Law Times

Law Times • December 13, 2010 NEWS New calls turning to social media Continued from page 1 and Naheed Nenshi in Calgary's mayoral race. In any case, she was scared off by the $18,000 cost of mailing campaign materi- als to the entire electorate. "I'm part of a generation that isn't really engaged, but they become engaged when someone runs who appeals to them," she says. "I don't really think the bencher elec- tion is high on their radar right now. Most are focused on the next hurdles in their careers: getting the first job and building a practice. But I think you can appeal to them." Rob Levan, another recent call from Toronto, says his campaign will also have a strong electronic flavour. "It's all about engagement electronically. Everyone's on their laptops and iPads at all times, and if you can just pull them in for 30 seconds and get them to remember your name, you have a shot." Levan is determined to make his way into Convocation at some stage even if he can't manage it on the first try. "I'll keep going for it, this time and the next time, until I get elected," he says. "But win or lose, I'm dedicated to the experience." Should Salmon and Levan make the cut, Pawlitza's comments suggested their input could be useful. In fact, she noted that the large number of students coming through the licensing process and the shortage of articling positions are among her most pressing concerns, issues younger lawyers would be well aware of. Pawlitza also said she was concerned with the aging of the bar in communities beyond the major metropolitan centres. While 41 per cent of the profession is over 50, that figure tops 60 per cent in rural ar- eas such as Grey and Bruce counties. "It means entire communities are go- ing to find themselves without any local counsel," Pawlitza said. LT Being a bencher takes its toll on home life, says Larry Banack. 'He is the author of his own misfortune' Continued from page 1 conference centre in Bramp- ton. None of the allegations have been proven in court. "I believe that Ms. Blake and Ms. Graham arranged to deplete my trust account of mortgage funds to bankroll Ms. Blake's business," Amissah- Ocran wrote in his affidavit. The lawsuit also names Blake as a defendant, along with her husband. Neither she nor Graham could be reached for comment. Things came to a head in September when CIBC de- manded a final report on a $376,000 mortgage that was supposed to have closed in May. According to Ruther- ford's factum, the mortgage funds were disbursed to Blake even though the deal never closed. The money was alleg- edly returned to CIBC using funds from another mortgage acquired by Blake, according to the factum. Amissah-Ocran learned of CIBC's complaint to the law so- ciety on Sept. 27. In his affidavit, he says that was the first time he found out about the problem and alleges Graham had been "concealing communications from CIBC from me." According to Rutherford, the law society has struggled to keep up as complaints began flooding in since then. Instead of going to po- lice, Amissah-Ocran says he launched his own investigation and confronted Graham and Blake. At one stage, he alleges in his claim that Blake asked him to "knowingly become part of the fraudulent scheme" by allowing the cycle of each fraudulent mortgage paying off the last to continue until she could find the money to make up the shortfall. In an affidavit filed with the LSUC, Amissah-Ocran said he waited until Nov. 3 to complain to police because he feared Gra- ham would stop talking to him about her scheme. "If Claire is charged, she will be directed not to talk to me anymore," he wrote. "I wanted to obtain as much information as I could from her before reporting the matter to the police." Amissah-Ocran says he Order your copy today Hardbound • 258 pp. November 2010 • $95 P/C 1001010000 ISBN 978-0-88804-515-7 hopes the lenders who paid out the fraudulent mortgages will join his lawsuit. He wants a receiver appointed to take over Blake's business and recover the lost money. "I may not be able to finance it all the way on my own. I'm hoping some of them will join in the litigation at some stage. Obviously, they will be interested in getting their money back. I'm hoping that one of the side-effects is that they [Blake and Graham] will be crippled and other law- yers will know so they cannot be taken in by them." Amissah-Ocran began his business relationship with Gra- ham in 2006 when he moved his office from Mississauga to a building in Brampton. Gra- ham's own legal services busi- ness, Grabasc and Associates, was based down the hall. According to the law society factum, Amissah-Ocran handed over his Teraview diskette and password to Graham for elec- tronic title registration in April 2008. The LSUC became aware Graham was working with Amissah-Ocran earlier this year when it investigated a complaint unrelated to mort- gage fraud. According to its factum, law society investiga- tion counsel Eric Smith asked Amissah-Ocran to stop using her for real estate services and retrieve his Teraview diskette. Amissah-Ocran also received a copy of the LSUC decision that disbarred Winston Mattis the previous year. A law society panel found Mattis had failed to supervise Graham, who ran his real es- tate practice with another law clerk. Graham was involved in 15 fraudulent mortgage trans- actions in which the panel found payments were made to her out of the funds by alter- ing the amounts owed in land transfer tax. According to the law society factum, Graham told an inves- tigator Amissah-Ocran paid her $200 per real estate deal and allegedly prepared trust cheques at her direction with- out reviewing the file. But Amissah-Ocran alleges in his own affidavit that Gra- ham faked documents and created false parcel registers in order to get him to sign off on trust cheques. "Her deception was extensive and deep," he wrote. The law society also accuses him of hampering its investiga- tion by failing to produce cli- ent files, but Amissah-Ocran claims he's unable to do so be- cause Graham has disappeared with all of his real estate files. At a hearing on Dec. 2 to deal with a motion to suspend Amissah-Ocran on an interlocu- tory basis, he pleaded to be able to continue his practice. The lawyer, who is 61 and was called to the bar in 1998 after practis- ing in Ghana and Europe, said suspension would be a "crush- ing" blow. "It is virtually impos- sible for me to find alternative employment," he said, adding he'd need an income in order to prosecute his action against Graham and Blake. But Rutherford had little sympathy. "He is the author of his own misfortune," she told a law society panel. "He played cute with the warning he was given." The panel eventually grant- ed Amissah-Ocran an ad- journment to find counsel and discuss his case, but he can't practise in the meantime. The motion for interlocutory sus- pension is due to return before the end of the year. LT PAGE 5 LIQUOR AND HOST LIABILITY LAW IN CANADA Lorne Folick, Michael Libby and Paul Dawson UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND DUTIES ARISING FROM THE SALE OR SERVICE OF ALCOHOL This is the fi rst resource to address all aspects of liquor liability in commercial, employment and social host settings. It includes analysis and discussion of all the leading cases and key legislation from across the country. Topics include: duties related to the condition of licensed premises and to activities on the premises • • • • • • • the obligations of commercial hosts to take reasonable steps to ensure that patrons are not injured by other patrons whether a commercial host may be responsible for the conduct of patrons who have left the premises conduct of employees and the use of excessive force social host liability at private functions the risks facing employers who provide alcohol to employees criminal, regulatory and administrative matters ... and more! An invaluable resource Lawyers in private practice (both plaintiff and defence) and in-house counsel will fi nd the summary of key defences particularly useful and will greatly benefi t from this thorough review of the law. canadalawbook.ca For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book, a Thomson Reuters business. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. LT1213 www.lawtimesnews.com

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