Daniel Naymark Presents at OBA Insitute

/

Daniel Naymark presented at the Ontario Bar Association’s Institute 2019 program on October 6, as part of the Young Lawyer Division panel, Take Control of Your Career: Hard Work Is Not Enough. The program also featured presentations by Deborah Glatter, a management and leadership consultant for lawyers, Paulette Pommells, President and Principal Coach of Creative Choices for the 21st Century Lawyer Inc., and Lina Duque, a social media strategist.

The Webcast Replay is available here (registration fee required).

Terrence Liu Joins CSALC Board of Directors

/

Terrence Liu has been elected as a director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. CSALC is a community based legal clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario that provides free legal services to low-income individuals from Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian communities across Ontario. In addition to legal services, CSALC provides public legal education and advocates for law reform on behalf of the communities that it serves through test case litigation, grassroots campaigns, and submissions to all levels of government as well as international human rights bodies.

Terrence Liu joins Naymark Law

/

Terrence Liu has joined Naymark Law as an associate, after serving an appointment as Senior Policy Advisor to Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development. Before that, Terrence worked as an associate at a prominent Bay Street litigation boutique, clerked at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and practiced at a large, full-service Bay Street firm.

Check out Terrence's bio here.

Terrence_master-5x7-02a - WEB.jpg

Law Society Tribunal Recognizes Duty to Accommodate Mental Illness

/

The Law Society Tribunal today dismissed an allegation of misconduct against a lawyer suffering from anxiety and depression. The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) had prosecuted him for failing to respond fully to a disciplinary investigation. The Tribunal found that his failure to fully respond was a direct result of the symptoms of the lawyer's diagnosed anxiety and depression, and that the LSO owed a duty to accommodate his mental illness in the course of its investigation, which it failed to meet. 

This ruling sets an important precedent. It is the Law Society Tribunal's first in-depth treatment of the LSO's duty to accommodate lawyers with mental illness involved in its disciplinary process, and is the first time the Tribunal has dismissed a conduct proceeding because the LSO had failed to provide adequate accommodation.

Daniel Naymark of Naymark Law acts as pro bono Duty Counsel at the Law Society Tribunal and acted for the lawyer at the hearing. The Tribunal recognized his efforts in its ruling:

The outcome of the matter before me was directly attributable to the diligent, exhaustive and comprehensive efforts of Duty Counsel who remained committed to the matter from the outset, through re-attendances and written submissions. This engagement by a volunteer lawyer epitomizes the best characteristics of lawyers: that of caring, commitment and duty. These efforts were vitally important to both the licensee, who was greatly assisted, and also to the profession, one of whose members found himself in need but had been proceeding without help. As well the public interest was better protected by ensuring the conduct of an informed, balanced discipline hearing. Adjudicators in an adversarial forum are entitled to the best available assistance and thoughtful analysis reflecting the interests of all concerned, before determining evolving issues of important jurisprudence in potentially precedent-setting matters.

A copy of the Tribunal's full decision is available here. Coverage and commentary is here.

Windsor Judge Revives Automotive Claim

/

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has set aside the dismissal for delay of an automotive industry lawsuit, permitting the claim to proceed. Daniel Naymark of Naymark Law acted for the plaintiff on the motion. Justice Pomerance ruled that the plaintiff company's two former lawyers had acted improperly in failing to advance the lawsuit despite the plaintiff's instructions, before the Law Society of Ontario suspended each of them in turn. 

The decision is available here.

Registration on Title Declared Improper

/

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has declared a vendor's pre-closing registration on title invalid pursuant to the Vendors and Purchasers Act. Daniel Naymark of Naymark Law acted for the purchasers of a property, who brought an urgent application on the date the sale was to close after learning a day prior that the vendor had registered a notice on title to the property that would have prevented the sale from closing. Justice Monahan's declaration permitted the sale to close. A copy of Justice Monahan's ruling is available here.

Daniel Naymark Featured in Canadian Lawyer Magazine

/

Canadian Lawyer Magazine quotes Daniel Naymark in its article, B.C. woman with criminal past can proceed with law career. Daniel offered the following comment on a decision of the British Columbia Law Society Tribunal to admit to the bar a woman who acknowledged a past addiction to crystal meth and related criminal activity:

[This is a] bold and welcome decision. It would have been safe for the panel to reject this candidate and so shield itself from future criticism should she engage in bad conduct as a lawyer. Instead . . . the panel gave a deserving person a chance at earned redemption. Perhaps more importantly, the panel recognized that the public benefits from a legal profession that reflects a diversity of life experiences.