Law Times

Page 4 May 2, 2016 • Law TiMes www.lawtimesnews.com In trouble for showing LSUC card to visit friend Lawyer appeals sanction for 2014 jail visit BY MICHAEL MCKIERNAN For Law Times A former mega-night- club-owning lawyer has appealed a law so- ciety sanction imposed on him for holding himself out as a lawyer while suspended. Ari Kulidjian hasn't prac- tised law since 2013, but a steady stream of law society hearings have kept him busy since then, with most of the complaints stemming from a time when he was preoccupied with the im- plosion of Toronto's notorious Circa nightclub. The 55,000-square-foot venue, which opened in a blaze of glory in 2007 following a reported $6.5-million renovation, f lamed out in equally spectacular and costly style, declaring bankruptcy in 2010 with $9 million owed to creditors. Kulidjian's latest infraction, which resulted in his fifth con- duct proceeding in the last five years, involved a 2014 trip to the Toronto West Detention Cen- tre to see an incarcerated friend outside visiting hours. Kulidjian showed his law society card to a guard without mentioning his administrative suspension, im- posed for failing to file his annu- al report, and was granted a pro- fessional visit usually reserved for lawyers visiting clients. Staff quickly realized his suspended status and recorded the incident as a security breach. A Law Society of Upper Can- ada hearing panel noted that the case was "unique" because it had never seen a "holding oneself out" charge prosecuted alone without an accompanying alle- gation of unauthorized practice. In its decision, the panel accept- ed that Kulidjian never intended to provide his friend with legal services, and never claimed to anyone at the jail that he was en- titled to practise law, but found the misconduct proven due to his omission of the detail about his suspension. "We believe Mr. Kulidjian did not deliberately set out to mis- represent his status, but rather impulsively and spontaneously took advantage of the situation to visit his friend, knowing that he would not otherwise have ac- cess to a visit," wrote panel chair- woman Frederika Rotter. In March, the panel handed Kulidjian a one-month suspen- sion for the offence, ignoring the lawyer's pleas for a repri- mand or caution in a case that he said should never have been launched due to its "minimal impact." In an interview, Ku- lidjian told Law Times he was limited in what he could say with his appeal still pending. "I don't plan on [return- ing to practice], but I certainly want to keep that option open," Kulidjian says. "It's an impor- tant appeal for me, and I want it to go smoothly. The evidence I thought was very one-sided in my favour, but the decision came out differently." William Trudell, who fre- quently represents lawyers facing disciplinary proceedings, says he can't comment on Kulidjian's case without knowing all the facts. However, speaking gener- ally, he says the LSUC does not make enough use of the less pub- lic alternatives to formal conduct proceedings, particularly in cas- es that involve "mistakes made in situational events." "They can result in a conduct record that lasts forever and can never be pardoned or suspend- ed. There's no question that it interferes with careers," he says. "The issue of proportionality is important at the law society, and I think that is what is missing in many cases." Trudell says the lack of rep- resentation for accused lawyers at the LSUC's proceedings au- thorization committee, a panel of benchers that decides which cases go to a public hearing, also concerns him. "Once they authorize a hear- ing, there's no real off-ramp," he says. "In a situation where someone already has a discipline record, that may not be as im- portant or relevant, but it should still be taken into consideration." Kulidjian had a history in club management in the early 2000s, as part owner of Roxy Blu, a downtown Toronto venue. But it was his partnership with controversial nightclub tycoon Peter Gatien, a man once de- ported from the U.S. for a tax- evasion conviction, that took him to the next level in the city's club scene. After acting for Ga- tien in a legal matter, he became more involved with attracting investors for the project that would become Circa, and he took on the role of principal in Arena Entertainment Inc., the club's parent company. Circa opened in October 2007, occupying four stories in a building in Toronto's Enter- tainment District. The owners marketed it as more than a club, with a focus on art and live per- formers, and after a renovation, it was equipped with a movie screening room, a ballroom, and a recording studio, according to reports on opening night. However, Kulidjian and Ga- tien fell out over the club's ris- ing expenses, and they ended up suing each other. A year after Gatien left the project, Kulidjian had soldiered on, but by March 2010, he was unable to hold Cir- ca's creditors at bay, and a judge declared it bankrupt. After the 2010 collapse, Ku- lidjian told The Globe and Mail, "I did the classic chase- bad-money-with-good thing. To use a colloquial term — it was always a buck short and a day late," he told the paper at the time, adding that "I don't regret anything because I learned a lot." Kulidjian's first contact with the LSUC resulted in a reprimand in 2010 after he admitted failing to co-operate with its investiga- tion of his practice. The law so- ciety's requests for documents came in the early months of 2010, right at the crunch time for Circa. Later in 2010, his wife died after a long illness, leaving Kulidjian to look after five children alone, including two toddlers. After his administrative sus- pension in late 2013, Kulidjian received a two-month suspen- sion after admitting another al- legation of failure to co-operate in July 2014, plus another month for a similar charge in May 2015. However, he had some suc- cess fighting more serious charges that year, including al- legations he misappropriated $36,000 from his mixed trust account. A panel found an under-trained law clerk left in charge of the business aspect of the practice had likely trans- ferred the money out mistak- enly in anticipation of incoming funds. The panel concluded the allegations were not established, taking into consideration that the events took place in 2009 "in the midst of significant per- sonal, professional and financial upheaval" for Kulidjian. The panel still gave him a three-month suspension for oth- er misconduct it found proven, which means that if he ever does want to return to practice, Ku- lidjian will first have to serve his outstanding suspensions, which total seven months. LT Ari Kulidjian was suspended for a month for showing his law society card to a jail guard in 2014, without mentioning he was suspended at the time. We believe Mr. Kulidjian did not deliberately set out to misrepresent his status, but rather impulsively and spontaneously took advantage of the situation to visit his friend, knowing that he would not otherwise have access to a visit. Frederika Rotter NEWS THE MOST COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF ONTARIO LAWYERS, LAW FIRMS, JUDGES AND COURTS. 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