High-profile personal injury lawyer Jeremy Diamond is facing a reprimand from the Law Society of Upper Canada and has been ordered to pay $25,000 in costs to the legal regulator for failing to co-operate fully with its investigation into his financial books.In a decision rendered Thursday, Law Society Tribunal adjudicator Raj Anand noted that it took five formal requests by law society investigators over several months for Diamond to hand over documents concerning his referral fee operation dating back to October 2013.“The law society has demonstrated a failure to co-operate by the respondent, who thereby breached his obligations as a licensee,” Anand wrote.Jordan Whelan, a spokesperson for Diamond and Diamond Lawyers and president of public relations agency Grey Smoke Media, told the Star Thursday night that “after consulting with counsel, we will be appealing the decision.”Diamond has been under investigation by the law society since October 2016 for allegations including “failing to adequately inform clients” about referral fees and “engaging in improper/misleading advertising,” according to documents filed as part of his disciplinary hearing in July. A spokesperson for the law society told the Star the lawyer remains under investigation despite Thursday’s ruling.Lawyers in Ontario are self-regulated and must produce financial records to the law society when asked.In his ruling, Anand recounted much of the law society’s correspondence with Diamond and his lawyers over a period of more than five months, including a letter from Diamond’s lawyer last November that stated that Diamond did not have a trust account, and that referral fees, including “upfront fees,” were deposited into his professional corporation’s general account, and that the firm “does not have trust receipt journals, general receipt journals, fees book, or client trust ledgers per se.”Law society byl ...
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