A paralegal based in Sudbury and North Bay has had her licence revoked for falsifying documents, failing to properly advise her clients and showing “a concerning dishonesty and lack of integrity.”
This is the key result of a Law Society of Ontario tribunal hearing division decision of Dec. 14, in which sanctions against Cheryl Lisa MacKinnon were affirmed.
Her licence was revoked immediately, and she was ordered to pay $6,000 in costs to the Law Society.
The decision hinged on agreed statements of facts surrounding interactions with nine clients and one staff member, which all dealt with violations of the Paralegal Rules of Conduct.
MacKinnon got a licence to provide paralegal services in Ontario in 2009, and opened a sole practice in Sudbury in 2012, employing a junior paralegal and two assistants.
She downsized in 2017 and shifted to a smaller office space, discharged her staff and intended to focus on landlord-tenant matters. MacKinnon purchased a paralegal practice in North Bay in September 2018, and accepted a prosecutor position with the City of Greater Sudbury the following month. A city spokesperson declined to share the timeline of MacKinnon’s employment.
Eight of 10 incidents up for consideration took place during her transition from private practice to her employment with the City of Greater Sudbury, between October 2018 and April 2019.
In many of the cases, she passed clients on to other paralegals, but “failed to provide sufficient information or instructions” to them, according to the tribunal’s ruling.
On June 10, 2020, MacKinnon signed an undertaking limiting her legal services when the Law Society began investigating alleged misconduct, and she has not been practising since March 2022.
Though they include additional context, the core of the complaints against her were as follows:
- MacKinnon was tardy in filing a statement of claim on behalf of clients in April 2016, and the case was dismissed as a result. She then failed to update her clients about the status of the case.
- A client dismissed MacKinnon due to the pace at which their matter was proceeding, and requested an invoice and a refund. MacKinnon provided neither.
- MacKinnon told a client she’d file their claim on Oct. 5, 2018, but didn’t actually file it until Nov. 29, 2018. After “noticing discrepancies in the information provided” by MacKinnon, the client “made repeated requests” to meet with her and asked for copies of receipts, but MacKinnon failed to comply.
- MacKinnon told a client their matter should proceed in Superior Court, but neglected to tell them that as a paralegal, she would be unable to pursue the matter in Superior Court, nor that they should seek the advice of a lawyer. The client ended up proceeding without representation. They requested a refund from MacKinnon, but she did not reply.
- A client retained MacKinnon in January 2014 regarding a dispute with her former employer, at which time a $1,000 retainer was paid. Despite “several requests for updates,” MacKinnon did not respond for more than one year. MacKinnon settled the client’s matter for $2,000 in October 2015. “Minutes of settlement were signed, which (the client) never saw, and which the client denies executing.” The client never received the proceeds of the settlement. Over the next three years, the client inquired about the matter but never received an answer from MacKinnon. In Spring 2018, MacKinnon told the client she would “look into” the matter, but never provided them with an invoice.
- A staff member's “name and forged signature” appeared on an affidavit of service commissioned by MacKinnon.
- MacKinnon told a client she had filed a statement of claim, and said throughout the following year that it had been filed, promising to forward a copy of it. It was never filed.
- After not hearing from MacKinnon, a client called a courthouse on March 4, 2019, to inquire about a trial, which they learned was scheduled for three days later. MacKinnon said the trial would not proceed that week, so the client did not attend court. On March 11, the court clerk called the client to inquire as to why they did not attend.
- Between May 2018 and December 2019, MacKinnon “made many false statements about the work she was supposedly performing on behalf of (a client).” She “untruthfully” claimed a statement of claim had been filed, that the defendant had been noted in default and that a date for an assessment hearing had been set.
- MacKinnon claimed to have left a statement of claim with a defendant’s administrator at their place of business on Feb. 26, 2019, but the defendant countered that this was not possible because the administrator was out of the country at the time, the office was closed and the postal code on the affidavit of service was wrong.
Evidence supports the allegations of professional misconduct in all 10 cases, according to the tribunal.
“In at least seven of those matters, the respondent clearly failed to act with integrity,” according to their ruling.
“She falsified documents such as invoices and affidavits to mislead her clients. She failed to properly advise her clients of the true state of their files and failed to get appropriate instructions. In one case, she failed to put retainer fees into trust. In every case, she failed to communicate openly and honestly with the persons affected.”
In response to MacKinnon’s “many serious lapses of integrity, combined with her other misconduct,” having her licence revoked is the presumptive penalty, according to the tribunal’s ruling, which cites various case law.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
