A Halifax lawyer who hasn't been permitted to practice for the better part of four years is now being told he must pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs, arising from his disciplinary hearing.
Suspended lawyer Lyle Howe is facing disbarment after a Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society disciplinary panel found him guilty of professional misconduct and incompetence in July.
Documents obtained by CTV News show Howe could also be on the hook for legal bills in addition to the ones he ran up in his own defence.
“We've come to a point where the society has indicated that they're looking for what I perceive as the largest cost award in Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society history. They are looking to crush me and my family,” said Howe.
The documents state that the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society spent over $1.1 million to suspend Howe.
"The length and costs of this hearing are unprecedented in Nova Scotia Barristers' Society history. From the society's perspective it is also a direct result of Mr. Howe's own choices respecting the manner of conducting his case. That right brings costs consequences when findings are made against him," the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society said in a statement.
The costs date back to 2013, most of that owing to Halifax law firm McInnes Cooper. Their share alone is well over $733,000.
"Mr. Howe should be responsible for 40 to 60 per cent of the society's total costs … rounded down to a dollar range between $450,000 and $600,000. The society is prepared to enter into a reasonable monthly payment plan of up to 10 years," McInnes Cooper said in a statement.
Lyle Howe said he expected to have to pay some sort of cost associated with the hearing, but expected it to be more along the lines of $100,000.
CTV News spoke to Barristers’ Society executive director Darrell Pink, who said this shouldn't come as a shock to Howe. Pink said there have been several other cases where a lawyer was expected to pay a portion of the costs associated with a hearing.
Pink also pointed to what he calls “the severity of Howe's case,” saying he was found guilty of "significant offences, including honesty and integrity.”
“I think that the difference in my case is that I defended myself vigorously,” Howe says.
Howe's wife Laura McCarthy, a lawyer herself who's spent her own time fighting for her husband, said they have also spent well over $500,000 on their own legal costs.
“A cost award between $450,000 and $600 000 in many respects is worse than disbarment,” said McCarthy. “They're asking for that cost award on top of disbarment which would suggest that he pay in the realm of $50,000 a year when he doesn't have a job.”
Howe and his family will find out what the official penalty is at another hearing on Sept. 12. Pink said that’s when he’ll disclose more information on the matter.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.
