"AvoidAClaim" Blog

We have heard from three lawyers that have been targeted by this scam over the last two months, including two that have had ongoing communication with the alleged Yingge Wang in the last two weeks. It appears that this fraud is a set-up for a request to return real estate deal deposit monies paid with a bad cheque. We have seen some slightly different scenarios in terms of type of initial communications, identity offered and how monies arrive.

Yingge Wang is supposedly in the UK and appears to be a very friendly and affable individual that will engage you in an ongoing conversation via many back and forth emails. The email addresses he uses have included YinggeWang@rocketmail.com and wang.yingge@yahoo.com.hk.

In two cases it appears Wang contacted a local real estate agent and then mentioned their names in the first contact with the lawyer – thus appearing to come from a trusted referral source.

He has provided various identity documents, including a Chinese passport, a UK driver’s licence, and a sworn identity statement from a non-existent UK lawyer named Matthew Sinnane at DLC Solicitors (this is a real law firm in Lancashire, UK), samples of which are here (click to enlarge):

Following several emails going back and forth, some lawyers have received a cheque that is to be used for a deposit, payment of fees, house inspection etc. In one fraud attempt the cheque was a BMO cheque in the amount of $60,800, a copy of which is here (click to enlarge):

The money for one of these deals came via FedEx courier from someone purporting to be Mr Lawrence Saito (contact info 347-298-4526 or lawsaitoinc@live.com) who supposedly resides in Manitoba (but note, 347 is a New York City area code and the FedEx waybill indicated the cheque came from 219 Yonge Street in Toronto – a fake address). In another case it came directly from Wang. On one of the matters the following ID card was presented as ID for Saito (click to enlarge)

If you have been targeted by this fraud, please forward any of the emails you have received, as well as scanned or faxed copies of the letter, the cheque and the front of the envelope or courier package they came in to fraudinfo@lawpro.ca or by fax to 416-599-8341.

If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO (instructions on how are here), as there may be a claim against you.

Further fraud prevention information and resources are available on the practicePRO Fraud page (www.practicepro.ca/fraud), including the Fraud Fact Sheet, a handy reference for lawyers and law firm staff that describes the common frauds and the red flags that can help identify them.

Further to the collaborative family law bad cheque email warnings LAWPRO sent on Aug 26, and Sept 9, we have received more that 160 calls and emails. A total of 35 Ontario lawyers received a letter with a fake cheque or cashier’s cheque. While some entered into communications with the fraudsters, at this point it appears there were no lawyers duped by this scam. From colleagues at other Law Societies we know that this particular fraud targeted large numbers of lawyers in other provinces in Canada, and several lawyers in the US (that we are aware of), and one lawyer in Italy.

From all these calls and emails, we also gathered information about other similar frauds that are targeting lawyers. From this information, and information we have gathered from dealing with these frauds in the past, it is clear that some of these frauds are targeting large numbers of lawyers. From speaking with them, it is also clear that many LAWPRO insureds (and lawyers in other jurisdictions) appreciated the fact we were able to confirm that the matter they had been approached to handle was in fact a fraud.

A huge part of confirming that a suspicious matter was in fact a fraud was knowledge of the alleged names, street addresses and email addresses of the people contacting lawyers, and the wording in the letters of emails sent by the fraudsters. These fraud attempts are becoming ever more sophisticated and it is becoming harder to spot the fraud attempts. Being in a position to know for sure that a matter is really an attempted fraud will help you deal with the decision not to respond to these inquires – the suggested course of action when there is no question the matter is a fraud.

To make it easier for you to access the information we have gathered about matters that are confirmed frauds (i.e. identical fraud attempts that have been received by multiple lawyers), we will be posting the names and contact information used in these fraud attempts, and copies of email communications, letters as well as fake separation agreements, cheques etc. on the AvoidAClaim.com blog.

To make them easy to find, these posts will all be in the Confirmed Fraud Attempts category, and will have a descriptive post title that will hopefully help you find the post relevant to the suspicious matter you are seeking information on. To received immediate updates on fraud-related posts, subscribe to the email or RSS feed updates from the AvoidAClaim blog.

If you have been targeted by one of these frauds, please forward any of the emails you have received (Please, only the ones that are more sophisticated or appear like they could be legitimate; we don’t need to see the really bad or obvious ones.), as well as scanned or faxed copies of the letter, the cheque and the front of the envelope or courier package they came in to FraudInfo@lawpro.ca or by fax to 416-599-8341.

If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO (instructions on how are here), as there may be a claim against you.

Further fraud prevention information and resources are available on the practicePRO Fraud page (www.practicepro.ca/fraud), including the Fraud Fact Sheet, a handy reference for lawyers and law firm staff that describes the common frauds and the red flags that can help identify them.

