Ex-law dean’s conduct ‘fraud’: panel

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This article was published 19/12/2023 (667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A professional disciplinary panel has ruled an ex-law dean repeatedly breached his duty of integrity by filing phony expenses during his tenure at the University of Manitoba, and categorized his misconduct as “fraud.”

Jonathan Black-Branch’s five-year term at the helm of Robson Hall was cut short in 2020 after an internal audit concluded he misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in faculty and endowment funds.

The university privately took its findings to the Law Society of Manitoba — where Black-Branch remains a member, although he now lives in the U.K. — to investigate.

“(Black-Branch’s) egregious behaviour does not reflect well on (U of M), the profession and on the administration of justice,” states a 28-page ruling from the society’s disciplinary committee led by chairman Grant Mitchell.

A three-person panel, made up of two lawyers (Mitchell and Wendy Stewart) and a public representative (Susan Boulter), heard arguments in the case on Sept. 18, 20 and 21 and Nov. 21-23.

The most egregious evidence indicated Black-Branch expensed roughly $600,000 to bolster his resume by taking U.S. Ivy League courses, paying rent during a fellowship abroad, and donating to an international organization he founded without disclosing his conflict of interest.

The panel was also told — via affidavits and witnesses — that he racked up hefty tabs at a ritzy social club in downtown Winnipeg and a restaurant in the Exchange District.

The dean often claimed he was dining with others and for university-related business, but lawyer colleagues that he named on his bills suggested otherwise during the proceedings.

The panel’s Dec. 15 decision states that Black-Branch breached his duty of integrity “on many occasions,” and as a result, engaged in conduct unbecoming a lawyer.

“A lawyer has a duty to carry on the practice of law and discharge all responsibilities to clients, tribunals, the public and other members of the profession honourably and with integrity,” states an excerpt from the law society’s code of conduct.

The new ruling states the dean abused a university system that requires dean oversight — or in Black-Branch’s case, only himself — to approve expenses, and told three subordinates to stop asking questions about his bills.

“The member knowingly improperly used university and (endowment) funds exclusively for his personal benefit,” the panel wrote.

Law society lawyer Rocky Kravetsky argued the standard of proof applicable to the case was on a balance of probabilities.

The panel agreed, and went so far as to state its members would have been satisfied that all the evidence provided was sufficient, “even if the standard had been the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The trio deemed the accused’s actions “morally reprehensible” and “at the very least dishonourable and questionable.”

Black-Branch repeatedly sought to delay the hearings, citing his mental health, and he was initially successful in doing so. However, his last-ditch requests for adjournment and failures to provide proper documentation prompted the panel to proceed without him.

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The accused did not submit an affidavit or request to participate in any of the proceedings, which were held at the watchdog’s headquarters in downtown Winnipeg, in a virtual capacity.

In their decision, the panelists outlined numerous opportunities provided to the member to address the allegations and evidence put forward by the law society.

A follow-up hearing to discuss potential penalties has yet to be scheduled.

Neither Black-Branch nor Leah Kosokowsky, chief executive officer of the regulatory college for lawyers, responded to requests for comment Tuesday.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.