Tone Deaf In Saskatchewan
I have begun to delve into a new treasure trove of attorney misconduct allegations – the web pages of the various Law Societies of the Canadian provinces.
Each site I have visited so far has been wonderfully user-friendly and transparent.
The web page of the Law Society of Saskatchewan is a good example.
The charging documents are spare and to the point, far more so than their American counterparts.
One complaint simply charges that the attorney “participat[ed] in the concealment of physical evidence so as to obstruct or attempt to obstruct the course of justice.”
Another complaint alleges that an attorney (with the last name of de Whytell) provided “false, misleading or untrustworthy” testimony as a Crown’s witness in a criminal case. The name might be considered an aptronym.
Here is a complaint recently filed against another attorney.
A news report from CBC News Saskatoon on the allegations
A prominent Saskatoon lawyer is under investigation by the Law Society of Saskatchewan for his conduct while director of the Saskatoon Legal Aid office.
George Combe was fired from the top Legal Aid job in 2013 after 13 female co-workers complained about how he treated them.
CBC obtained documents detailing the complaints.
One lawyer said Combe described her as “an idiot or a lazy ass.”
Another said he referred to her as “dumber than a sack of hammers.”
And another said he referred to clients in domestic violence cases as “wife beaters.”
In other cases, lawyers were referred to as “witches or bitches.”
Combe has since gone into private practice. The 13 complainants forwarded the results of the Legal Aid matter to the Law Society. It will investigate the matter itself and decide whether disciplinary action is necessary.
Combe referred an interview request from CBC to his own lawyer, Nick Stooshinoff.
Stooshinoff said it’s important to note that these are not new allegations. He confirmed that Combe had been fired from Legal Aid, and he did not dispute the substance of the complaints.
“It is nothing particularly new, it’s simply a different forum or venue to try to take proceedings against Mr. Combe,” he said.
“The nature of the complaints don’t necessarily call into question his competence as a lawyer, or that he has engaged in any unethical conduct. It touches on his other interpersonal relations.”
Combe worked at Legal Aid from 2006 to 2013.
The complaint alleges that the attorney sexually harassed a co-worker and engaged in multiple interactions that were “abusive, offensive or otherwise inconsistent with the proper tone of a professional communication with a lawyer.” (Mike Frisch)