Lawyers conduct - complaint

[sunnyday123]

Hello,

The situation is the following:

My ex's lawyer tried three times to have orders signed by the Court, but the draft orders he proposed modified the judge's endorsements or invented things the judge never said.

To give you an example, he deliberately modified the amounts my ex should pay for child support and special expenses. Then, without even showing me the draft order, he sent it to the judge and wanted to have his signature on the motion date; he pretended the previous judge made an error when calculating, which was not true.

The judge got angry with him on the motion date. He told him "you cannot do this". Still, nobody punished him and he will try again. Of course, the judge did not sign anything, but I am wondering if I can file a complaint for such conduct with the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Thank you for your suggestions.

[Serene]

I have to wonder about this myself. Shitty lawyers do this stuff all the time. I really don't think anything is done to them. And your particular issue/complaint would be hard to prove as well.

[Janibel]

In my experience, a crappy lawyer could swing a rabid cat by the tail, hurl it at a judge and there would be little to no consequences. Not saying this to disrespect your question .... truth is lawyers get away with horrible behavior in and out of court, and there are rarely any consequences.

Do you have the patience to lodge a formal complaint, have it drag on for ever, only to see the lawyer in question get a slap on the hand?

I sympathize with your problem - the best you can do is watch him very closely and let the judge know of any discrepancies you find.

[arabian]

At the very least you would need to get transcripts and submit transcripts with your written complaint.

Really I don't know what you would accomplish. Lawyers do this sort of thing often I'm told. My ex's lawyer is currently in a letter writing campaign with the judge and my lawyer over interpretation of, and ensuing Order, from our May court. Ex's lawyer is refusing to sign the Order. Judge has told ex's lawyer to get transcripts and if things aren't resolved between two lawyers "heavy costs will be assessed."

Insofar as the law society - as far as I know the only thing law societies do is investigate, respond and request lawyers do remedial reading. Law societies get excited if client/trust money is missing but there is no law against being a lousy lawyer. The judge could have slapped the offending lawyer down but he didn't. Which judge was this out of curiosity?

[OrleansLawyer]

Shitty lawyers do this stuff all the time. I really don't think anything is done to them.

To provide a quote, a footnote, from a judge:

You will have lost the trust of the court.
Footnote: In which event, you might as well concentrate on developing a commercial or real estate practice.
citation: http://www.oba.org/en/pdf/JudgesView.pdf at paragraph 108

If a lawyer consistently ("every few months" is consistent enough) tries to pass shoddy or dishonest work into court, they will become known for it. After that point, their careers are limited.

[Tayken]

To provide a quote, a footnote, from a judge:

You will have lost the trust of the court.
Footnote: In which event, you might as well concentrate on developing a commercial or real estate practice.

citation: http://www.oba.org/en/pdf/JudgesView.pdf at paragraph 108

If a lawyer consistently ("every few months" is consistent enough) tries to pass shoddy or dishonest work into court, they will become known for it. After that point, their careers are limited.

LOL! This is going to have me laughing all day. (See bold.)

[sahibjee]

lol thoroughly enjoyed reading the paper //

To provide a quote, a footnote, from a judge:

You will have lost the trust of the court.
Footnote: In which event, you might as well concentrate on developing a commercial or real estate practice.
citation: http://www.oba.org/en/pdf/JudgesView.pdf at paragraph 108

If a lawyer consistently ("every few months" is consistent enough) tries to pass shoddy or dishonest work into court, they will become known for it. After that point, their careers are limited.

[Headwaters1]

Consequences seem to be missing right across the system in family law. Where is the culpability?

A spouse can say things that would other wise be horribly defamatory, slanderous and I guess considered libel since it's written on a sworn statement and there is zero consequence.

Legal aid can fund this behavior all the way to trial but seems to be the only organization totally without responsibility for funding very damaging behavior (try to fund an action group to do legally and financially harmful things to other organizations and people and see how culpable the police and courts will find you). They somehow have immunity no other organization has (CAS can get sued for $1.4million...they are liable for bad process...not legal aid?)

Then lawyers can provide some of the worst advice, very obviously aggravate cases to no sensible end other than to create conflict and higher billings and can be negligible to the point of costing other significant financial damage and yet...slap on the wrist ( can a general contractor build a deck that caves in and hurts people and get financial, legal or professional immunity ?)