If you are not careful, the Internet can be a dangerous place that can expose you to malpractice claims. LAWPRO Magazine has featured articles on Social media pitfalls to avoid and how there may be no coverage for some online activities: Danger Signs: Five activities generally not covered by your LAWPRO policy.

Another recent LAWPRO Magazine article on Practice pitfalls contains a section on Internet liability, which points out that “statements that lawyers make on the Internet, whether on law firm or other websites, or on social media sites such as Facebook, are a significant potential growth area for claims.”

On his The Trial Warrior blog, Toronto lawyer Antonin Pribetic has a great post that contains sage advice on the dangers of breaching client confidentiality with a blog post — Too Much Information: Blogging about your client.

Not only does the post contain great practical advice; it backs it up by citing relevant rules and commentary from the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Rules of Professional Conduct.

“In the end,” Pribetic concludes, “ask yourself this question: why am I writing this blawg post about my client’s case? If the answer is ego-fulfillment, self-promotion or catharsis, stop typing and delete the post. Even if your reasons are altruistic, get your client’s express consent first, and then save your draft and post after the final judgment is rendered and all appeals are exhausted.”

If you have a blog you should read Pribetic’s Too much information: The dangers of blogging about your client post.

Cross posted on Slaw.ca

If you have recently opened a law practice, or are contemplating doing so, be sure to check out the Law Society’s “Opening Your Law Practice 2010” CPD program (October 18, 2010). It will provide essential and practical information on every aspect of running a successful practice today: accounting, billing, client relations, practice arrangements and law office technology. I’ll be presenting on behalf of LAWPRO/practicePRO on avoiding a malpractice claim and other essential LAWPRO information.

The full details of the program can be found here.

Nice to see an article in the Financial Post (Franchise agreements key to success) emphasizing the practical and legal importance of getting a franchise agreement and disclosure statement right. It highlights for franchisors and franchisees alike that starting off on the same page with a proper franchise agreement and a detailed disclosure statement is the key to a long term relationship and a successful franchise business venture.

The article also serves as a good reminder to clients that they need to follow the advice and instructions of their lawyers to make sure all the legal requirements of a franchise arrangement are met. The Financial Post article very much echoes the sentiments of an article in the just released LAWPRO Magazine: Franchise law tenet: Disclosure! Disclosure! Disclosure!.

In Ontario, franchises are governed by the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000. It was enacted to provide protection to franchisees in relation to their dealings with franchisors, and to address the imbalance of power that exists between the parties. This Act has very complex requirements in terms of what the franchisor must disclose to the franchisee.

Unfortunately, LAWPRO is seeing an increase in claims against lawyers by franchisees and franchisors, frequently because disclosure obligations were not met. If you do work in this area please read the Franchise law tenet: Disclosure! Disclosure! Disclosure! article and make sure you are familiar with the Arthur Wishart Act.

I came across an interesting article in the Autumn issue of University of Toronto Magazine. It indicates that John A. Cunningham, a behavioural scientist at U. of T., has come up with new criteria for defining how much alcohol consumption is too much.

You can measure your own drinking habits against these criteria by taking a short five minute survey at checkyourdrinking.net.

The survey asks about the amount of alcohol you consume, and compares it to averages for others of the same age and sex. On an annual basis it also reports how much you spend on alcohol and how many hours you are under the influence of alcohol. Lastly, based on the amount of alcohol you consume, it also gives you your chances of suffering various negative consequences which are specified in some detail.

Go to checkyourdrinking.net and take the survey if you drink anything more than a moderate amount of alcohol – you will find the survey results will be striking and sobering.

When we think of problem drinkers we tend to think of alcoholics. However, the article points out that it’s the people with moderate drinking problems who cause the most trouble, simply because there are more of them – about four problem drinkers for every one with a serious alcohol dependency.

The bad news is that most of these problem drinkers – an estimated 1.5 million in Ontario – never seek help. But there is good news here. Cunningham says relatively brief and easy interventions can help them. This is key as only one in three people who experience alcohol problems will ever seek treatment. They either don’t think they have a problem, or would prefer to deal with it themselves.

Cunningham’s research indicates that problem drinkers who took this survey cut their drinking by significant amounts. Clearly this simple survey is powerful tool.

Why is there a post about drinking too much on the AvoidAClaim blog? Because all too often LAWPRO finds that personal issues of some type were a contributing cause of a claim, and for lawyers with serious problems, the cause of multiple claims.

Lawyers are exposed to high levels of stress on a daily basis. The results can be use, misuse or even addiction to drugs or alcohol, and challenges to physical or mental wellness. The Wellness section of the practicePRO site has tools and resources to help lawyers manage stress, and to achieve a healthy and balanced lifestyle. There is also information on addictions, links to various online self-assessments. We will be adding Cunningham’s survey to our list of resources.

