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While not occuring in huge
numbers, cases of lawyer
defalcation are increasing ���
but insurance coverage
and the way law
societies address them
vary greatly across
the country.
By Luis Mill��n
$
n an unusually warm and foggy Saturday evening this past December
the $1.7-million home of Dany Perras was set ablaze, the third time in
the space of a year an act of vandalism targeted the former Montreal
lawyer. Perras, who resigned abruptly from the bar in October
2011, is under investigation by the Barreau du Qu��bec for allegedly
orchestrating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme through his trust
account. It���s been more than 16 months since the scandal that shook
the Montreal legal community erupted, and the fallout is still being
felt. Successfully petitioned into bankruptcy, Perras is the subject of
an ongoing criminal probe and a host of legal proceedings ��� many of
which are under court seal ��� launched by more than a dozen creditors seeking more than $6 million.
The Perras case is unique, and at the same time it is not. The former Montreal lawyer is
not the first nor will he be the last advocate accused of misappropriating funds from a trust
account. Disciplinary notices posted by law societies are replete with hearings of lawyers
unable to resist the temptation of dipping into their trust accounts. Even then, defalcation is
rare. As Susan Forbes, director of insurance at British Columbia���s Lawyers Insurance Fund,
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www.CANADIAN
L a w ye r m a g . c o m
March
2013
33
