Law Times

Law times • OctOber 20, 2008 Toronto lawyer back on track Divisional Court puts BY ROBERT TODD Law Times ruling that barred Toronto lawyer Gerald Sternberg from appearing as counsel before the commis- sion, citing lack of jurisdiction to adjudicate contempt matters and an apprehension of bias. "This decision will hopefully put him back to square one and allow him to represent clients be- fore the commission again, with- out the taint of that previous deci- sion," says Tom Curry of Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP, who represented Sternberg. Curry says ORC matters made up about 25 per cent of Sternberg' practice, and he hasn't appeared as T he Divisional Court has quashed an Ontario Rac- ing Commission panel's s counsel before it since the hearing in which his conduct was questioned. The contempt hearing was held to consider Sternberg's actions in an ORC hearing in which he rep- resented two clients. The March hearing was overseen by commis- sion panel chairman, and former NHL player, Rod Seiling. During a witness cross-exam- the fact that Sternberg had apologized at the meeting. The Divisional Court ruled currently investigating the matter. Brendan Van Niejenhuis of that the panel had "pre-judged the issues arising from the hear- ing," and that a reasonable appre- hension of bias existed because the reasons were pre-prepared, the panel took only eight minutes to consider the matter, two of the commissioners at the meeting sat on the hearing in question, and Sternberg wasn't permitted to make submissions on penalty. The court also noted that the commission is restricted to pre- senting contempt allegations to the Divisional Court. The court reject- ed the commission's argument that it was acting within its mandate to "prevent abuse of its processes." The matter was referred to the Law Society of Upper Cana- da before Sternberg's appearance at the commission meeting. The Divisional Court ruled that it's now up to LSUC to consider Sternberg's conduct. Curry says the law society is Stockwoods LLP, who acted as counsel to the ORC at the Divi- sional Court, says his firm referred the matter to the law society. He added that the ORC had not previously held a meeting like the one in which Sternberg's conduct was considered. Van Niejenhuis had no comments on, and said he didn't have any instructions from the ORC regarding, an appeal of the Divisional Court ruling. ORC executive director John NEWS PAGE 5 LSUC launches think tank T BY ROBERT TODD Law Times nine recommendations from the law society's working group on the retention of women in private practice and the first of its kind in Canada — will see participating firms committed to four goals: • Adopting an internal system to keep statistical data on gender; • Reviewing current policies on maternity, paternal, and adoption leave, as well as flexible work arrangements, with an eye on hav- ing written policies established by 2011; The Justicia Think Tank — the creation of which was one of • Sharing information on business development and networking opportunities for women; and Blakney tells Law Times the com- mission was in the middle of a set of meetings and unable to discuss the case by press time. Curry says Sternberg now must consider his next steps. "He had a busy practice before the commission, and I don' what he' lawyers; firms of 25 to 100; and firms of over 100 working together. Alan Farrer, managing partner of Toronto firm and Justicia partici- s going to do about the fact that for some months he was unable to appear before the commission, and that the very commissioners before whom he'll appear have crit- icized him so harshly," he says. t know LT ination by Sternberg, Seiling sug- gested the lawyer was repeating questions, according to the Di- visional Court decision, written by Justice James Carnwath for a panel including Justice Katherine Swinton and Justice Timothy Ray. Sternberg, who was called to the bar in 1971, responded by suggest- ing Seiling lacked legal training. "All I know is you were a hockey player in your day," said Sternberg during the exchange. "Have you had legal training to say what cross-examination is? I am tired of listening to you when you don't even know the rules! You've had no legal training!" The hearing continued without incident, and the panel later ruled against Sternberg's clients. A judi- cial review application was pend- ing, according to Carnwath. Three weeks later, meanwhile, Sternberg was advised that the commission would, during an April meeting, review his conduct at the hearing. Sternberg appeared at the meeting, which a panel of six commissioners presided over, including the two hearing panel members other than Seiling. Dur- ing the meeting, Sternberg apolo- gized three times for what he said at the hearing, wrote Carnwath. After listening to submissions on the matter, the commission- ers rose for eight minutes, wrote Carnwath. Upon their return, they read a decision that took about 25 minutes to get through. The ruling prohibited Sternberg from acting as counsel on matters before the commission until he issued an "unqualified apology" to it, wrote Carnwath. The Divisional Court ruled the panel's decision was "pre-prepared." It had been typewritten before the meeting and was identical to the 15-page reasons later handed out by the commission, wrote Carnwath. "To suggest that the reasons could have been prepared in the eight-minute adjournment defies logic," wrote Carnwath. He noted, for instance, that the pre-prepared decision ignored Introducing ... The highly anticipated successor to the renowned and often cited Crawford & Falconbridge on Banking and Bills of Exchange, Eighth Edition (1986) and Payment, Clearing and Settlement in Canada (2002) The Law of Banking and Payment in Canada Bradley Crawford, Q.C. "An excellent overview of payment, clearing and settlement law in Canada that brings clarity to an often complex area of law. A must have authority if working in this area." 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Turn to the only authority on the legal issues surrounding Canadian payment instruments and systems. Order your copy of The Law of Banking and Payment in Canada today! www.canadalawbook.ca www.lawtimesnews.com pant Thomson Rogers, hopes the project will help his firm find ways to keep more associates. "We're trying to create an environment where we're going to retain all our associates, including our female associates, and we're trying to come up with a way in which we can organize our practice so that it's not only feasible but it's something someone would really want to get involved in," he says. The Justicia project was approved by Convocation in May, along with a suite of other offerings aimed at making private practice more accessible for females lawyers. LT • Working with the law society in 2011 to create and put in place models for mentoring and skills development that target wom- en's needs, and bolster their spot in law firm leadership. Firms will split into three groups, with regional firms of six to 25 he Law Society of Upper Canada has recruited over 40 firms to take part in a pilot project it hopes will help identify ways to keep more women in private practice.

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