Disbarred Halifax lawyer applies to return to practice

Mark David disbarred in 2009 over handling of file of client later found guilty of securities fraud

Blair Rhodes · CBC News 

A Halifax lawyer who was disbarred more than 12 years ago for professional misconduct wants to return to practising law.

A notice posted on the website of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society said Mark David has applied for readmission. The notice gives other lawyers and members of the public 30 days to offer their views on his request.

David was disbarred for his handling of the file of his client Peter Mill, one of two men found guilty last year of fraud by the Nova Scotia Securities Commission in a case involving two companies.

In its 2009 decision to disbar David, the barristers’ society questioned his conduct.

“Whether Mr. David was the dupe of an unscrupulous client, or was wilfully blind as to the apparently dishonest conduct of his client, has never been satisfactorily resolved,” the disciplinary panel wrote.

The panel went on to note: “Mr. David’s conduct damaged the honour and integrity of the entire legal profession.”

The society found David repeatedly helped reassure Mill’s clients who were growing increasingly skeptical and impatient with his failure to deliver on his investment promises.

The society said David kept this up over a four-year period, despite cautions from his former partners and other senior lawyers. The society said David’s conduct defied rational explanation and he never offered an explanation or statement of remorse or regret.