Refugee Lawyer and the Law Society

the Law Society: Legal misconduct leaves many victims in its wake. A few of those victims complain to the Law Society, and some are eventually vindicated. At stake is property or reputation or life savings. But no one has more at stake than refugees when they fall victim to an incompetent or unscrupulous lawyer. Then life itself can be at stake, according to The Star. It is impossible to overstate the importance of legal representation for refugees who arrive in this country. They have no understanding of the refugee determination procedures. Many come from places where they have no experience of having their rights taken seriously. Some languages, I have learned, do not even have a word for rights. Refugees depend on their lawyer to shepherd them through a process that is obscure even to most Canadians and Finally, we are talking about the fact that there are dirty rotten lawyers. Thanks in no small measure to , we are reading the facts about legal misconduct, negligence and even corruption. Finally, the Law Society of Upper Canada seems to be taking its disciplinary responsibility seriously. I have been waiting for years to see this happen. In February, the Law Society began proceedings against one refugee lawyer on the grounds that he had engaged in professional misconduct. The first day of the proceedings at the Law Society indicated that there were 18 refugees who had complained against this lawyer. I suspect there were many others who could have complained, should have complained, but who never thought they would be taken seriously. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.