Gavin MacKenzie says a penalty for ungovernability other than revocation is hard to justify
By Julius Melnitzer | October 24, 2022
In a rare finding, the Law Society Tribunal has revoked the license of Hamilton lawyer Gerald Culliton on the ground that he was “ungovernable.”
“Often, ungovernable lawyers are found guilty of other serious professional misconduct that justifies an order of revocation, so an ungovernability analysis such as the one the hearing panel undertook in this case is unnecessary,” says Gavin MacKenzie of MacKenzie Barristers Professional Corporation, a Toronto litigation boutique, and a former treasurer of the Law Society of Ontario.
The ungovernability finding followed the tribunal’s conclusion that Culliton had committed professional misconduct by borrowing money from his clients and failing to cooperate with and respond to an LSO investigation into a complaint filed in March 2020. READ MORE
Julius Melnitzer is a Toronto-based legal affairs writer, ghostwriter, writing coach and media trainer. Readers can reach him at [email protected] or https://legalwriter.net/contact.
RELATED STORIES
The LSO denies a paralegal license to an ex-police officer who masterminded a $3.1 million robbery
LSO tribunal allows lawyer accused of theft to practise in-house pending merits determination
Law Society of Ontario refuses Jeremy Diamond’s plea to withdraw misconduct admissions