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Can a lawyer sue me for having complained to the LSUC ?

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  • #16
    https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/c...h-1625264.html


    Complaints against lawyers to the disciplinary committee are privileged and cannot be the basis of a lawsuit against the person making the complaint. That said, you should not pull the trigger on this without legal advice, since it may make complicate an already bad situation. You are understandably too upset about this to really think out all the potential consequences. If you are represented by a lawyer in your matrimonial case, you should take this question up with your own lawyer. If you don't have a lawyer in this nasty matrimonial, you certainly need one.
    The technical answer to your question is generally no, an attorney cannot successfully sue you for filing a bar complaint. Most of the times the attempted lawsuit is for defamation/slander and the defense, that is usually successful, is qualified privilege. The bigger issue is, assuming her attorney is in fact having this kind of relationship, then there is an argument to be made for a conflict of interest among others.

    Speak to your attorney about this. Or an attorney near Fredericksburg. For the love of all that is holy, do not name the attorney on this or any other website!
    I suppose he could try to sue, but that is very unlikely. Such a suit would almost certainly not be sucessful.
    Last edited by tunnelight; 11-30-2018, 02:32 AM.

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    • #17
      Thats an American link.

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      • #18
        Complaints against lawyers to the disciplinary committee are privileged
        I do not believe that this is the case in Canada. There are CanLII decisions where a party is scolded because they reported their ex's lawyer to the law society during the case, and had to pay increased costs because of it.

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        • #19
          Originally posted by OrleansLawyer View Post
          I do not believe that this is the case in Canada. There are CanLII decisions where a party is scolded because they reported their ex's lawyer to the law society during the case, and had to pay increased costs because of it.
          It is in fact the case...

          https://defamationandrisklawblog.ahb...ute-privilege/

          search for 'absolute privilege' or 'qualified privilege' in CanLii

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          • #20
            And if you do search that and weed through the cases to see if a lawyer has sued an individual you will find none.

            You have confused the two. Absolute privilege outlines how the reporting is made. Like I posted earlier, did you make any public comments about your claim?

            Think about it this way, did you defame the lawyer publicly OUTSIDE of your report to LSUC? Then there is no basis for them to sue you. Reporting bodies are in place as a check and balance measure. Complaints to those bodies are protected within the regulations of the complaints process. If you take it outside of that and start making public claims (especially if the complaint is dismissed) THEN the lawyer has basis to go after you.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by rockscan View Post
              And if you do search that and weed through the cases to see if a lawyer has sued an individual you will find none.

              You have confused the two. Absolute privilege outlines how the reporting is made. Like I posted earlier, did you make any public comments about your claim?

              Think about it this way, did you defame the lawyer publicly OUTSIDE of your report to LSUC? Then there is no basis for them to sue you. Reporting bodies are in place as a check and balance measure. Complaints to those bodies are protected within the regulations of the complaints process. If you take it outside of that and start making public claims (especially if the complaint is dismissed) THEN the lawyer has basis to go after you.
              I only complained within the regulatory body i.e. LSUC.

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              • #22
                Then stop worrying. The bottom line is the lawyer would only have a leg to stand on if you took your complaint public. Its basically a defamation or slander suit. You haven’t done either.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by OrleansLawyer View Post
                  I do not believe that this is the case in Canada. There are CanLII decisions where a party is scolded because they reported their ex's lawyer to the law society during the case, and had to pay increased costs because of it.
                  I think increased costs in a family court proceeding before the court is a bit different than a separate civil matter/lawsuit being commenced by the lawyer.
                  Last edited by tunnelight; 12-02-2018, 12:42 AM.

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                  • #24
                    I have to confess that early in my divorce/litigation I complained officially about ex's lawyer. I recall it was because my ex, in his affidavit, said that he was 'advised by his lawyer' to do x, y, and z.

                    I hadn't consulted with my own lawyer at the time. I recall I was very upset that I believed my ex ... who doesn't say truth in an affidavit????

                    Needless to day, reality showed me the errors... yes people do lie on affidavits and lawyers have to take their client's sworn statements as truth.

                    My ex's lawyer did indeed have to explain herself and answer to the appropriate governing body. Shortly thereafter my ex had to get another lawyer. He instead went self-represented for a time which was an absolute nightmare for me and my lawyer. Ex filed wrong documents in wrong courts and caused me to spend alot more money with my lawyer. I learned my lesson $$$$

                    Lawyers, doctors and accountants have governing bodies (who control their respective licenses). I would strongly recommend that you take a breather and reconsider before you file an official complaint. In my instance it was quite futile and only made me look like an idiot to my own lawyer.

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