LAWPRO is also a supporter of OLAP, The Ontario Lawyers Assistance Program – www.olap.ca – (formerly OBAP, the Ontario Bar Assistance Plan ) which provides one-on-one ongoing volunteer peer support and professional counselling to lawyers, judges and law students who suffer from alcohol, drug or other addictions, eating disorders, stress, burnout or mental illness. OLAP can assist with referrals for support, assessments and counselling. If you, your partner or your spouse needs help, please call them.

Even if you don’t think you have a drinking problem, go to checkyourdrinking.net and take the survey to see how you compare with the average for a person of your sex and age. You might be surprised at the results.

You can find the U Of T Magazine article here.

Cross posted on SLAW.CA and LawyerSuccessTips.com.

The OBA has graciously allowed Avoid a Claim to reproduce an excellent tip sheet by The Hon. Justice Stanley Scherr for presenting spousal support claims. It was previously published in Matrimonial Affairs, the newsletter of the Ontario Bar Association family law section.

1. Always come with the Spousal Support Advisory Guideline (SSAG) software calculations for any appearance where you are seeking spousal support.
2. Imputation of income is often on the table, so bring different SSAG scenarios based on a range of incomes.
3. Make sure that you also present NDI (net disposable income) software calculations. The court will want to see that the support level ordered will create an equitable distribution of net income.
4. It is helpful to bring Standard of Living (SOL) software calculations. It not only assists the court in determining the appropriate support level, but it assists the court in settling the case, as the court will have hard evidence to show to the parties that the support level leaves them with equitable standards of living.
5. It is important to understand how the SSAG work. As a starting point, go on the internet and read any article on the subject by Professor Rollie Thompson.
6. Make sure that you properly input data when running the software calculations. Include proper deductions and credits set out in each party’s Income Tax returns and input special expenses correctly. If you haven’t done so already, take a tutorial in how to effectively use the software. If you and the other party have different software calculations, go through the respective calculations carefully and clear up the difference ahead of the court appearance, so that everyone is working from the same playbook.
7. Monthly budgets should be provided. It is very helpful when three budgets are provided; the first to show the lifestyle that the parties had while they were living together; the second to show the current budget and a third to show a reasonable proposed budget.

(more…)

This iPhone app gives Ontario lawyers handy Child Support and Land Transfer Tax calculators. Find it at the iTunes store for $1.99.

Cross posted at Slaw.ca

The following is from the September 9 Webzine e-blast LAWPRO sent to Ontario lawyers updating them on the ongoing collaborative family law cheque scams being reported to LAWPRO.

Further to our August 26 fraud warning and update, lawyers are continuing to receive letters delivered by Canada Post that include very real looking counterfeit cheques.

If you receive one of these letters please advise us so that we can attempt to identify the people behind these frauds – see contact information below.

The letters on these ongoing frauds are more or less identical to the previous versions we have seen (i.e., they are from someone claiming to be Karen L. Clark who is trying to collect support from ex-husband David M. Baker). The most recent letters include a very real looking but counterfeit cheque in the amount of $125,000 that appears to come from St. Christopher’s House and be drawn on an account at a CIBC branch on Ossington Ave. in Toronto. The bogus St. Christopher’s House cheques we saw previously were in the amount of $145,000.

If you have been targeted by one of these frauds, please forward scanned or faxed copies of the letter, the cheque and the front of the envelope they came in to Dan Pinnington at dan.pinnington@lawpro.ca or by fax to 416-599-8341.

If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO as there may be a claim against you.

Further fraud prevention information and resources are available on the practicePRO Fraud page (www.practicepro.ca/fraud), including the Fraud Fact Sheet, a handy reference for lawyers and law firm staff that describes the common frauds and the red flags that can help identify them.

For more immediate updates on fraud and claims prevention, subscribe to the email or RSS feed updates from LAWPRO’s AvoidAClaim blog (www.avoidaclaim.com).

The Canadian Bar Association’s new Partnership Toolkit is a comprehensive collection of information aimed at lawyers trying to navigate the oftentimes confusing and difficult path to partnership. Lawyers will find a wealth of advice here in the form of self assessments, audio podcasts and articles in both web and PDF formats.

The site can be navigated in an interactive and animated menu style as well as a traditional series of links. Some of the highlights of the Toolkit in include:

• A self assessment questionnaire to help you decide if partnership is right for you.
• An audio podcast by two coaches who help lawyers develop the skills they need to becomes partners.
• 15 things to think about before signing a partnership agreement.
• Money matters, such as how partners can define their financial goals and how to achieve them by retirement
• An audio podcast by three lawyers who describe their experiences making the transition from associate to partner.

This are just a few samples among the many resources this Toolkit offers. If moving onto the partnership track is something you’re considering, or if you’re already on it and are looking for great advice, be sure to visit the CBA Partnership Toolkit at http://www.cba.org/cba/partnership/main/

Cross posted at Slaw.ca