The Law Society of Ontario has announced that Jim Battin broke Ontario’s Legal Aid rules. The 75-year-old lawyer from Tillsonburg claims he was only trying to assist a client who had been neglected by the system.
The regulatory body revoked Battin’s license on May 15, citing that he withdrew nearly $12,000 from a former client’s trust fund, which went against Legal Aid regulations. He has since returned the money to the client.
Battin practiced law in Ontario for 45 years without any prior disciplinary action from the society. When reached for comment by Postmedia, his office stated that he would not be discussing the issue.
He has been actively involved in his community, supporting non-profits and charities, engaging in political service, and acting as a deputy judge in the Ontario Small Claims Court.
Recently, he represented former Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch in a case where Birtch faces accusations of sexual assault.
However, Battin’s situation with the Law Society dates back to 2019. The society claims he failed to “conduct himself with integrity” by bypassing Legal Aid’s billing procedure, improperly charging a Legal Aid client privately, and making misleading statements to both Legal Aid and the client.
In his defense against the Law Society’s allegations, Battin asserted that his former client’s complaint was false and described her victim impact statement as “totally outlandish.”
He argued that his client-who was seeking a divorce-agreed to pay him privately while still holding a Legal Aid certificate for legal work. However, she had been denied extra time to pursue her court case.
Battin maintained that it was her responsibility to cancel that certificate before entering into a private agreement with him.
On the other hand, the Law Society believed the complainant’s version of events, noting it is expressly forbidden by Legal Aid rules to create such private agreements.
The society indicated that Battin took $11,849.65 from a trust account to compensate himself for what he believed was owed and only refunded it when pressured by the society.
This money came from funds held in trust following the sale of the woman’s previous home and should have contributed towards repaying some of her legal costs covered by Legal Aid. The society admitted there should have been a lien placed on her home for this purpose.
“The lawyer’s conduct reflects a lack of integrity, honesty and trustworthiness,” said their decision regarding Battin.
“It was undertaken deliberately in violation of well-established rules. It was done for his personal gain, to the detriment of a vulnerable LAO client.”
The society expressed concern over Battin’s lack of explanations or justifications for his actions; instead, he blamed both Legal Aid and the complaining woman.
“Unfortunately, this gives us no comfort that his misconduct is out-of-character or unlikely to recur,” remarked the society.
“The only disposition possible here is immediate revocation of licence.”
Additionally, they ordered Battin to pay $44,135 for legal staff time spent on this case-a figure excluding other investigation-related expenses.
SGamble
@EXPSGamble
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