Sudbury lawyer loses right to practise law

A Sudbury lawyer has failed in her bid to convince a tribunal to suspend her licence rather than revoke it entirely, after a series of complaints about her — some of which date back to the 1990s when she was first called to the bar.

In a decision released Nov. 2, the Law Society of Upper Canada Tribunal ruled there was enough cause to revoke the licence of Helen Florentis to practise law.

In an agreed statement of facts, Florentis engaged in professional misconduct by:

Failing to serve two of her clients;
Failing to communicate with her client;
Misleading her client and failing to follow her client’s instructions;
Misleading the Law Society with respect to a scheduled meeting;
Practising law while suspended;
Failing to serve several other clients;
Failing to comply with a written authorization for the release of her client’s file;
Mishandling/misappropriating trust funds;
Breaching a court order; and,
Failing to respond to or misleading opposing counsel and the Law Society.

The misconduct occurred between June 2010 and February 2014. Florentis primarily practised family law, although she also handled real estate and wills and estates.

In reaching its decision, the tribunal based their ruling on three major factors: the history of misconduct, the fact that she hasn't expressed remorse, and that she mishandled a client's trust fund.

In addition to the most recent incidents, the tribunal found there had been seven separate complaints about Florentis between 2006 and 2012.

“The misconduct included failure to attend, failure to inform clients, the misleading of clients, the delay in the transfer of a file in the face of a written direction,” the tribunal wrote in its decision.

She also received a reprimand in 1995, and her licence had already been suspended for one month in 2011.

The lack of remorse over her actions was also a contributing factor in the tribunal's decision.

“While the lawyer has expressed regret, it falls short of remorse and suggests, even now, a failure to fully appreciate the implications of her misconduct,” the decision reads.

But the single biggest factor was the mishandling of a client's trust fund, which the tribunal said almost automatically leads to a lawyer losing their licence.

“In her submissions, counsel to the Law Society has provided us with a number of cases, many of which emphasize that revocation must follow the mishandling of trust funds,” the decision reads. “In her submission, the mishandling of trust funds is the most egregious offence that has been committed.

“In the circumstances, given the past lack of integrity and the length and nature of the present misconduct, the only decision that this panel can make is to immediately revoke the licence of the lawyer to practise.”