Murray Walter Chitra

The Law Society of Ontario brought an application alleging that the respondent paralegal engaged in professional misconduct by failing to maintain books and records as required by By-Law 9.

The paralegal acknowledged her failure to keep proper records, citing a mistaken belief about trust accounting rules for flat-fee retainers.

The Tribunal found that professional misconduct was established.

The paralegal's licence was suspended indefinitely until she demonstrated compliance, to be followed by a one-month suspension.

She was also ordered to pay costs of $4,677.50.

The applicant's licence to practise law was retroactively revoked after the Tribunal found he made deliberately false and misleading statements regarding a prior criminal conviction on his application.

In this costs decision, the Law Society sought $25,000, while the applicant sought costs against the Law Society.

The Tribunal ordered the applicant to pay $12,500 in costs, noting his deliberate deception caused the Law Society to expend considerable effort and that he had no reasonable chance of success.

The Law Society brought an application alleging the respondent lawyer engaged in professional misconduct by failing to cooperate with an investigation and failing to update her contact information.

The lawyer did not attend the summary hearing.

The Tribunal found the allegations established based on uncontested evidence that the lawyer failed to respond to multiple communications and failed to provide requested information.

The Tribunal ordered an indefinite suspension until compliance, followed by a one-month suspension, and costs of $1,871.50.

The Law Society brought an application against a paralegal for failing to co-operate with an investigation into a client complaint.

The paralegal failed to respond to multiple requests for information and documents over a 17-month period.

The paralegal asserted she had a disability and that the Law Society failed to accommodate her, but she provided no medical evidence and refused to participate in the accommodation process.

The Tribunal found professional misconduct established and ordered an indefinite suspension until compliance, followed by a two-month fixed suspension, and $1,000 in costs.

The Law Society of Ontario brought an application alleging that the respondent paralegal engaged in professional misconduct through his online communications.

The paralegal had published social media posts falsely asserting that paralegals were authorized to provide a full scope of immigration services, despite Law Society restrictions limiting their practice to Immigration and Refugee Board hearings.

The Tribunal found these posts were deliberately misleading and encouraged other paralegals to engage in unauthorized practice.

Additionally, the Tribunal found the paralegal engaged in professional misconduct by making uncivil, abusive, and disparaging comments about a paralegal bencher and other licensees over several years.

The Tribunal concluded that the paralegal's conduct overstepped the bounds of protected freedom of expression and directed that a hearing be scheduled for penalty and costs.

The Law Society Tribunal found that the respondent lawyer engaged in professional misconduct, including money laundering, advance fee fraud, and misleading clients and the Law Society.

Following a finding of misconduct, a penalty hearing was held.

The Tribunal denied the lawyer's last-minute request for an adjournment.

Applying the Bolton principle, the Tribunal concluded that the lawyer's egregious dishonesty compelled the immediate revocation of his licence.

The lawyer was also ordered to pay $60,000 in costs to the Law Society and to reimburse the Compensation Fund for any related claims paid.

The Law Society alleged that the respondent lawyer engaged in professional misconduct by failing to respond promptly and completely to requests for information and documents during an investigation.

The lawyer acknowledged the failure and the parties presented a joint submission on penalty.

The Tribunal accepted the joint submission, finding that the proposed penalty was not contrary to the public interest.

The lawyer's licence was suspended immediately pending compliance, to be followed by a one-month fixed suspension, and she was ordered to pay $1,500 in costs.

The Applicant applied for a licence to practise law in 2019 and was licensed in 2021.

The Law Society subsequently discovered that the Applicant had been convicted of a felony offence in Michigan in 2017 and had failed to disclose this conviction and the resulting sanctions on his licensing application.

The Tribunal found that the Applicant deliberately made false or misleading statements in his application, knowing they were false or misleading, or was reckless or willfully blind to their truth.

The application for licensing was dismissed and the Applicant's licence was retroactively revoked.