Law360 Canada ( June 1, 2018, 12:49 PM EDT) -- Appeal by Groia from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal affirming a decision of the Divisional Court, which affirmed a decision of the Law Society Appeal Panel (Appeal Panel) affirming in part a decision of the Law Society Hearing Panel (Hearing Panel). At issue was whether Groia’s courtroom conduct in a case where his client was charged with Securities Act offences by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) warranted a finding of professional misconduct by the Law Society of Upper Canada. The Court had to decide whether the Appeal Panel’s finding of professional misconduct against Groia was reasonable in the circumstances. During the trial in question, much of the disagreement stemmed from Groia’s honest but mistaken understanding of the law of evidence and the role of the prosecutor. Despite the frequency and fervor of the disputes, which included personal attacks and sarcastic outbursts, the trial judge initially adopted a hands-off approach. It was not until the 57th day of trial that the judge directed Groia to stop his repeated allegations of misconduct on the part of the OSC prosecutors. Groia largely followed the trial judge’s directions for the remainder of the trial. Nine years after the trial ended, the Law Society launched an investigation into Groia’s conduct on its own motion; no independent complaint had been filed against him. The Hearing Panel found Groia guilty of professional misconduct. It suspended Groia’s licence to practice law for two months and ordered him to pay nearly $247,000 in costs. Groia appealed the Hearing Panel’s decision to the Appeal Panel. The Appeal Panel reduced Groia’s suspension to one month and decreased the costs award against him to $200,000. The Divisional Court upheld the Appeal Panel’s decision as reasonable. A majority of the Court of Appeal dismissed Groia’s further appeal....