Confidentiality Breaches Draw Paralegal License Revocation

The Ontario Law Society Tribunal Hearing Division has ordered revocation of a paralegal’s license

The Law Society proved that Ms. Rahimi acted without integrity and breached client confidence in six cases when she reported alleged client lies to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and when she threatened another lawyer that she would disclose a confidential client document to a foreign government (collectively the “poison pen letters”). It proved eight other lesser offences including failure to serve, failure to deposit monies into trust, and practising out of scope and in an improper business structure.

Findings

We found Ms. Rahimi also acted without integrity when, on October 30, 2021, she threatened to disclose potentially harmful information about a former client to the Iranian Embassy. The IRB’s Refugee Appeal Division subsequently granted the former client’s appeal. Its decision reinforced the seriousness of Ms. Rahimi’s actions explicitly stating that Ms. Rahimi’s threat “gives rise to a sur place claim: the Appellants now face a serious possibility of persecution in Iran”.

These actions constitute serious misconduct. As we stated in the merits decision with respect to Client E and echoed in the analysis of the other integrity allegations respecting the other six clients, a failure to act with integrity is of the utmost significance:

Integrity is fundamental to those who practise law or provide legal services to the public. Clients must be able to trust their legal professionals to protect their interests, to advance their causes, and to safeguard their personal information and property. Refugee claimants put their lives in the hands of legal representatives – they trust their representative with their freedom and safety. In sending a poison pen letter to the RPD about Client E, Ms. Rahimi breached that trust and potentially jeopardized the refugee claim of Client E and his family. Her actions undermine the confidence of the public in the trustworthiness of paralegals.

The seven integrity breaches are not just one-day lapses that can be explained by illness or incompetence or as simply horrible mistakes as Ms. Rahimi claimed. They were deliberate actions over a period of time; the first six occurred on two days over two months and the seventh occurred over two years later. They were actions that were intended to put these former client’s claims before the RPD in jeopardy.

Ms. Rahimi fails to appreciate that the requirement to act with integrity extends not just to honesty respecting client monies but also to honesty and loyalty respecting all client confidences. She does not appreciate that she must honour her duty of loyalty and confidentiality to her clients no matter how badly she thinks they have treated her.

Sanction

We agree with the Law Society that revocation is the appropriate penalty where the integrity of the paralegal profession is at stake. Our finding, that Ms. Rahimi acted without integrity, breached client confidence and potentially put her former clients at some risk when she sent the poison pen letters, demands no less. Ms. Rahimi’s conduct goes to the heart of her trustworthiness as a paralegal and public confidence in the profession. The evidence does not suggest there has been or could be rehabilitation.

(Mike Frisch)