Law Times

Law TiMes • May 14, 2012 Lawyer took $1M from dad's estate NEWS BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times well-known Ottawa lawyer aſter a hearing panel found he misappro- priated more than $1 million from his deceased father' T he Law Society of Up- per Canada has made a finding of professional misconduct against a misapplied more than $40,000 from the trust accounts of several Lang Michener LLP clients. According to the hearing pan- s estate and instance, Vandor moved trust money held in one matter to the mixed trust account of the same client in a different one. In other cases, he didn't attempt to cover the shortfall at all, the hearing panel' ancies, Vandor said "he needed to look into things, and if there had been some mistake, he would re- pay the money. When asked about the discrep- s decision noted. panel's decision, he never did. el, Leslie Vandor, who became an independent contractor with Lang Michener in March 2006, made at least four transfers out of and between the firm' mixed trust accounts from Febru- ary to April 2008. Until April 2008, the trust ac- s trust and counts of other Lang Michener clients padded the shortfalls. But aſter that time, trust monies from two separate Lang Michener cli- ents made their way into Van- dor' s personal accounts and his mother's personal account. In the as well as a family business. Lang Michener' meantime, Vandor had been tak- ing money from his father' partner at the time, Michael Rankin, had been concerned about Vandor' s managing duce on a deal he had made with the firm in 2006 to act as an independent contractor. He began to notice discrepancies and missing funds in clients' trust and mixed trust accounts in January 2009 aſter Vandor' s inability to pro- departure from the firm. Rankin approached Vandor s about the missing trust monies in January 2009. But when Vandor failed to provide adequate reasons as to why the funds were missing, Rankin made a complaint about him to the law society. The firm repaid almost $48,000 from its own funds to each client and has since merged with McMillan LLP. The hearing panel made a s estate " According to the Chester Burtt, a longtime friend and client of Vandor' than $30,000. Vandor "was not only a friend but he was my lawyer," Burtt told panel, Vandor transferred mon- ey between two unrelated mat- ters Burtt had with the firm and used the trust funds from one to cover the legal fees in the other. He also withdrew trust money from one of the accounts to pay his hydro and credit card bills and advised Burtt to pay him directly for his services in one of the matters despite his agree- ment with the firm. At the same time, Vandor also to the hearing transferred more than $12,000 from his client Lena Badali' trust account personal account to cover an increasing hole in his deceased father' to his mother's timing of this transaction was also not accidental, "It occurred when Leslie Vandor's "The law society argued that the " wrote Backhouse. s dwindling estate. mother and sister had discovered that the family estate was depleted and his mother could not pay her ongoing expenses without selling her condo. According to the hearing pan- el's decision, Vandor transferred " more than $1 million from his father' finding of professional miscon- duct against Vandor on May 1. It has reserved its decision on penalty pending oral or written submissions. Vandor "consistently pointed the finger at others rather than taking responsibility for his own actions or inaction," hearing panel chairwoman Constance Back- house wrote in the decision with fellow members Adriana Doyle and Barbara Laskin concurring. The panel noted Vandor had ments Ltd. to himself or other companies he controlled from 1998 to 2007. Vandor Investments was a s estate and Vandor Invest- privately owned company Van- dor' was a signing officer and director. The company was 84.5-per-cent owned by Vandor' s father had created. Vandor and the shares of the business were the estate' According to the hearing pan- el's decision, Vandor transferred s primary assets. the money from Vandor Invest- ments and his father' been a successful solo practitioner in Ottawa when he entered into a two-year fee-sharing agreement with Lang Michener in 2006. At the time, Vandor had authored several legal books, had appeared on radio and TV shows to talk about legal issues in the area, and had a weekly column in the Otta- wa Citizen. He had also previously served as senior adviser to the at- torney general of Canada. To cover the shortfall in Lang Michener's trust accounts in one personal accounts to pay his taxes, for the purchase of a farm, and to cover his own unrelated legal fees. He also used it to pay his wife and children as well as his credit card balances. He took money for nearly a decade before he with- drew from all administration of the estate in 2008. During that time, the value s estate to his of Vandor Investments and his father' $5,000 in December 2007 from a combined total of nearly $2 mil- lion in May 1998. s estate decreased to about s father's estate We are pleased to have Jason Beeho join us as a partner in our growing firm. He enjoys helping clients solve problems in employment law and workplace human rights. Jason brings a real-world sensibility to legal and business issues and is as comfortable with a CEO as he is on a job-site. A talented negotiator, he is also a staunch advocate when complicated workplace disputes arise. We are thrilled to have Jason join the Rubin Thomlinson team of experts in employment law and workplace human rights. Rubin Thomlinson LLP www.rubinthomlinson.com (416) 847-1814 20 Adelaide St. East, Suite 1104 Toronto, Ontario M5C 2T6 Rubin_LT_May14_12.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-05-08 11:32 AM LegalAid_LT_May7_12.indd 1 12-04-30 3:56 PM RT is building their team. s Because of Vandor's actions, s, lost more the hearing panel. "I trusted him implicitly. I didn't ask to see a lot of paperwork because of that trust." According According to the hear- ing panel's decision, when his mother and siblings began to ask about the dwindling funds, "We all trusted [Leslie] that he was handling everything Vandor cited "a drop in the market" and a "tax bite. " all right," Vandor's 91-year-old LT mother Agnes told the hearing panel. "Who can you trust if you can't trust your own son?" ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE 3

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