“There’s something happening here,” Stephen Stills once wrote. “What it is ain’t exactly clear.” Here in this case is inside the traditionally somnambulant corridors of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the august and privileged self-governing body, which “regulates Nova Scotia’s legal profession… [and exists] to uphold and protect public interest in the practice of...
Lyle Howe disbarred
In the end, the end was no surprise. The end was, in a sense, even perhaps inevitable. But, regardless of your views of the merits of the case against him, the outcome was sad. For Lyle Howe. For the legal profession. For the rest of us.
“The Hearing Committee of the NOVA SCOTIA BARRISTERS’ SOCIETY gives notice of the disbarment of Lyle Howe of Halifax, Nova Scotia pursuant to Section 45(4)(a) of the Legal Profession Act, effective October 20, 2017 until further notice.” In the end, the end was no surprise. The end was, in a sense, even perhaps inevitable. But, regardless...
Bar Society says Lyle Howe should be disbarred, ordered to pay $500,000
The bar society argues Howe should now suffer the ultimate legal punishment — not being allowed to practise the profession for which he trained — and also be shackled with a debt he may never be able to repay, in Catch-22 part because he is not allowed to practise his profession.
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society wants Lyle Howe not only disbarred from practising law for at least five years, but it says he should also have to pay between $450-600,000 of the costs of the disciplinary hearing against him. The society estimates its total cost in the case at $1.1 million — a figure that...
Who’s going to fix our broken criminal justice system?
The panel’s perhaps self-evident but nonetheless shocking admission: there are only a “limited number of people” — almost all of them with “substantial social and financial resources” — who can hire lawyers who have the time and resources to represent them fully and adequately in the criminal justice system.
“The evidence has therefore made it clear to us that it can be unfair to expect that a brass knuckle possession, or breach of recognizance, or theft-under file for a repeat offender currently in custody being dealt with on a legal aid certificate will have the same level of file management and documentation as the...
The Lyle Howe case: guilty, but…
To its credit, the panel did not shy away from the implications of the fact the bar society was “seeking formal discipline against a member of the African Nova Scotian community.” But then what?
The CBC headline — “Halifax Lawyer Lyle Howe Found Guilty of Professional Misconduct, Incompetence” — was simple. And it is accurate. So far as it goes. But the actual 140-page decision by a bar society disciplinary panel… IN THE MATTER OF: The Legal Profession Act, S.N.S. 2004, c. 28 and the Regulations of the Nova...
Court Watch: Judge Lenehan gets mad
In Court Repeat sex offender gets shut down by Judge Lenehan Judge Gregory Lenehan won’t be back in the public’s good books for some time, after his comments on sexual assault and consent and the acquittal of Bassam Al-Rawi. But I think readers will still enjoy Steve Bruce’s account of Judge Lenehan absolutely shutting down...
Who is Lyle Howe? (Part I)
And why are so many people saying such nasty things about him?
PART I: The Making of Lyle Howe “High school taught me what to think. Philosophy taught me how to think. Law school will teach me why all this thinking is necessary.” Lyle Howe Dalhousie University “Discover the Unexpected” marketing campaign 2006 “The Complaints Investigation Committee of the NOVA SCOTIA BARRISTERS’ SOCIETY gives notice that the practising […]