Douglas W. Phillips

The respondent mother brought a motion to remove Mark Hurley as counsel of record for the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society in a pending status review proceeding involving four children.

The motion was based on a conflict of interest arising from the fact that Hurley's law partner, Frank Philcox, had previously represented the respondent mother in protection proceedings involving the same children.

The court found that a solicitor-and-client relationship existed between the mother and Philcox, that confidential information was shared, and that insufficient safeguards were in place to protect the mother's solicitor-client privilege.

The court granted the motion and ordered Hurley's removal from the file.

This is a ruling on a voir dire motion during a status review trial under Part III of the Child and Family Services Act.

The respondent maternal grandmother sought to qualify Paul Adams as an expert witness to provide opinion evidence on three matters: assessing the risk status of sexual offenders regarding potential re-offending, providing relapse prevention recommendations, and providing treatment recommendations.

The Children's Aid Society opposed only the first area.

The court denied the motion to qualify Adams as an expert, finding he lacked sufficient qualifications to offer opinion evidence on sexual offender risk assessment.