Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS June 20, 2011 • Law Times Condo sale to cover clients' cash, lawyer says Continued from page 1 that are important to ongoing cases, according to an affi davit fi led June 1 in Toronto. Th e law society is now try- ing to fi nd the missing money, but Barrick says he knows ex- actly where they can fi nd it. "I have already notifi ed the [LSUC] that the trust moneys in question, which by the way does not total $300,000, was invested into an investment property," he said. Th at property is located at 324 Laurier Ave. in Ottawa. Th e condo is in Barrick's name and is listed for sale at $469,000. According to court docu- ments, however, one of Bar- rick's clients allegedly didn't receive credit for making a deposit on a real estate deal. "Th is information shows [Bar- rick] may have used a portion of the $200,000 to purchase the above noted condo unit," forensic auditor Prospero Vito wrote in reference to the Lau- rier Avenue property. But Barrick said that when the property sells, it should fetch enough cash to cover the trust money. Other clients claim to have lost large sums of money as well. Th ere's a British Colum- bia client, for example, who alleges to have paid a $10,000 retainer for services but hasn't been able to get a hold of Bar- rick. Th en there's a client who claims to have received $27,000 less than should have been the case in a marriage settlement. Another is allegedly still wait- ing for a $78,000 payment. Barrick is a law graduate from the common law pro- gram at the University of Ot- tawa. His ex-wife is legal coun- sel with the Supreme Court of Canada. Th e pair has two sons. But Barrick claims he did everything he could to look out for his clients. "I am obviously very sad- dened and horrifi ed by this news," he said. "Unfortunately, it seems obvious to me now that there is a major misunder- standing of the situation." He's also apologizing to his clients and anyone else harmed by what has happened. "I never intended for any of this to happen. I have devoted my life to public service and to the practice of the law." In the meantime, La Ro- chelle is waiting for answers and notes Barrick still owes him money. "I keep hoping that what [Barrick] is saying can be sub- stantiated." Judge seeking holistic approach Continued from page 1 try to work through some of the issues that we were fi nd- ing in the intersection between these two areas of law." Of course, it wasn't as easy as taking the U.S. model and dropping it into a Toronto courtroom. One of the key dis- tinctions between the two legal systems is that rules prevent Ontario matters from being mandated into the integrated domestic violence court. Th at means Waldman's system will be populated by cases involving at least one litigant who qualifi es for legal aid and with both par- ties consenting to transferring their matters to the new court. "We hope that it will pro- vide this much more holistic and integrated approach by having both cases heard by a single judge," says Waldman. "But I want to be clear: the rules as they apply to each [area of law] will remain." In addi- tion, she notes, the new court won't administer trials but will do everything up to that or pleading. Toronto criminal defence lawyer Adam Weisberg says he's keeping an open mind Untitled-10 1 6/7/11 1:34:38 PM about the integrated domestic violence court and is reserving judgment until its structure fully develops. He does see val- ue for low-income clients who could benefi t from having their matters integrated. However, he's concerned that the process of getting a matter into the court could cause cumbersome delays with issues that families need to deal with quickly. "I just see getting into the [new] court as an extra step or an extra process before anything can be done," he says. "I see that actually in practicality might take longer than just going and doing the orders the way we've been doing it all along." While the court opened June 10, Waldman wasn't expecting a rush of cases to come forward at that time. Th e start date was being viewed as the next step in a process of making individuals aware of the court's off erings. "We are very excited about this," she says. "We worked really hard to get here and are very optimistic that it will be a great success and believe this type of model will benefi t these families tremendously." Get more online lawtimesnews.com canadianlawyermag.com Fresh Canadian legal news and analysis every day Canadian Lawyer | Law Times | 4Students | InHouse | Legal Feeds Visit Us Online_Odd-5X.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 2/28/11 2:38:11 PM

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