yasir Naqvi, Madeleine Meilleur, and Jagmeet Singh are among seven lawyers who won seats at Queen's Park in the June 12 election.

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