Law Times - sample

April 23, 2018

The premier weekly newspaper for the legal profession in Ontario

Issue link: https://digital.lawtimesnews.com/i/971844

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 12 of 19

Law Times • apriL 23, 2018 Page 13 www.lawtimesnews.com "You don't want the me- dia following as they walk to a parking lot a couple [of ] blocks away," she explains. In addition to photograph- ing a client, reporters will likely be asking questions both of the professional facing the disci- plinary proceeding and the law- yer. Tremayne-Lloyd stresses to her clients that they should not speak to the media. "Sometimes, they are harder to persuade not to talk. They are more adamant about their in- nocence," she says. While a lawyer should not speak to the specifics of the case against a client, it does not nec- essarily mean that there cannot be some form of response to the media. Tremayne-Lloyd says it de- pends on the facts of a case as to whether she will provide a quote for the media. "Only if it is strategically ap- propriate," she says. "Sometimes, you do not want to say anything." According to Makepeace, it is important for a lawyer "to turn their minds to what the pa- rameters are" in terms of what is appropriate to say to the media. "The worst thing is simply to say 'no comment,'" she says. The two lawyers also agree that answering factual ques- tions from reporters covering a hearing, not for a quote but to ensure their stories are accurate, is appropriate and beneficial for the client. "If you are effectively repeat- ing what has been said in open court or at a public hearing, then it is appropriate," Make- peace suggests. "If your comment goes be- yond that, there could be prob- lems. You have to be careful, but it can be an opportunity to edu- cate the reporter." She adds that it is worthwhile for the lawyer to monitor media coverage of a hearing in the event there is a significant factual error in a story or a report. Tremayne-Lloyd says in- teraction with media outside a proceeding is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is important to be cautious and respond to any questions as succinctly as pos- sible. As well, having some knowl- edge of the previous work of a reporter or columnist who is at a hearing, especially if the per- son works for a major media outlet, is also a good idea, she says. "There are some who have a particular bent, which is partic- ularly true when it comes to the medical profession. With these reporters, the less said, the bet- ter," she notes. LT "In my view it is appropriate to carve out revocation cases," wrote Lauwers. "The key point made in all of the mortgage fraud lawyer disci- pline cases is that dishonest mis- conduct presumptively results in revocation. It is in a different register, or of a different quality, than other lawyerly misconduct. The cases question whether, in the public interest, the profes- sion can accept the continued licensing of a person who has shown himself to be willing to participate, for personal gain, in stealing someone else's money; does the member have the moral character to continue to be in a position of trust?" Daniel Goldbloom, a Toron- to lawyer who acts in regulatory defence and discipline proceed- ings, suggests that there should be some kind of consequence for a regulator that causes un- reasonable delay. "It is frustrating to have a wrong with no remedy. If you have delay that most people ac- cept is problematic, there should be a way to address this," says Goldbloom. The other aspect of the leave application is whether the appeal division of the law so- ciety is an "expert tribunal" sim- ilar to the hearing panel or clos- er to that of a reviewing court. The Court of Appeal found that it went beyond its jurisdiction in considering that its function in- cluded sending a message about unreasonable delay. "The Appeal Division ex- ceeded its responsibility as an adjudicative body and misap- prehended Blencoe. It did not defer to the Hearing Division but actively sought to subvert its reasoning," wrote Lauwers. Addario, in his written sub- missions, argues that the Court of Appeal was wrong to con- clude that the appeal division had to defer to the hearing di- vision in the same way a court would to a tribunal. "There is no nationally con- sistent approach to the review of multi-level administrative adjudi- cation," Addario writes. "It is not the courts' role to determine the scope of a statutory tribunal's ap- pellate intervention. This is a de- cision for the tribunal," he states. In arguing against the granting of leave, the law society argues that the role of the appeal division was determined more than a decade ago and no court has interfered with this interpretation. "Unsurprisingly, given its name, the Appeal Division has repeatedly determined that is sits as an appellate body," write Dewart and Donovan. "This means, among other things, that the Appeal Division does not consider the issue of penalty de novo," they add. Kates agrees with the regula- tor's reasoning. "You have to look at the con- text. This is an appeal body," he says. The Supreme Court is ex- pected to announce later this spring if leave is granted. If the Supreme Court wants to take another look at Blencoe, then it may grant leave, suggests Kates. If leave is granted, Gold- bloom says, the impact of the case will go far beyond that of just the LSO. "It could do for delay in ad- ministrative tribunals what Jor- dan has done in criminal trials," he says. LT FOCUS Continued from page 12 Continued from page 11 Consequence for unreasonable delay Monitor coverage Daniel Goldbloom says it 'is frustrating to have a wrong, with no remedy.' The Canadian Lawyer InHouse Innovatio Awards celebrate in-house counsel, both individuals and teams, who have found ways to show leadership by becoming more efficient, innovative and creative in meeting the needs of their organizations within the Canadian legal market. To book your seats or to inquire about sponsorship, contact us at 416-649-8841 or MediaSolutions.Sales@thomsonreuters.com Date: Sept. 20, 2018 Location: Arcadian Court, Toronto 5:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception 7 p.m. Gala Dinner and Awards Presentation Emcee: Jennifer Brown, Managing Editor, Canadian Lawyer InHouse/Law Times Dress: Business Attire Keynote Speaker: The Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C. Governor General of Canada (2010 - 2017) Chair, Rideau Hall Foundation Executive Advisor, Deloitte FORGING A STRONGER FUTURE www.innovatio-awards.com Signature Sponsor Untitled-6 1 2018-04-17 1:00 PM Medico/Legal Your case is too important. You deserve the right EXPERT WITNESS. Unparalleled expertise from our award-winning national team of experts CONNECTMLX.COM EXPERTS@CONNECTMLX.COM TOLL FREE: 855-278-9273 ✔ More than 2,000 medical malpractice, personal injury and class action cases. ✔ More than 300 lawyer clients assisted. ✔ Direct access to hundreds of specialists from all areas of healthcare expertise. ✔ A top provider of cost of care reports for your most catastrophically injured clients. Since 2001, we've become a leader in Expert Witness Services in Canada. ntitled-4 1 2017-10-24 2:41 PM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Law Times - sample - April 23, 2018