Identifying 3 lawyers implicated in alleged tip off would 'destroy' reputations, judge rules

A Nova Scotia judge is keeping secret the names of three lawyers that a Halifax police detective suggested last year were implicated in tipping off another lawyer that he was under investigation for sexual assault.

Lawyer Billy Sparks killed himself in March 2024, days after police searched his home near downtown Halifax over allegations he had sexually assaulted and extorted intimate photos from vulnerable young men who were his clients.

According to an affidavit sworn by Det.-Const. Michael Sullivan to obtain the search warrant, Sparks had learned of the investigation 10 days earlier when he was called by a lawyer asking if he needed legal representation because she heard he'd been arrested for sexual assault.

That lawyer was connected personally or professionally to two other lawyers, one of whom had been brought in four days before the call to provide independent legal advice to one of Sparks's alleged victims, who was signing a waiver that would help police conduct their investigation.

The names of the lawyers are redacted in the affidavit, most of which was made public following a court challenge by CBC. CBC subsequently applied to Nova Scotia Supreme Court for the names to be disclosed, but in a ruling issued Monday, Justice Timothy Gabriel sided with the lawyers, who had sought to keep their identities from being made public.

'Unsubstantiated innuendo'

In Canada, there's a strong presumption that courts are open, and a lawyer for CBC argued the three lawyers had not met the legal test to keep their names concealed.

Legal counsel for the lawyers, who were only identified in public court records as D, E and F, argued the officer's assertions amounted to "unsubstantiated innuendo," according to the ruling, although the trio did not detail how the lawyer who called Sparks learned about the investigation.

"In this case, the thrust of some of the impugned details is that lawyers D, E and F not only violated fundamental legal ethics (were involved in a breach of solicitor-client privilege) but were complicit in tipping off Mr. Sparks that his premises were about to be searched by the police," Gabriel said in his decision. 

"The implication is that they are (at the very least) unethical and that they were complicit in an attempt to do an 'end run' around the pending warrant by tipping Mr. Sparks off. This strikes at their dignity and professional standing. It could destroy their reputations and their abilities to earn a living."

Gabriel said according to counsel for the three lawyers, there is no ongoing investigation by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.

A lawyer's "stock in trade," Gabriel said, is being able to give confidential advice. The "untested information" suggesting the three lawyers do not respect solicitor-client privilege, or use it to their advantage, would be "devastating."

Under the Legal Profession Act, the barristers' society can only publicly reveal when a lawyer is under investigation if the case reaches a certain point, such as an interim suspension or a referral to a hearing.

Asked Monday if the barristers' society knows the identities of the lawyers in the Sparks case, spokesperson Sandra Goodwin said in an email that it has the same affidavit as CBC where the names are redacted.

The society would not confirm whether there is an investigation. It said there must be evidence to initiate an investigation and one cannot be launched "based on speculation alone," the email said.

"For example, to demonstrate an alleged breach of solicitor-client privilege, there would be a requirement of evidence such as testimony by the client to whom the privilege belongs."

Sparks told the lawyer who called him he wasn't aware of the sexual assault investigation, according to the police affidavit. He then spoke by phone with a Halifax Regional Police officer with whom he was friends, asking the officer if he knew anything about the case. That officer then alerted investigators.

Sullivan, the police detective, tried to piece together how the lawyer who contacted Sparks had learned about the case.

He concluded the call was "more than a coincidence" after connecting her with the two other lawyers, one of whom had met with the alleged victim. The officer, however, could not say for certain if the three had talked about the case.

Prosecutor Peter Dostal said it was important for police to include the information about the lawyers in their application for a search warrant because the judge who signed it would be aware of the possibility Sparks could have moved some of the evidence sought by officers.

Police seized multiple items during the March 14, 2024, search, including two cellphones, computers and several dozen USB drives, external hard drives and SD cards.