By Stewart Lewis
(February 15 – 17:00 ET) – The Ontario Divisional Court handed the Ontario Securities Commission an easy victory today. The OSC can proceed with its case against former YBM Magnex International lawyer, Lawrence Wilder. Commission lawyers didn’t even have to argue their case.
Lawrence Wilder, former legal counsel for YBM Magnex International, brought an application for a court order to prohibit the OSC from proceeding against him. He is named in a Statement of Allegations, issued by OSC enforcement staff, which also names senior officers and directors of YBM. The OSC is alleging that Wilder mislead the commission in the course of his dealings with YBM’s prospectuses.
Wilder’s counsel, Linda Fuerst, attempted to argue that the only regulatory body that should discipline lawyers is the Ontario Law Society. In a lengthy submission before the court, she tried to argue that the “Rule of Law” in a democratic society requires the independence of the judiciary. She attempted to equate the independence of the judiciary with the independence of the bar.
Ed Morgan, counsel for the Law Society, echoed Fuerst’s submissions. But the court didn’t buy it. After a brief recess, they returned to the courtroom at the end of the day and delivered their ruling, dismissing the application, thereby paving the way for the OSC to proceed against Wilder. They will deliver their written reasons in the coming weeks.
Fuerst says she and her clients – Wilder and his Toronto law firm, Cassels Brock and Blackwell – will review the court’s reasons before deciding whether to appeal the ruling.