Riccioni v. Law Society of Alberta, 2015 ABCA 62

JudgeCôté, Costigan and Wakeling, JJ.A.
CourtCourt of Appeal (Alberta)
Case DateFebruary 05, 2015
Citations2015 ABCA 62;(2015), 599 A.R. 335

Riccioni v. Alta. Law Soc. (2015), 599 A.R. 335; 643 W.A.C. 335 (CA)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2015] A.R. TBEd. MR.142

Peter D. Riccioni (appellant) v. The Law Society of Alberta (respondent)

(1403-0116-AC; 2015 ABCA 62)

Indexed As: Riccioni v. Law Society of Alberta

Alberta Court of Appeal

Côté, Costigan and Wakeling, JJ.A.

March 19, 2015.

Summary:

The Law Society of Alberta conducted disciplinary proceedings with respect to a lawyer's conduct and ultimately disbarred the lawyer. The lawyer appealed.

The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 5203

Discipline - Offences - Burden of proof - Intent - The Law Society of Alberta conducted disciplinary proceedings with respect to a lawyer's conduct and ultimately disbarred the lawyer - The lawyer appealed, asserting that for any given disciplinary offence by a lawyer, the Law Society had to name and prove the degree of intent - The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal - Most of the offences charged were not ones involving intent - They were total neglect to do something, improper delegation, or misstatements which one had to know were untrue - Furthermore, the degree of intent was irrelevant because these were strict liability offences - Finding certain degrees of intent was proper, but the court was not satisfied that it was also necessary - See paragraphs 1 to 4.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 5247

Discipline - Procedure - Witnesses - The Law Society of Alberta conducted disciplinary proceedings with respect to a lawyer's conduct and ultimately disbarred the lawyer - The lawyer appealed, asserting that the Law Society erred in compelling him to testify and submit to cross-examination - The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal - The Legal Profession Act expressly made the lawyer facing discipline a compellable witness -The Law Society's Hearing Guidelines said that the member could be called by the hearing panel if neither counsel had called him - Those Guidelines might not be legislation, but they had some persuasive weight - Furthermore, the Act expressly said that the Law Society's discipline bodies did not have to follow the rules of evidence governing courts - In any event, the lawyer's counsel volunteered that the lawyer would answer any questions put to him, or the panel could call him - So there was no significance to the fact that neither party called him to the stand, instead the hearing panel did - Further, the non-compellability argument was never put to the hearing committee - With respect to the objection to the cross-examination, it was unthinkable that the lawyer could be put on the stand and allowed to give evidence without being subject to cross-examination on that evidence - No one lured or pressured the lawyer onto the stand - He volunteered (through his counsel) to go - The evidence which he gave (confirming his earlier statements then in evidence) was not an unexpected topic, and not one which could have surprised him - The lawyer's evidence was not a purely technical or formal matter; it went into many of the merits - A party had no general right to know ahead of time on what topics his or her opponent would cross-examine him or her - See paragraphs 5 to 25.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 5301

Discipline - Disbarment - General - The Law Society of Alberta conducted disciplinary proceedings with respect to a lawyer's conduct and ultimately disbarred the lawyer - The lawyer appealed, asserting that disbarment was an unfit penalty - The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal - Disbarment was within the proper range - The hearing committee's decision was reasonable - See paragraphs 28 to 34.

Cases Noticed:

Hesje v. Law Society of Saskatchewan (2015), 451 Sask.R. 205; 628 W.A.C. 205; 2015 SKCA 2, refd to. [para. 4].

Counsel:

S.M. Renouf, Q.C., for the appellant;

N.V. Maggisano, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard on February 5, 2015, by Côté, Costigan and Wakeling, JJ.A., of the Alberta Court of Appeal. The following memorandum of judgment of the Court of Appeal was delivered on March 19, 2015.

To continue reading

Request your trial
2 practice notes
  • Professional Regulation and Ungovernability
    • Canada
    • JD Supra Canada
    • February 11, 2016
    ...v. Law Society of Alberta, 2015 ABCA 62 (CanLII) (Alta CA), upholding a decision by the Law Society to disbar one of its members in part for Earlier this year, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the Law Society of Alberta to disbar one of its members. Mr. Riccioni argued that ......
  • Riccioni v Law Society of Alberta (The),, 2017 ABQB 261
    • Canada
    • Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
    • April 12, 2017
    ...sanction phase report, and the decision of the LSA appeal committee, as well as the decision of the Court of Appeal (which is reported at 2015 ABCA 62). Although these reports were not attached to an affidavit, they are, in fact, the record upon which Mr. Riccioni founds his claim, and he d......
1 cases
  • Riccioni v Law Society of Alberta (The),, 2017 ABQB 261
    • Canada
    • Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta (Canada)
    • April 12, 2017
    ...sanction phase report, and the decision of the LSA appeal committee, as well as the decision of the Court of Appeal (which is reported at 2015 ABCA 62). Although these reports were not attached to an affidavit, they are, in fact, the record upon which Mr. Riccioni founds his claim, and he d......
1 firm's commentaries
  • Professional Regulation and Ungovernability
    • Canada
    • JD Supra Canada
    • February 11, 2016
    ...v. Law Society of Alberta, 2015 ABCA 62 (CanLII) (Alta CA), upholding a decision by the Law Society to disbar one of its members in part for Earlier this year, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the Law Society of Alberta to disbar one of its members. Mr. Riccioni argued that ......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT