Former justice minister Jonathan Denis accused of unprofessional conduct in Law Society hearing
Client: Jonathan Denis
Charge: Unprofessional Conduct
Defence: Denis, 48, faces two citations of professional misconduct.
Former Alberta justice minister Jonathan Denis admitted Tuesday he was in a conflict of interest when he took on the file of a minor passenger involved in a car crash after the driver’s father came to him for legal advice.
But Denis said he didn’t intentionally breach his duty as a lawyer when he filed a statement of claim on behalf of the passenger, which included the father and daughter as defendants.
“I do, with hindsight, acknowledge that there was a conflict in this particular case and I wish to apologize to (the father) and his daughter if there’s been any inconvenience attached to this,” Denis told a disciplinary tribunal of the Law Society of Alberta.
“It was certainly not my intention.”
Denis, 48, faces two citations of professional misconduct in connection with his handling of the motor vehicle lawsuit, and his assistance of a man who engaged in an extramarital affair with a woman who contacted his wife about the indiscretion.
Courtney McMullan, who at the time was a peace officer with Alberta Health Services on mental health leave, testified she began a relationship with the man, whom Postmedia is not identifying at the request of the tribunal chair, only to discover he was still married.
She said she became suspicious the husband was simply cheating on his wife when she sent the woman a message asking if they were separated.
“I just had a really odd feeling he was hiding something and was lying,” she told Law Society counsel Shanna Hunka.
“That’s when he blew up my phone with 11 missed calls,” she said of her Nov. 11, 2021, inquiry to the wife.
The husband eventually got through to her and claimed he had no idea who she was or what she was talking about, so she sent the wife photographic evidence to prove their relationship.
The following day, she received a call from Airdrie RCMP complaining she was harassing the couple, which was followed by a cease and desist email from Denis.
In his correspondence, the lawyer said if McMullan didn’t stop contacting the couple he might report the matter to her employer as a potential violation of her code of conduct as a peace officer.
Denis told his lawyer, Alain Hepner, he was simply trying to present what he felt was the harassment of his client, whom he never received any fees from.
The hearing resumes Wednesday.
Source: The Calgary Herald