Law society hears allegations of conflict, threats on the part of former Alberta justice minister

A disciplinary hearing for Jonathan Denis heard testimony from two witnesses who alleged the former Alberta justice minister is guilty of professional misconduct.

The Law Society of Alberta, which regulates lawyers in the province, issued two citations in March. A two-day hearing got underway Tuesday.

If the panel decides the cited conduct is deserving of sanction, penalties range from a reprimand, fine, suspension and, in the most serious cases, disbarment.

Denis is accused of serving his own client with a lawsuit on behalf of another client after receiving information and evidence that would assist with the civil action.

In a second citation, Denis is accused of threatening a woman's employment on behalf of a client who had dated her.

CBC News is respecting a request made by the hearing committee chair to be mindful of naming individuals who are not before the tribunal and have not had the chance to express their privacy interests.

Initials will be used in place of the names of the complainants and other connected parties.

Denis spent three years as justice minister under a Progressive Conservative government. After losing his seat in 2015, he founded Guardian Law Group.

Teens and father meet with Denis 

A panel of three heard testimony about a car crash that took place Aug. 12, 2020.

On that evening, 18-year-old S.L. was driving with her friend 17-year-old R.M., who was in the passenger seat, when they were hit by a Canadian Pacific Railway truck.

S.L.'s father attended the scene and took photos.

Both girls were adamant the CP truck had its turn signal on but drove straight, causing the accident. In the days after the crash, S.L.'s father contacted Denis to meet about a lawsuit against Canadian Pacific.

Denis, S.L., her father and R.M. were all in the meeting.

In the days following that meeting, S.L. wrote a detailed statement that her father sent to Denis in an email along with photos he'd taken from the crash scene.

'Served by my own lawyer'

Denis denied receiving the attachments.

The initial plan was for the two families to jointly sue Canadian Pacific.

But months after the initial meeting and subsequent email exchanges, S.L. and her father were served with a lawsuit on behalf of R.M. and her mother, who were being represented by Denis.

"I wasn't expecting to be served by my own lawyer," said S.L.'s father. "It was kind of shocking, for sure."

Denis acknowledged the conflict but the tribunal heard his lawyer plans to argue it doesn't rise to the level of sanctionable behaviour.

"I do with hindsight acknowledge that there was a conflict in this particular case and I wish to apologize … if there's been any inconvenience attached to this, it was certainly not my intention," he said at the hearing.

Cheating, a breakup and alleged threats

The other incident before the law society involves the breakdown of a relationship.

On Nov. 11, 2021, C.M. learned that her boyfriend of four months was still married despite having told her he had split from his wife.

C.M. messaged his wife to tell her he'd been lying to both of them.

C.K. denied knowing C.M., so she says she messaged again to provide photos of herself with C.K. as proof of the relationship.

At the time, C.M. was on leave from her job as a peace officer with Alberta Health Services.

'Any and all remedies'

On Nov. 13, C.M. received an email, described in the hearing as a cease and desist letter.

The letter, sent by Denis, accused C.M. of contacting C.K.'s children

C.M. testified that Denis threatened to report her to AHS and said her behaviour was against the organization's code of conduct.

"We are also aware that you are employed as a peace officer," said Denis in his letter.

"Such conduct may verily fall outside of your code of conduct as part of your profession, and our client reserves any and all remedies should this conduct continue."

C.M. said she never contacted C.K.. or his family after that email.

TikTok post

But she did make one final social media post.

C.M. testified that on Dec. 5 she posted a TikTok "about being heartbroken," which included an image of text messages from C.K. "saying how much he loves me" and a photo of the two together.

Four days later, C.M. received another email from Denis accusing her of posting photos of C.K.'s children on Tinder and again threatening to report her to her employer.

"We reserve the right to report this matter to your employer should the harassment of my client continue," wrote Denis. "You have a code of conduct that you are bound to follow by way of your employment."

In his own testimony, Denis told the panel that he "believed [C.M.] was using workplace resources to effect her harassment."

Denis testified he did not personally verify any photos of his client's children or the alleged harassment on social media

"I'm not the most tech-savvy person in the world," said Denis. "I had no reason to disbelieve [C.K.]"

The hearing continues Wednesday.

Denis's lawyer Alain Hepner indicated a plan to call C.K. as a witness.