I've been in business a long time. There are lawsuits everywhere for every little grievance. I personally hate them but in outrageous circumstances like what happened to WorkingDad a government agency (or psudeo government) would pay a lot more careful attention to the consequences of its actions if it was on the hook for a major damages suit. It's just common sense.

[OrleansLawyer]

A spouse can say things that would other wise be horribly defamatory, slanderous and I guess considered libel since it's written on a sworn statement and there is zero consequence.

If that concerns you, why not speak to a tort lawyer about pursuing the claim?

Legal aid can fund ... totally without responsibility

They are a cheque book, nothing more.

lawyers can provide some of the worst advice, very obviously aggravate cases to no sensible end other than to create conflict and higher billings and can be negligible to the point of costing other significant financial damage and yet...slap on the wrist

The client is ultimately responsible. The lawyer is the glove that covers the fist - their duty is to their client. If they have done a poor job, there are remedies, but the practice of law is not comparable to deck building, unless you compare it to deck building in the dark while wearing oven mitts (and you could be hammering nails into oak or screws into particle board without seeing until morning).

As for the clients getting away unscathed, to quote an American lawyer:

"I have knowingly defended a number of guilty men. But the guilty never get away unscathed. My fees are sufficient punishment for anyone."
— F. Lee Bailey

[DontGiveUp]

What are the available remedies OrleansLawyer if your lawyer has done a poor job?

A complaint to the Law Society of Upper Canada? That goes nowhere. I'm curious what other options there are?

[Once.is.enough]

As with most self policing professions there is no accountability. Does a judge get over site? Of course he does by his peers...what a scam. Even the police can do what they want unless of course they get caught on tape and even then it can be a crap shoot. As in the examples above if a lawyer fails and looses credibility he is directed to go steal money in another area of practice.

As seen by Orleans lawyers direction if your not happy with your lawyer go pay another one to sue the first.

[OrleansLawyer]

What are the available remedies ... if your lawyer has done a poor job?

If they have been negligent, the same as anyone else: sue them.

However, keep in mind decisions are always easier to make in hindsight. Unless the lawyer was truly incompetent or acting against instructions, there is a high chance the lawyer is not liable.

Do your research before hiring a lawyer. Some people will ask other lawyers for a recommendation or their opinion on a colleague. Some lawyers will automatically cost a party +100% what a different lawyer would charge due to style of practice, inclination to settle or ability. Hiring a lawyer does not allow you to abdicate responsibility for your own life.

[OrleansLawyer]

DISCLAIMER:
Everything said in this, and any other, message is not intended to be taken as legal advice. I do not hold myself out to be a lawyer, adult or literate. Any resemblance this or any other message may have to legal advice or common sense is entirely coincidental. This message was generated through the combination of a monkey hitting a keyboard with a rock and advanced spell check software.

[DontGiveUp]

Thanks OrleansLawyer,

My lawyer with less than 24 hrs notice advised me that her colleague was going to be doing our first (and very important) motion the next morning. When I enquired why as this motion had been in preparation for months she said she had something now going on with her kids the day of the motion.

My lawyer gave her colleague and I specific direction on an item, and said we are to adjourn if the judge accepts the item in to be heard in the motion.

The lawyers and judge met first in the court room and when I was called in, I was told that the item was being allowed by the judge and it was evident that my lawyer's colleague was proceeding with the motion and not following what we had agreed to. I attempted to ask her a couple of times why she was proceeding and she started with "be quiet" and that grew to "shut up".

As a result, we lost the motion outright and had to pay costs as she did not have time to review and respond the item submitted last minute and then could not successfully argue our position.

Since then my lawyer's colleague has told her that I was the one who decided to proceed still and not adjourn (flat out lie, I was not even in the court room). How do I address this with my lawyer and strongly suggest she absorb the costs associated with the motion including what was awarded and do you feel there is negligent?

If so, does one file a complaint with the Law Society of Upper Canada, request an Order of Assessment or sue in small claims?

My lawyer as well has been rescheduling / dodging an in person meeting with me since this occurred and I have an urgent next step matter in the court process I need to get addressed, how do I get them to see me on this?

[Once.is.enough]

DISCLAIMER:
Everything said in this, and any other, message is not intended to be taken as legal advice. I do not hold myself out to be a lawyer, adult or literate. Any resemblance this or any other message may have to legal advice or common sense is entirely coincidental. This message was generated through the combination of a monkey hitting a keyboard with a rock and advanced spell check software.

Edited for unnecessary rudeness.