Canadian Lawyer

10 M a y 2 0 1 4 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m i n what was the first argument for restorative justice for a non-aborig- inal person, a Law Society of Upper Canada hearing panel has considered — but ultimately rejected — a case for rehabilitating a lawyer found guilty of misconduct related to real estate fraud. Instead of stripping his client of her licence to practise law, counsel for Rena- ta Snidr asked the panel to consider scrapping its zero-tolerance policy and replacing it with "an approach that seeks to salvage first-time or isolated offend- ers," according to a recent decision. A panel found Toronto's Snidr know- ingly participated in nearly a dozen fraud- ulent real estate deals. Unless there are "exceptional circumstances," the usual pen- alty for this is revocation of the lawyer's licence. "To me, that read awfully close to a mandatory minimum, which nobody likes these days," says Snidr's counsel Bill Trudell. It made "no sense," he says, that a person who co-operated fully with a law society investigation and is a remorseful first-time offender who made a bad deci- sion due to circumstances couldn't benefit from those factors at the penalty phase. Trudell cited research that showed cir- cumstances have a bigger role in moral lapses than a person's inherent character. "Counsel for Ms. Snidr argued that applying revocation to virtually all cases of mortgage fraud is to rest the law society penalty provisions on flawed and 'archaic' notions of character and its role in future conduct," wrote panel chairwoman Janet Leiper. "It ignores the situational aspects inherent in cases that involve exposure to temptation, client pressure or customary attitudes in the practice setting. "Mr. Trudell urges the panel to consider whether principles of restorative justice can be applied even in a case where revocation is presumptively required by the case law." During testimony in October 2013, Snidr expressed remorse for failing her clients and herself and said she appreci- ated the impact of her actions. She also described her insight into what led her to carry out the faulty transactions, "including overconfidence in her abilities," according to the decision. In addition, colleagues and friends filed good character letters that described Snidr as dependable and her offence as "out of character." Although Trudell argued his client's remorse and character evidence made her an ideal candidate for restorative justice, the panel disagreed and chose to disbar Snidr. The final decision wasn't what he would have liked but Trudell says he's grateful for the thorough consideration the panel gave REgionAl wRAp-up lSuC rejects restorative justice penalty Our bite is even worse than our roar. We are accomplished trial lawyers with years of study in science and engineering and we have the courtroom successes to prove it. It's treacherous out there, so if your client's IP is threatened – talk to us. Editors of the Canadian Patent Reporter it all starts somewhere www.ridoutmaybee.com Client's IP at Risk? ntitled-3 1 13-12-09 7:10 PM

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