Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS June 27, 2011 • Law Times Multicultural communities targeted Continued from page 1 advertise or off er services in family law, an area of practice they lost when the law society took over regulation. "Some such services are off ered under the pretext of 'mediation,' but without aff ord- ing the parties the opportunity to have the mediated agreement, typically drafted on the spot by the mediator himself or herself, reviewed independently by each party's lawyer," she wrote. Th e law society deals with complaints about paralegals and lawyers who practise while sus- pended through the disciplinary process rather than before the courts. Just last month, it dis- barred David Robert Conway of Toronto for continuing to practise while suspended after running into trouble over his failure to register discharges for clients and ignoring correspondence from other lawyers. It also ordered him to pay $5,000. A number of paralegals have also faced problems for straying too far into the territory of law- yers. Earlier this year, Suzy De Je- sus Dos Santos lost her appeal of the decision to deny her a parale- gal licence. Th e hearing panel said it was disturbed by her "cavalier and nonchalant" attitude to the off ence. "Her actions created problems for some of her clients rather than helping them," wrote panel chair- man Ross Murray. Meanwhile, one of the most high-profi le cases of paralegals practising beyond their scope con- tinues to rumble through the law society's disciplinary process. On May 31, an appeal panel allowed former North Bay, Ont., council- lor and paralegal Maureen Boldt to continue practising until her appeal of a decision to deny her a paralegal licence can be heard. Boldt served four months under house arrest in 2007 for con- tempt of court for the unauthor- ized practice of law after prepar- ing a separation agreement. Th e original law society panel found Boldt was "ungovernable," posed a public risk, and had "no moral compass." Th e law society also has the power to prosecute non-licensees for unauthorized practice un- der the Provincial Off ences Act. According to Onen's report, the LSUC has preferred to steer away from prosecutions in favour of less expensive permanent injunc- tions by the Superior Court that are enforceable through civil con- tempt proceedings if necessary. Included among non-licensees are lawyers who have previously been disbarred but continue to hold themselves out as able to practise. Late last year, Lee Fingold was found guilty of 12 counts un- der the Provincial Off ences Act re- lated to the unauthorized practice of law 14 years after his disbar- ment for misappropriating funds from his real estate practice. He now markets himself on his web site as Th e Blessed Paralegal and claims he helps people prepare to represent themselves in court. "If you want Blessed Advice, not le- gal advice, please do call me," he writes. Cases such as Fingold's are rare, according to Onen's re- port. Between 2008 and 2010, just eight cases were referred for prosecution and there were a further 10 applications for per- manent injunctions. In 2010, as part of its eff orts to tackle the large increase in cases, the law society began to send all of its complaints about unauthorized practice, even less serious ones, to its investigations department. Ac- cording to Heins, the concerted eff ort has made a diff erence. "We eventually determined that it is preferable to maintain all [unauthorized practice] com- plaints in one department in order to be able to consistently follow up where the informal resolutions do not work and to develop ex- pertise in investigative approaches that are unique to [such] cases," he says. When there is a complaint, the law society takes an escalating approach to the alleged off ender. While cease-and-desist letters are often enough to halt the practice, the LSUC asks those who persist to sign an undertaking not to continue. If that request is unsuc- cessful, the law society initiates court proceedings. According to the LSUC, an emerging trend concerns unau- thorized practitioners targeting ethnic or multicultural communi- ties. Onen's report notes that those types of practices may be under- represented in the complaints fi gures because people may feel reluctant to report members of their own community. "We have noted that certain individuals are targeting particular communities and exploiting those communities' lack of familiarity with the law society's regulatory role," Heins says. "We are in the process of undertaking a targeted communication eff ort to provide information to the public about how they can fi nd out if the rep- resentative they wish to retain is properly licensed." Lawyer hoping for co-operation Continued from page 1 Times that his fi rm and co-counsel Kirk Baert of Toronto's Koskie Minsky LLP would fi le a similar action on behalf of an institu- tional investor "within the next week." As it turns out, the On- tario lawsuit was fi led on June 20. Perhaps because the fi rm lacked the green light from institu- tional investors, Siskinds didn't fi le in Ontario at the outset. Th at might explain the rush to fi le in Quebec once Rochon Genova had pre-empted Siskinds in Ontario. What makes the argument more compelling is that Quebec GET FAST ACCESS TO THE LATEST EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR LAW NEW EDITION CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR STATUTES AND REGULATIONS 2011 A practical source for all the legislation you need to be able to quickly reference key employment and labour statutes and regulations applicable to federally regulated workplaces – whether in Board meetings and arbitrations, during meetings or on the road. 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Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 doesn't have laws that impose secondary market liability in the same way that Ontario does, meaning the case will be harder to prove in the neighbouring province. Meanwhile, Toronto's Kim Orr law fi rm is investigating a sepa- rate claim on behalf of other institutional investors. Th e upshot is that each of Ontario's major securities class ac- tion plaintiff s' fi rms is hot on the heels of the Sino-Forest fallout. Th ere's no suggestion that there's anything wrong with that. But critics say the rush to fi le doesn't always refl ect well on the civil justice system. Consider, for example, that at least some of the Muddy Wa- ters allegations that form the heart of the pleadings fi led to date were quickly shown to have been inaccurate. It's also notable that Muddy Waters' views were contrary to those of the entrenched analyst community on Bay Street. Indeed, it's the type of scenario that has given rise to so much skepticism about securities class actions in the United States. Th at's not to say that experienced Canadian plaintiff s' counsel, who are widely regarded as considerably more cautious than their American counterparts, need to wait around until the true facts emerge from the confusion. Th e point is simply that lawsuits fi led on what appear to be dubious facts from a questionable source that arguably has a confl ict of interest are bound to raise a few eyebrows. Nevertheless, Rochon says the Muddy Waters report is power- ful. "What we have is a very serious problem that is evidenced by the massive drop in market value," he says. "It's important for investors to know that someone is doing something about it and not just relying on the results of a regulator's investigation that won't be available for some time." For his part, Lascaris focuses on the need for proper representa- tion for investors. In doing so, he at least implicitly acknowledges the possibility of a looming carriage fi ght down the road. "It's im- portant to have the case prosecuted by fi rms that have experience in this area," he says. "Th e problem with the fi rst-to-fi le approach is that it allows lawyers with limited experience to take advantage of the rule." Moreover, Lascaris adds, his fi rm isn't relying only on the Mud- dy Waters report. "We don't simply rely on what anyone says and certainly not a short seller," he says. "We're doing our own investi- gation, and that involves considerably more than just listening to the debate about what makes sense and who's right here." Indeed, Lascaris maintains that his fi rm "may not necessarily agree with everything" said by Muddy Waters. "Th e pleadings will evolve as the facts emerge," he says. At the same time, Rochon says it's too early to make predic- tions about whether and to what extent a carriage fi ght is im- minent. "We all have mutual respect, and I hope that we can see through our personal needs and fi nd a constructive way to work together." Untitled-4 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 6/21/11 10:38:13 AM

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