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Highly Corrosive

By Michael Frisch

The Ontario Law Society Tribunal Hearing Division has immediately revoked an attorney’s license

Mr. Grillone admits to the following in respect of his complainant clients:

•           lying about having filed originating documents with the court;

•           lying about having secured settlements;

•           failing to advise when cases had been dismissed for delay;

•           lying about the ongoing status of matters;

•           presenting fictitious documents;

•           falsely advising clients that he was attending court;

•           falsely advising a client could rescind a settlement agreement;

•           engaging in a conflict of interest;

•           failing to honour an undertaking to repay a litigation loan from settlement proceeds;

•           issuing a cheque that was not honoured by the bank;

•           withdrawing funds from trust without delivering accounts;

•           lying about having transferred funds to clients;

•           failing to obtain settlement funds;

•           making unauthorized use of settlement funds; and

•           disregarding requests for accounts.

Respondent had asserted mental health issues in mitigation

We find that Mr. Grillone’s alcohol use was caused by depression and that his drinking became problematic by 2018. We also find that Mr. Grillone’s alcohol use increased over time. We therefore conclude that Mr. Grillone started to experience symptoms of depression, and started to self-medicate as a result, at some time prior to 2018.

 However, we are unable to conclude that symptoms of depression or the alcohol use had material effect prior to 2018. While we accept that Mr. Grillone became somewhat distant and occupied with his busy practice by 2013-2014, we do not have the basis on which to conclude that he was experiencing mental health difficulties or substance abuse prior to 2018 or perhaps 2017.
 
Seriousness of misconduct
 
Maintaining public confidence requires that extensive and lengthy lying to clients about the lawyer’s work be treated most seriously. Such misconduct is utterly incompatible with the lawyer-client relationship and is highly corrosive of public confidence. Reasonable clients and reasonable members of the public would expect that such misconduct would be treated most seriously. While this misconduct may not be dishonest in the same sense as misappropriation, knowing assistance/participation in fraud, or fraud on the court, this misconduct is no less corrosive of public confidence in the legal profession.
 
Sanction

we have not been able to find mental health to be an extenuating factor for the proven misconduct, even though we accept that Mr. Grillone’s health difficulties led to a significant dependence on alcohol that ultimately resulted in a crisis of May 2019.

For these reasons, we conclude that revocation is the appropriate penalty in these circumstances.
 
(Mike Frisch)

Posted in:
Bar Discipline & Process