Court stays P.A. lawyer’s disbarment until appeal hearing

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has temporarily stayed the disbarment of Prince Albert lawyer Peter V. Abrametz until an appeal hearing is held, after he challenged the penalty order made against him by the Law Society of Saskatchewan.

Abrametz was found guilty on Jan. 10 of conduct unbecoming a lawyer, in connection with five professional misconduct charges following a 2017 hearing. The law society barred him from applying for readmission as a lawyer until Jan. 2, 2021. It found that Abrametz had enacted an “elaborate” trust fund scheme over a period of two years and had been charging a 30 per cent flat fee on loans given for non-legal reasons.

The appeals court heard his application on Feb. 20.

Abrametz is appealing both the penalty decision and all of the law society’s hearing committee decisions that preceded it. He asked the court to stay the penalty order until the outcome of the appeal, subject to conditions; the law society opposed this request, arguing the court has no jurisdiction to impose conditions on any stay it may order.

The appeal court ruled that it does have the jurisdiction to impose conditions on the stay, reimplementing the conditions to which he was subject prior to the penalty order. He had been practising under restrictions since 2013.

The court ordered Abrametz to “perfect” his appeal by 4 p.m. on April 15. If he fails to meet the deadline, the law society can apply to lift the stay on five days’ notice.

The law society also argued that if Abrametz’s disbarment was upheld during the appeal process, other lawyers could pick up his cases. Abrametz, who specializes in personal injury cases and works primarily with clients who have financial difficulties, argued that he has matters scheduled in the months ahead that could require adjournment, which would come at a prejudice to his clients.

In a written decision, Justice Robert Leurer sided with Abrametz. He said he could not discount the harm to the public that would be caused by continuing the penalty through the appeal phase.

“This harm includes delay and also expenses as new lawyers are engaged. All of this may also damage the reputation of the profession, particularly if it is later determined that Mr. Abrametz should not have been suspended at all,” Leurer wrote.

A date for an appeal hearing has not been set.