Canadian Lawyer

10 A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A Law Society of Ontario tribunal has decided to move forward with the termination of a lawyer's licence, in a decision that includ- ed a lengthy analysis of the lawyer's mental health issues. The law society did, how- ever, decide to allow the lawyer to surrender his licence, rather than having it revoked. The July 6 decision, Law Society of Ontario v. Yantha, comes as the law society is reviewing its regulatory process to "ensure appropriate considerations for mental health," according to its 2015 to 2019 strategic plan. Darryl Singer, head of the commercial and civil litigation practice group at Dia- mond & Diamond Lawyers, represented Darwin Anthony Yantha of Barry's Bay, Ont., and he says he was torn about the decision. He says that although he was disappointed that his client will have his licence terminated, he was "very, very" happy with the tribunal's consideration of its duty to accommodate alcoholism and depression under the Ontario Human Rights Code. "The panel went to great lengths in its decision to deal with my main argument," Singer says. "I spent a great deal of time, over the course of two days, focused on the Human Rights Code argument. The panel was very patient in allowing me to say everything I wanted them to hear. In the end, I felt that the way they addressed the Human Rights Code argument was very fair. It's clear they heard everything I said and understood the argument." The law society accused Yantha of over- billing Legal Aid Ontario by $29,540.61, as well as appearing and acting for clients without disclosure or approval and failing to maintain detailed records. The law society initially requested revocation of Yantha's licence, while Yantha pushed for a long suspension followed by supervision and restrictions on his licence. The law society tribunal ultimately said it would grant permission for Yantha to sur- render his licence on July 31 at the latest, due to the "exceptional circumstances" sur- rounding Yantha's testimony about depres- sion and alcohol addiction. "That's a concession. It doesn't necessarily feel that way to Mr. Yantha. But it's actually a significant concession to allow him to surrender rather than revoke," Singer says. In the case, the law society's investigation concluded that 10 of Yantha's accounts represented an overbilling of $29,540.61. Yantha told the law tribunal that he had used alcohol to self-medicate after becoming depressed beginning in the early 2000s. Yantha also said he "felt that seek- ing help would diminish potential clients' confidence in him," according to the law tribunal's decision. The decision said a psychiatrist also submitted a report that diagnosed Yantha with "disabling" major depressive disorder but noted that Yantha is hesitant to seek treatment in his small community of about 3,000 people. The overbillings were unintentional and stemmed from a "fog of everything going on in [his] life," Yantha told a law society tribunal panel. The law society tribunal said it "heard no evidence of any practitio- ner who would be willing to monitor the restrictions and supervise" Yantha. The law society tribunal said in the decision that it recognizes the duty under the Ontario Human Rights Code to accommodate disability to the point of undue hardship. But the circumstances of the case would not "make it obvious" to the public and to other lawyers that they no longer need to be concerned about Yan- tha's "honesty and integrity," the law society tribunal said in the decision. The law society declined to comment further, saying the decision speaks for itself. "[We] accept that the Licensee's depression and alcoholism made him reckless. We accept that his depression and alcoholism are causally connected to the misconduct we found," the law society wrote. — ANITA BALAKRISHNAN SASKATCHEWAN ACCEPTS INDIGENOUS STUDENTS FROM NEWFOUNDLAND T he University of Saskatchewan has agreed to annually reserve two seats in the College of Law for Indigenous students from Newfoundland and Labra- dor. The program will be supported by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Indigenous groups within the Atlantic province. It is expected the first students will be admitted next year. Newfoundland and Labrador's justice minister, Andrew Parsons, hopes "this partnership will improve Indigenous repre- sentation in the legal system . . . and ensure better access to justice for everyone." The dean of Saskatchewan's College of Law, Martin Phillipson, says the law school has "a long-standing commitment to Indigenous legal education." Besides this initiative, he points to a unique program in which the law school is provid- ing, under an agreement with the Government of Nunavut, a full JD program to a cohort of 25 mainly Indigenous students from the arctic region. That program, which is offered in Nunavut, will begin its second year in the fall. And that is not all. Last fall, the College of Law announced a full three-year scholarship to a student who has claimed or is claiming refugee status in Canada. — GEOFF ELLWAND P R A I R I E S \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP LSO tribunal looks at mental health Darryl Singer

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