Professional discipline Lawyers in Canada

A person who is facing a professional discipline matter usually has a lot of questions at once. How does the regulator's process work? Does it wait for a criminal case? What can it decide? Those questions are answered by the law that governs the regulator concerned, and that law is not summarized here. A lawyer who practises in that area is the right person to ask, and the regulator's own published materials are the right place to read the rules.

What this page does cover is the part that comes from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Criminal Code and the Ontario courts. Those matter when a criminal charge exists beside a discipline matter, because the two can involve the same events and the same people. They also matter when a person is deciding what to say, to whom and when. Nothing here says which proceeding goes first or how either one will end.

The headings below set out the Charter rights that name a person charged with an offence, how a criminal charge moves through the Ontario courts, the rules the Law Society sets for lawyers who offer their services, and how to find a lawyer.

Section 11 of the Charter begins with the words any person charged with an offence has the right. It then lists several rights. Among them are the right to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence, the right to be tried within a reasonable time, and the right not to be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against that person in respect of the offence. Section 11(d) gives the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal. Section 11(e) gives the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause.

Section 10 applies on arrest or detention. It gives everyone the right to be told the reasons promptly, and the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be told of that right.

Section 13 is worded more widely than section 11. It says a witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence. Section 14 says a party or witness in any proceedings who does not understand or speak the language in which the proceedings are conducted, or who is deaf, has the right to the assistance of an interpreter.

Section 7 says everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived of them except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Section 24(2) says evidence obtained in a manner that infringed Charter rights is excluded if admitting it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Which of these rights applies to a particular regulatory proceeding, and in what way, is a legal question. This page does not answer it, and the wording above is only what the sections themselves say. A person who is unsure what to say to an investigator or a regulator can ask a lawyer before saying it.

In Ontario, every charge under the Criminal Code starts in the Ontario Court of Justice, and about 95% of charges are completed there. The Ontario Court of Justice publishes daily court lists of adult criminal cases for the current and next day. The Superior Court of Justice can try any indictable offence but generally tries only the most serious ones, such as murder, manslaughter and serious violent offences.

When a release decision is made, section 515 says the justice shall make a release order without conditions unless the prosecutor shows cause why detention in custody is justified or why another order should be made. Section 493.1 says the decision gives primary consideration to release at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions.

After a conviction on indictment, an appeal goes to the court of appeal. A person may appeal as of right on a question of law alone. An appeal on a question of fact, or of mixed law and fact, needs leave. So does an appeal against sentence. A summary conviction appeal in Ontario goes to the Superior Court of Justice sitting in the region, district or county where the case was decided.

This page does not give a deadline for any step. A person who has been charged should ask a lawyer about timing as early as possible.

A lawyer in Ontario is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario. Its Rules of Professional Conduct say a lawyer may market legal services only if the marketing is demonstrably true, accurate and verifiable, and not misleading. The commentary to that rule names, as possible breaches, describing how past cases ended without a stated disclaimer, suggesting qualitative superiority to other lawyers, raising expectations, and using testimonials with emotional appeals.

The rules also say a lawyer may not advertise under a title the Law Society reserves for lawyers it has certified. A lawyer may advertise areas of practice, a preferred or restricted practice, and accurate experience.

Another rule says a lawyer may not share fees with, or give any financial or other reward to, a person who is not a lawyer or paralegal for referring clients. Doing it indirectly is also barred. These rules explain why this site lists lawyers without putting them in order and why a listing page does not promise results.

Legal Aid Ontario may pay for a lawyer if the person qualifies and is charged with a crime that could mean jail on conviction, or is 12 to 17 and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Duty counsel is a lawyer at the courthouse for that day. For people who qualify and have no lawyer, duty counsel can advise on rights, ask to delay a court date, act at a bail hearing, help with a guilty plea, speak at sentencing, and meet the Crown. Those descriptions concern criminal charges. This page does not say whether legal aid is available for a professional discipline matter.

A legal aid certificate pays a roster lawyer, one approved to take legal aid clients, for the length of the criminal case. Applications are online or by phone at 1-800-668-8258.

The Law Society of Ontario keeps a public Lawyer and Paralegal Directory, which can be used to look up a lawyer. The Ontario lawyers on this site are listed by city. Nothing on this page ranks or recommends any of them.