High-profile lawyer gets 1-month suspension for professional misconduct
CBC
Christian Michaud, a high-profile Moncton-area lawyer, and former president of the Law Society of New Brunswick, has received a one-month suspension from a disciplinary panel after he was found to have breached confidentiality and other rules of professional conduct.
Michaud was the subject of a complaint filed to the law society on Feb. 4, 2021, by his estranged wife.
She accused Michaud of sending her emails that included confidential information about his clients and his former firm, of making threats such as to wage "legal war," and of repeatedly failing to follow proper legal channels during the process of his divorce.
The complainant notified the society she wished to withdraw the complaint a couple of months later, but the registrar of complaints decided to continue the investigation.
"We still had questions that we needed answered," said Joleen Dable, registrar and deputy executive director of the law society.
Michaud has had a high profile in New Brunswick — he co-represents former Campbellton doctor Jean-Robert Ngola, who was accused in 2020 of breaking COVID-19 rules by failing to isolate and of being the source of a deadly outbreak. Michaud was also accused of public nudity in 2020 after consuming what he said were "the wrong kind of mushrooms."
In his response to the complaint posted on the law society website, Michaud acknowledged having sent emails that contained confidential information and called them "terrible mistakes," made in haste.
In one email, intended to let his then-wife know they could leave on vacation without worry, he forwarded details of a client's out-of-court settlement.
In a couple of others, intended to seek personal advice, he talked about a possible conflict of interest on the part of another lawyer and a proposed new business relationship with the firm he used to work for.
"I was dealing with my duty to perform as a partner of that firm and my obligations to please my spouse."
Michaud's response indicates he left that firm and set up his own, Libersolus, in early 2020.
He contracted her to provide administrative support and office management in March 2020, and a couple of weeks later they separated.
At first, they used a mediation process during which Michaud represented himself.
Michaud said he thought they'd reached an agreement, but his wife ended up not signing it and hiring a different lawyer.
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