Lyle Howe takes barristers' society to court in bid to restore legal career

Disbarred Halifax lawyer Lyle Howe is taking the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society to court in a bid to resurrect his legal career.

Howefiled a request for judicial review Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, arguing the decision by a barristers' society disciplinary panel to disbar him and order him to pay costs of $150,000 is unjust.

In his written application to the court, Howe, who is black, says the society's ruling was biased anddiscriminatory, and that it made errors in law and did not appropriately weight evidence.

Howe's disciplinary hearing was the longest and most expensive of its kind in recent Nova Scotia legal history, running more than 60 days spread out over a year and a half.

In July, a three-member disciplinary panel ruled Howe was guilty of professional misconduct and professional incompetence, andfoundhe wasrepeatedly dishonest and lacked integrity.

The society said it also received numerous complaints about Howe being overbooked and double-booked in courts around the province.

Disciplinary process flawed,Howe says

Howe wants those convictions overturnedand for a judge to acquit him. If the court doesn't agree, Howe argues a new hearing should be held. Failing that, he says the society's sanctions on him should be eliminated and the court should impose new ones.

Howe's court submissions say the barristers'society disciplinary process was flawed from the start when it included investigators Elizabeth Buckle (now a judge) and Victoria Rees in its work. Howe claims the women had inappropriate conflicts of interest, although they aren't outlined in hisapplication.

Howe is also accusing other people who took part in the hearing of conflict of interest, including Ron MacDonald, the chair of the disciplinary panel. Howe saysMacDonald's conflict arose because of his previous employment with the Public Prosecution Service of Nova Scotia.

Some of those allegations were touched on in the ruling against Howe. The panel said that just because someone disappoints or disagrees with Howe, itdoes not mean he is being treated unfairly.

Howe also takes issue with the panel being all white, and says a co-ordinatorof the hearing denied his request to include someone who is black.

And he argues in his court filings that he should have been allowed to call Dartmouth provincial court Judge Alana Murphy to testify.Murphy had chastised Howe in court for being double booked.

Dates for the judicial review are expected to be set on Dec. 19, when Howe is scheduled to meet with a judge.