Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m M a r c h 2 0 1 4 13 T he Vancouver lawyer seeking compensation for nine children of the victims of serial killer Robert Pickton said he will proceed with the suit against Pickton and his brother David, even if the various lev- els of government come forward with a settlement package. "Our intention is to proceed against the Picktons, no matter what the outcome," said Jason Gratl, following a court appearance in January where Len Doust, the lawyer representing the British Columbia gov- ernment, appeared before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan A. Griffin stating a tri-party government compensation package was being assembled and asked her to delay a decision on applications for public funding of legal bills. In April 2013, Gratl filed nine law- suits against the city of Vancouver, the B.C. government, and federal govern- ments, as well as two police officers. The Pickton brothers are named in seven of them. Gratl said he has been unable to resolve any issue of compensation with the various parties over 2013. He said the intent of the suits is to gain financial compensation for the victims' children who are plaintiffs in his suits. If the three levels of government come to an agree- ment with the plaintiffs prior to a trial, then they will be dropped from the suit. The same goes for the Picktons. "If the Picktons elect not to compensate the plaintiffs, then, they will bear the conse- quences — discovery and a trial." Gratl said he has taken the position with all the defendants of "Let's try to settle this" and "If you don't want to settle, then, let's get on with it." David Pickton has filed a statement of defence claiming he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by his brother at the Port Coquitlam pig farm, where they both lived. Gratl is guarded on the government settlement proposal mentioned by Doust. The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, chaired by Wally Oppal, recom- mended compensation for the children of the victims but nothing was publicized until Gratl launched a lawsuit last year. While Doust said in court the compen- sation package being worked out by the governments could affect 90 children, the process was a slow one and the govern- ments were discussing a funding formula. No amount of compensation has been made public. "We appreciate the negotiation on dif- ferent levels of government. Regrettably, negotiations between different levels of government can be eternal. We have seen federal and provincial governments argue over nickels for centuries. The assurance that negotiations are ongoing is no com- fort to the plaintiffs," said Gratl. And while he acknowledges the Crown's commit- ment that there would be government payment to the children of victims, "you can't put that in the bank and the plaintiffs are required to proceed." Griffin reserved her decision on the right of the families to receive public funding for legal representation until the end of March. — JeAN soreNseN jean_sorensen@telus.net lawyer vows suit agaiNst picktoNs will go oN GaNG lawyer Summarily diSbarred i t's the end of the road for the Vernon, B.C., lawyer who has been jailed after pleading guilty to participating in the illicit activities of an organized crime group. The Law Society of British Columbia has disbarred William Jacob Mastop without a hearing. In December 2012, Mastop pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of British Columbia to participating in or contributing to the activity of the Greeks, a known criminal organization, for the purpose of enhancing the ability of the organiza- tion to facilitate or commit an indictable offence. Independent of the criminal proceedings, the LSBC conducted its own assessment of Mastop's conduct and ultimately the benchers relied on Law Society Rule 4-40 to conclude the matter using a summary process. Rule 4-40 is only used in exceptional circumstances. It forgoes the need for a citation and citation hearing, allowing the benchers to summarily suspend or disbar a lawyer who has been convicted of an offence that was proceeded with by way of indictment. In its decision, the panel noted: "We think it is important to apply a sanction that will be effective in deterring other lawyers who will need to resist requests from clients for illegal assistance. In order to maintain public confidence in the legal profession, there should be no possibility of doubt that the Law Society takes such conduct with the utmost seriousness, and the profession needs to know that as well." After being charged with the offence in 2009, Mastop was released on bail with one of the conditions being that he not practise law, which he has not done since. — Js William Mastop

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