Archive for the ‘professional’ Category

« Older Entries

Twitter’s No Place For A Lawyer With An “Aggressive and Zealous Attitude”

April 23, 2013

Image via returntomanhood.org

Via the Toronto Star:

A Toronto criminal lawyer’s Twitter account has sparked outrage online after several offensive tweets were posted in the wake of the Boston bombing.

The tweets were sent last week from Twitter account @Dasilvalaw, which has since been deleted, though several retweets can still be found online.

“I pray for the suspects. May they slay the police army of satan. Death to all police!” reads one posting sent from @Dasilvalaw. Other tweets from that account contained vitriolic responses to offended Twitter users, including “am praying that u get violently raped. May cancer be upon u.!!!”

The lawyer, David Da Silva, 34, said in an emailed response sent Monday to the Star that he is “not the author of any such tweets.”

Asked in a follow-up email if his account had been hacked, the defence lawyer said he is “having this matter investigated at this time.”

Lawyer Nadia Liva, who sent an email to the Star saying she is acting as his counsel, said he is “very concerned” and “we are currently investigating the tweets, which were not authored by Mr. Da Silva.”

I don’t know Da Silva, either personally or professionally, but his website bio is generic: (more…)

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Law Society of Upper Canada, lawyer, lawyers, Legal Ethics, legal marketing, professional, professionalism, Rules of Professional Conduct, social media, Twitter | 17 Comments »

Stercus accidit redux

April 10, 2013

Image via The Richmond Court Reporter

Uh-oh. Looks like someone forgot to check their calendar or set the alarm.

In CIARCIA, et al. v. JORGE ANEZ  DAGER, et al. (Fla. 3rd DCA) (12-2565), (per  Suarez and Logue, JJ., and Schwartz, Senior Judge), the Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed and offered a wry reminder of the consequences:

Affirmed. See Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Aristo Mortg., LLC, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D663, D663-64 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 20, 2013) (“At the risk of viewing professional courtesy through rose-colored glasses, we can also recall a day when counsel appearing without opposition for a hearing on an obviously-contested matter . . . would first place a telephone call to opposing counsel to confirm that some personal emergency or postal glitch had not occurred.”).

In a comment to Mark Bennett’s recent post “Mea Maxima Culpa” about  Mark forgetting to show up for a law school guest lecture”, Scott Greenfield offers some sound advice to us all:

While it’s true that ster­cus accidit, this isn’t the sort of thing one for­gets. Like your wife’s birth­day or your clients’ names, there are things that can’t be for­got­ten. Show­ing up to speak to a law school class is one of those things.

It’s good that you make no excuses and take respon­si­bil­ity for your mis­take, because you are a respon­si­ble guy and this just doesn’t happen.

Tags:,
Posted in client, law, lawyer, lawyers, professional, professionalism | 2 Comments »

No Harm, No Foul?

March 14, 2013

Here’s something that made me do a double-take:

[6]          First, the appellant contends that the trial judge erred in relying on evidence given by counsel (Mr. Callahan) during his submissions.

[7]          We do not accept this submission.  Although Mr. Callahan was a named respondent in the application, the appellant consented to his appearance as counsel.  Moreover, on our review of the record, to the extent that Mr. Callahan’s submissions went beyond the record on factual issues, they were not relied on by the application judge.

…

[12] This is not a case for costs. Although we appreciate that the respondent did not object to Mr. Callahan appearing as counsel either here or below, the reality is that he was a named respondent and that his conduct was central to the factual circumstances giving rise to both the application and this appeal. He should not have appeared as counsel in either forum.

Huh? Did I read that excerpt correctly?

The respondent, a lawyer, appearing as counsel below and before the appeal panel does not constitute a palpable and overriding error?

The reason?

The appellant’s consent?

What about procedural fairness and the court’s inherent jurisdiction in controlling its own process and avoiding bringing the administration of justice into disrepute?

How about the fact that the lawyer is an officer of the court and under the Rules of Professional Conduct owes a duty to uphold the integrity of the legal profession and the public administration of justice by avoiding real or apprehended conflicts of interest?

What about the prohibition against appearing as counsel in one’s own cause?

Ricciuto v. Somers, 2013 ONCA 153 (Ont. C.A.) per curiam: Doherty, MacPherson and Watt JJ.A.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in conflict of interest, costs, Court of Appeal for Ontario, courts, Courts of Justice Act, due process, ethics, procedural fairness, Procedural Justice, procedure, professional, reasonable apprehension of bias | Leave a Comment »

When A Former Client Attacks You Online

March 6, 2013

Image via http://www.loveisanorientation.com

I recently came across an ABA Litigation News article by Renee Choy Ohlendorf entitled “Ethical Limits on Rebutting Client’s Disparaging Internet Comments”.

The article discusses Formal Opinion No. 525 by the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s (LACBA) Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee, which purports to define a lawyer’s professional and ethical duties in responding to a disgruntled former client’s “disparaging public comments” made online, after the lawyer’s representation ended: (more…)

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in ABA, Breach of Confidence, client, ethics, Law Society of Upper Canada, professional, professionalism, Rules of Professional Conduct, solicitor client privilege | Leave a Comment »

20 Years of Practice and All I Got What This Stupid Plaque

February 5, 2013

This Saturday (February 9th, 2013) mark my 20th year of practice since my call to the Ontario Bar in 1993.

I could take up this post talking about my experiences—my noble victories and my ignoble defeats— and what I have learned over two decades of having the privilege of membership in what I still consider a noble profession.

I could do that, but I won’t. (more…)

Tags:, ,
Posted in client, ethics, Law Society of Upper Canada, lawyer, lawyers, learning, Legal Ethics, legal practice, legal profession, professional, professionalism | 8 Comments »

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,587 other followers

%d bloggers like this: