Lawyer Joe Groia called to disciplinary hearing

Prominent defence lawyer Joe Groia has been called to a disciplinary hearing to defend against allegations by the Law Society of Upper Canada that he engaged in professional misconduct by communicating in an "abusive" and "rude" manner before and during the acrimonious Bre-X Minerals Ltd. trial. According to a notice of application filed yesterday with the Law Society's tribunals office, Mr. Groia has been asked to attend a session Nov. 30 to set a date for a hearing into the allegations. Mr. Groia successfully defended Bre-X's chief geologist John Felderhof against charges of illegal insider trading in 2007, but frequent outbursts and insults directed at prosecuting Ontario Securities Commission lawyers prompted two judges to reprimand the lawyer's conduct in written decisions. In its notice yesterday, the Law Society said Mr. Groia showed a "consistent pattern of rude, improper or disruptive conduct" during the early days of the Bre-X trial. In a statement released yesterday, Mr. Groia said he is disappointed that the Law Society has launched "this ill advised prosecution arising out of events that occurred nine years ago." He said that "while I very much regret and have apologized for any damage to the profession," his conduct was "justified by the way that the OSC and its [initial] prosecutor conducted the case."