Nygard lawyer Jay Prober fined, reprimanded over comments about alleged victims
CBC
The Law Society of Manitoba has reprimanded Winnipeg lawyer Jay Prober and slapped him with a $4,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for comments he made in the media about women who accused his client Peter Nygard of sexual assault.
Prober, 79, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to be courteous and civil with all people with whom he had professional interactions in a Monday hearing with the law society, after he told members of the media several times in 2020 that women who accused Nygard of sexual assault were liars who were "on the money train."
Prober said in the virtual hearing that his comments were made when his client was being "brutalized" in the court of public opinion.
"I made some harsh comments, comments that were harmful and hurtful, and I recognize that. I truly regret any harm and any hurt that my comments caused to anyone," he said.
Prober was initially also charged with a count of prejudicing a tribunal, but that was dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to the other count.
Richard Wolson, Prober's lawyer, and Law Society counsel Ayli Klein made a joint proposal that Prober receive a reprimand and be fined $4,000 toward the cost of the prosecution of his misconduct hearing.
A reprimand is "very serious," Klein said in the hearing.
It's a formal and public sanction by the lawyer's peers and a "permanent blemish" on their record, Klein said.
Wolson said the joint plea bargain is "fair, balanced and with precedent."
The joint proposal was accepted by the disciplinary panel.
"These were very serious, troubling comments," said Kathy Bueti, one of the members of the disciplinary panel, in her oral reasons on Monday.
"Lawyers are held accountable for both what they say in and out of the courtroom. We recognize sometimes there may be media involvement … but it doesn't decrease the standards and the expectations."
Bueti said the punishment will follow Prober throughout the rest of his career.
A written decision will be made public on the law society's website in the next 60 to 90 days, she said.
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