A North Battleford lawyer has been suspended for two months after forging a signature on a legal document pertaining to her own family court matter and submitting it to the Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon.
Marilyn Adsit pleaded guilty to three counts of conduct unbecoming of a lawyer during a Law Society of Saskatchewan hearing on June 20. She admitted forging the signature of a fellow lawyer as a Commissioner of Oaths on her affidavit, failing to discharge her responsibilities to the court when filing that document and attempting to deceive the law society when asked about the ensuing complaint.
Her former spouse filed a complaint in November 2014 when he noticed the Commissioner of Oath’s signature on the affidavit Adsit gave him differed throughout the document. He believed the signatures resembled Adsit’s writing, according to a law society decision published on June 29.
Adsit’s lawyer argued that her client “obtained no personal gain by her actions and that no client was directly harmed.” Adsit’s lawyer and the law society’s lawyer both suggested a two-month suspension would be appropriate.
The hearing committee agreed with the proposed penalty, tacking on a $1,500 fine.
Although the evidence in the affidavit itself wasn’t misleading, the hearing committee noted it shouldn’t diminish the seriousness of the offence.
“It seems trite, but important in every instance, to say that our courts and our system of justice rely on the veracity of documents prepared and submitted by members. It is inimical to the public interest when a member disregards such fundamental obligations and responsibilities entrusted to them,” the committee wrote in its decision.
