The motion asks the LSO to itemize costs related to both the CEO pay boost and the public fallout
Ahead of the Law Society of Ontario’s annual general meeting on Sept. 18, an Ontario lawyer has filed a motion asking the legal regulator to reveal how much money it’s spent in relation to a controversial pay increase for its former chief executive officer.
Filed on Friday, the motion asks the LSO to itemize both the specific fees related to boosting former CEO Diana Miles’ pay and the money the LSO later spent to deal with the fallout of that decision.
These costs cover a legal opinion from labour and employment firm Hicks Morley, which outlined whether the former LSO Treasurer Jacqueline Horvath had the authority to change Miles’ compensation without the approval of the LSO’s board; a new employment contract for Miles; and two reviews of Miles’ compensation by consulting firms.
The motion also asks the LSO to disclose how much it spent on an investigation and report on the events surrounding Miles’ pay boost, public relations services following public outcry over the pay boost, a governance expert’s review of the LSO’s bylaws and practices, and any other fees associated with the scandal.
The motion asked the LSO to provide this information to licensees and the public before the end of the year.
The LSO declined to comment on the motion on Monday.
Each year, lawyers and paralegals can introduce motions for discussion at the LSO’s annual general meeting. The deadline for submitting a motion to the LSO was Monday at 5pm.
Licensees participating in the meeting can vote on motions at the meeting. Lawyers and paralegals with suspended licenses cannot cast votes.
Toronto lawyer Anita Szigeti told Law Times she filed the motion because she was troubled by how the LSO handled the controversy around Miles’ pay earlier this year.
“The law society may think that this is all behind them, and everyone’s forgotten about it,” Szigeti says. “In my opinion, there’s been a fairly irreparable breach of trust, or at least nothing that they’ve done since has placated or assured the profession that they are paying sufficient attention to what has occurred.”
She adds that at a minimum, “We have the right to know what this event and this incident has cost us, the profession, who are all paying dues. This is our money they’re spending.”
The controversy around Miles’ pay erupted in February, when news broke that the LSO had hired a former Ontario judge to investigate the circumstances of an employment contract that raised Miles’ base salary to nearly $1 million from just under $600,000. The LSO’s board did not learn about the raise until months later.
Miles was replaced as the regulator’s CEO in March.
The LSO has faced criticism from legal organizations, governance experts, and members of its board for how it dealt with the controversy.
