Law Times

Page 16 February 9, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com NO PARALEGAL LICENCE FOR KOPYTO Disbarred lawyer Harry Kopyto doesn't have the good character required to become a paralegal in Ontario, ac- cording to the Law Society Tribunal. The law society disbarred Kopyto in 1989 after finding he had overbilled le- gal aid by $150,000. In recent years, he has faced the good-character proceed- ings as he seeks a licence as a paralegal. According to a ruling issued by the tribunal's hearing division last week, Kopyto has admitted to practising law after his disbarment. "Mr. Kopyto acknowledges that he is not rule-observant. As he ex- plains this, he is governed by his conscience and refuses to obey the law when to do so would lead to an unjust result. He counsels his clients to obey the law unless a higher moral duty calls upon them to breach it. He testified that the public interest comes first, not his clients. Mr. Kopyto asks us to stand up against the narrow ideology and sanctioned percep- tions of the legal profession, and to disregard his breaches of the rules governing paralegals' scope of practice. He characterizes his unauthor- ized practice as political activism promoting access to justice, an area where, he claims, the society has utterly failed to achieve its mandate." Kopyto, who likened himself to rule breakers like Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi, pointed to his "empathetic qualities," the panel noted. "We have no difficulty concluding that Mr. Kopyto is sincerely devoted to pursuing his clients' causes, and that he has great empathy for them. He is generous, he is appreciated by his cli- ents, and he is dedicated to them. "And although these qualities denote good character, they do not justify permitting an individual to provide legal services who con- siders himself to be exempt from applicable laws and rules, including those regulating his profession, whenever his conscience finds it to be convenient." MEN USE MARTIAL ARTS TO STOP ROBBERY AT GUNPOINT TIRANA, Albania — They say it's generally not smart or worth it to resist a robbery at gun- point, but three Chinese men have shown mar- tial arts can be an effective response. According to Reuters, three Albanian gun- men met their match recently when they held up three Chinese contractors who outwitted and overpowered them with their martial arts skills. The Chinese contractors re-enacted for Alba- nia's News24 TV what they said had happened on a mountain road in northern Albania. "They were masked and armed and stopped us, putting the gun below the chin of our friend. They wanted our mobile phones, mon- ey, and the sacks with our goods," said one of the Chinese men, whom News24 didn't name. Speaking in Chinese, the three agreed to fight their attackers, he said. The man's demonstration of his techniques for the camera included powerful hand blows and frontal and back kicks. Having overpowered the gunmen, the Chi- nese men called the police and had them arrested. According to Reuters, Albanian police con- firmed that gunmen had tried to rob the Chi- nese nationals at gunpoint and said they had arrested two people aged 21 and 23. KERRY FINED $50 FOR NOT SHOVELLING STREET BOSTON — You'd think meetings with a Mid- dle East king would be a good excuse for not shovelling your sidewalk. But according to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has received a $50 fine for failing to have a side street adjoining his Bos- ton home shovelled following the blizzard that dropped more than 60 centimetres of snow on Massachusetts recently. Authorities issued the fine after a snow- removal company hired by Kerry and his neighbours in the city's historic Beacon Hill neighbourhood saw yellow tape blocking the sidewalk alongside the home and thought it re- lated to security for the top U.S. diplomat. The tape was there to warn pedestrians of falling ice and snow, said Kerry's spokesman, Glen Johnson. "Once they understood that they were al- lowed to enter the area, the contractors finished the sidewalk late Thursday morning," he said. Kerry was in Saudi Arabia with President Barack Obama to attend the funeral of King Abdullah and meet with his successor, King Salman, at the time of the storm. "The snow has all been shovelled now," Johnson said. WOULD-BE LOTTO WINNER'S APPEAL OPTIONS RUN OUT MONTREAL — Seven seconds can be worth millions of dollars, a lottery dispute has shown. According to Reuters, a Canadian man de- nied part of a $27-million jackpot because he missed the deadline to buy the ticket by seven seconds has lost his appeal to get the money. The Supreme Court of Canada decision end- ed a seven-year legal battle by Joel Ifergan, an ac- countant, to claim his share of the prize. Ifergan went to a local convenience store just before 9 p.m. on May 23, 2008, to purchase tick- ets for that night's Lotto Super 7 drawing. The store clerk told him to hurry before the 9 p.m. deadline, according to a court summary. While the clock on the lottery terminal read 8:59 p.m., only one of the two tickets was regis- tered in time. The second ticket, the winning one, was printed and registered on the Loto- Québec computer at seven seconds after 9 p.m. and therefore was eligible for the following week's drawing. After Loto-Québec denied him the jackpot, Ifergan sued for the processing lag. The case has since been working its way through Canada's courts. Last month, the Su- preme Court denied leave to appeal. LT legal expertise? Looking for Find exactly what you need at www.CanadianLawList.com It's fast, It's free, s fa , s f and it's available to you 24 hours a day. ay. s available y availabl y Starting a business, making a will or buying a house? Declaring bankruptcy, dealing with a personal injury, insurance claim or job loss? If you're in the midst of one of life's big events, help is as close as your smartphone, tablet or computer. Simply go to www.CanadianLawList.com to find the right lawyer for your particular legal need. www.CanadianLawList.com is Canada's most comprehensive online directory of lawyers and law firms. And it's easy to use! You can search by city, legal specialty, or name for listings and contact information. Find the legal expertise you need at www.CanadianLawList.com. CLLonline_LT_July7_14.indd 1 14-07-02 8:13 AM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story NEW APPOINTEES TO ORDER OF ONTARIO Several lawyers and judges were among the recent appointees to the Order of Ontario. Among those honoured by Lt.- Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell were former Ontario chief justice Warren Winkler and Sidney Linden, who served as chief jus- tice of the Ontario Court of Justice, as well as lawyers Gilles LeVasseur and Eva Marsze- wski. The appointees also include former Ontario Court justice Maryka Omatsu. Winkler, a former labour law- yer, has joined Arbitration Place since leaving the office of the chief justice of Ontario. Linden, who was Ontario's first information and privacy commissioner, also served as chairman of Legal Aid Ontario as well as commissioner for the Ipperwash public inquiry. LeVasseur is a lawyer and a professor at the University of Ottawa's business department. According to the government of Ontario, he has spent "more than 25 years working to pro- tect, promote, and enhance the constitutional and language rights of Ontario's francophone community." Marszewski, meanwhile, is the founder and executive direc- tor of Peacebuilders Interna- tional. Omatsu, Canada's first Asian-Canadian female judge, was a member of the negotiation team for the National Associa- tion of Japanese Canadians in its quest for Canadian redress for the internment during the Second World War. NEW PARTNERS AT DENTONS Dentons Canada LLP has ad- mitted four new lawyers to the partnership at its Ontario offices. The four are among 17 law- yers who made partnership across six offices in Canada. In Toronto, the new partners in- clude financial services lawyer Kori Williams, employment lawyer Andy Pushalik, and commercial real estate lawyer Scott Martyn. The sole new partner at the Ottawa office is Rob Davis, a lawyer who ad- vises clients on venture capital, private equity financing, and cross-border transactions. LT "A recent Ontario Court of Appeal ruling has forestalled a possible obligation on municipalities to install extra signage encouraging rural drivers to obey stop signs." Harry Kopyto

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