Two Toronto lawyers have offered pro bono defence to anyone sued for defamation by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford for making comments to police about the mayor’s personal conduct.
In police documents released this week, Ford is accused of drinking and driving, using cocaine and being in the company of a possible escort. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Ford has now threatened to take “legal action” against a waiter and three former members of his staff for what they told police, denouncing their claims as “outright lies.”
His words have sparked a reaction from the Toronto legal community.
The first response came from Brian Shiller, a partner at Clayton Ruby’s criminal defence firm, who said he would represent anyone Ford sues on a pro bono basis. Soon after, Hugh O’Reilly, a partner at Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP, made a similar offer over Twitter. Although O’Reilly is an insolvency lawyer, he says that with the support of his firm and connections to lawyers with defamation expertise, any defendant would be represented properly.
Meanwhile, Ford is yet to file a lawsuit and it’s unclear when or if he will. Some legal experts doubt Ford has any grounds for a lawsuit because comments made to police are, generally, protected by privilege. The only way his case might stick, according to a media lawyer at the CBC, is if the statements are false and the defendant is proved to have spoken with the intent of injuring Ford’s reputation.
O’Reilly suggests that in the end, Ford’s own lawyers will advise the mayor that a lawsuit would have no merit.
There is, however, a larger issue at play for O’Reilly: he is concerned that Ford is trying to intimidate less powerful members of society.
O’Reilly used to be a political staffer himself — he was the chief of staff for former Ontario Cabinet Minister Brian Charlton. He says it would have been difficult for former Ford staffers, who were dedicated to their boss, to speak to the police. Because of that added pressure, it important that the mayor not be able to use the legal system to intimidate people from speaking out.
O’Reilly says he is genuinely trying to do the right thing, not just “trolling” for clients, nor trying to insert himself into the Ford narrative.
“I certainly don’t agree with Rob Ford’s views, but I have to tell you that on a personal level, watching his tragedy unfold is very upsetting,” he says. “I’d like to see him out of the spotlight and I have no desire to be in the spotlight beside him.”
Image: Shaun Merritt via Flickr