Calgary-area separatist lawyer reprimanded, ordered to pay $10K in costs
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In a June 25 hearing report that was published online Tuesday, a three-person law society committee imposed the reprimand on Jeffrey Rath and also ordered that he pay $10,000 in costs by June 30.
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'You have a responsibility to the members of the public and to the law society to represent their best interest. You failed in this case,' the report reads.
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'This failure represents the type of thing that the law society strives to avoid, and the confidence we need to instill in the public is that we have to ensure that they believe and know that they will be treated, by our members, conscientiously and honestly. You failed in this case. You must do better.'
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The report notes Rath admitted guilt to two citations, the first of which states he was fired by Thunderchild First Nation (TFN) but failed to cooperate in transferring legal records to its new lawyer, taking six months to eventually transfer the documents.
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The second citation states he misrepresented to the court that he remained TFN's lawyer in November of 2019 when in fact TFN had effectively sacked him as their representative two months earlier.
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'As a member of this law society, you will be expected to look at what you have done to determine whether or not you can improve on what has happened, learn from this particular matter, and, of course, to move forward,' the report reads.
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The report states Rath's lawyers noted his cooperation, health issues, and completion of coursework regarding the law society's code of conduct.
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Rath is based in Foothills outside of Calgary and specializes in environmental law as well as treaty and Indigenous rights.
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He has emerged a leading figure in the Alberta separatist movement through the Alberta Prosperity Project.
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In March, he made a two-minute appearance on Fox News where he touted Alberta as potentially joining the United States as its 51st state.
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On air, he claimed 'hundreds' of Albertans were seeking 'to explore the benefits of either Alberta becoming an independent sovereign nation with economic union to the United States, becoming a U.S. territory, or pursuing full statehood.'
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