A Toronto lawyer who ran her practice from her cellphone and apparently operated a wedding planning business on the side has escaped a contempt of court conviction for missing several of her client’s court dates. In the meantime, DaFonte’s client’s case dragged on for over a year, and a family court case involving her two young children was delayed. “Her conduct went far beyond mere discourtesy or inconvenience,” Baldwin wrote in her 37-page decision. But on Tuesday, the Ontario Court of Appeal substituted the conviction and fine with an absolute discharge — meaning she won’t have a criminal record — and instead referred her case to the Law Society for mentoring. Baldwin’s ruling convicting DaFonte illustrates the lengths the Crown, duty counsel, court staff and DaFonte’s own client went to get in touch with her about the court dates she was supposed to attend.

Source: thestar July 06, 2016 09:56 UTC