As I wrote here in March, Ontario’s Law Society has recently been rocked by the biggest scandal in its existence. The genesis of the controversy was the approval of a massive compensation increase (ultimately worth substantially more than $1 million) to their former CEO by a single signature — that of former treasurer Jacqueline Horvat. I personally find it fascinating that anyone could possibly imagine that was how that worked, when the law society’s bylaws require 10 signatures on any motion a licensee may wish to bring at their AGM.
This year the AGM is being held on September 18. I’ve decided to bring a motion forward then, because I want to know what this scandal has cost us, the dues-paying lawyers and paralegals governed by the society. The cost of this fiasco goes well beyond the actual dollars purportedly payable to Diana Miles pursuant to the absurd deal struck between her and the former treasurer. Associated with this shameful incident are the legal opinion, legal services and other advisors’ costs leading up to that one signature on that purported contract. But it doesn’t stop there. In the wake of the revelation of the breach of the society’s own bylaws that required Convocation to approve such an increase, many others have since been retained to investigate, manage and address what happened. This includes the now familiar O’Connor Report, image consultants to mitigate the damage to the law society’s reputation and governance experts to review the bylaws.
Ever since the profession learned what happened, from newspaper articles based on leaked information, treasurer Wardle has persisted in messaging that the law society acknowledges the need for transparency and accountability to ensure it retains — or, more accurately, regains – the public’s trust and ours. In terms of action to back up those lofty goals, however, information was very slow in trickling out. Indeed, getting public disclosure of the O’Connor Report took sustained and forceful advocacy by several lawyer organizations and mounting pressure from licensees. No bencher involved with the process that allowed what happened to occur, including any member of the compensation committee, has faced any consequence as a result of their actions — or inaction — as far as we know. And finally, in June of this year, treasurer Wardle was re-elected by Convocation to serve a second term.
There were three benchers vying for the top job at the law society and a majority of the benchers chose the status quo. They voted to continue under treasurer Wardle’s leadership. Paying attention to the election presented a clear picture of the vision each candidate brought to the table. Treasurer Wardle’s commitment to moving forward from this ugly event, to focus on the work Convocation must do in the ordinary course, does nonetheless include a review and revisions to the society’s bylaws, indicating that the purpose is to prevent a recurrence. Maybe. But the reality is the bylaws were fine. It was a clear breach of the existing clear bylaws that was the problem. People did that. My own view is that this business of bylaw review is a make-work project for the governance consultant and a purposeful distraction for the rest of us, implying that the problem lay with governance structures, rather than those who were governing us.
This is the first half of a two-part series.
Anita Szigeti is the principal lawyer at Anita Szigeti Advocates, a boutique Toronto law firm specializing in mental health justice litigation. She is the founder of two national volunteer lawyer associations: the Law and Mental Disorder Association and Women in Canadian Criminal Defence. Find her on LinkedIn, follow her on X and on her blog.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.
• Called to the Bar (1992)
• U of T Law grad (1990)
• Sole practitioner (33 years)
• Partner in small law firm (Hiltz Szigeti) 2002 - 2013
• Mom to two astonishing kids, Scarlett (20+) and Sebastian (20-)
• (Founding) Chair of Mental Health Legal Committee for ten years (1997 to 2007)
* Founding President of Law and Mental Disorder Association - LAMDA since 2017
* Founder and Secretary to Women in Canadian Criminal Defence - WiCCD - since 2022
• Counsel to clients with serious mental health issues before administrative tribunals and on appeals
• Former Chair, current member of LAO’s mental health law advisory committee
• Educator, lecturer, widely published author (including 5 text books on consent and capacity law, Canadian civil mental health law, the criminal law of mental disorder, a law school casebook and a massive Anthology on all things mental health and the law)
• Thirty+ years’ experience as counsel to almost exclusively legally aided clients
• Frequently appointed amicus curiae
• Fearless advocate
• Not entirely humourless
anitaszigeti 
What has the Law Society’s CEOSS really cost us? – Law360 Opinion Piece Part I Aug 11 2025
Law360 has published my two part series on the global cost of the LSO’s CEO Salary Scandal, or CEOSS (pronounced “chaos”) on Aug 11 and 12, 2025.
Part I in the series can be found here:
What Has the Law Society’s CEO Salary Scandal really cost us? – Part I Aug 11 2025
What has Ontario’s law society’s CEO salary scandal really cost us?
By Anita Szigeti · Listen to article
Law360 Canada (August 11, 2025, 11:43 AM EDT) —
As I wrote here in March, Ontario’s Law Society has recently been rocked by the biggest scandal in its existence. The genesis of the controversy was the approval of a massive compensation increase (ultimately worth substantially more than $1 million) to their former CEO by a single signature — that of former treasurer Jacqueline Horvat. I personally find it fascinating that anyone could possibly imagine that was how that worked, when the law society’s bylaws require 10 signatures on any motion a licensee may wish to bring at their AGM.
This year the AGM is being held on September 18. I’ve decided to bring a motion forward then, because I want to know what this scandal has cost us, the dues-paying lawyers and paralegals governed by the society. The cost of this fiasco goes well beyond the actual dollars purportedly payable to Diana Miles pursuant to the absurd deal struck between her and the former treasurer. Associated with this shameful incident are the legal opinion, legal services and other advisors’ costs leading up to that one signature on that purported contract. But it doesn’t stop there. In the wake of the revelation of the breach of the society’s own bylaws that required Convocation to approve such an increase, many others have since been retained to investigate, manage and address what happened. This includes the now familiar O’Connor Report, image consultants to mitigate the damage to the law society’s reputation and governance experts to review the bylaws.
Ever since the profession learned what happened, from newspaper articles based on leaked information, treasurer Wardle has persisted in messaging that the law society acknowledges the need for transparency and accountability to ensure it retains — or, more accurately, regains – the public’s trust and ours. In terms of action to back up those lofty goals, however, information was very slow in trickling out. Indeed, getting public disclosure of the O’Connor Report took sustained and forceful advocacy by several lawyer organizations and mounting pressure from licensees. No bencher involved with the process that allowed what happened to occur, including any member of the compensation committee, has faced any consequence as a result of their actions — or inaction — as far as we know. And finally, in June of this year, treasurer Wardle was re-elected by Convocation to serve a second term.
There were three benchers vying for the top job at the law society and a majority of the benchers chose the status quo. They voted to continue under treasurer Wardle’s leadership. Paying attention to the election presented a clear picture of the vision each candidate brought to the table. Treasurer Wardle’s commitment to moving forward from this ugly event, to focus on the work Convocation must do in the ordinary course, does nonetheless include a review and revisions to the society’s bylaws, indicating that the purpose is to prevent a recurrence. Maybe. But the reality is the bylaws were fine. It was a clear breach of the existing clear bylaws that was the problem. People did that. My own view is that this business of bylaw review is a make-work project for the governance consultant and a purposeful distraction for the rest of us, implying that the problem lay with governance structures, rather than those who were governing us.
This is the first half of a two-part series.
Anita Szigeti is the principal lawyer at Anita Szigeti Advocates, a boutique Toronto law firm specializing in mental health justice litigation. She is the founder of two national volunteer lawyer associations: the Law and Mental Disorder Association and Women in Canadian Criminal Defence. Find her on LinkedIn, follow her on X and on her blog.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.
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About Anita Szigeti
• Called to the Bar (1992) • U of T Law grad (1990) • Sole practitioner (33 years) • Partner in small law firm (Hiltz Szigeti) 2002 - 2013 • Mom to two astonishing kids, Scarlett (20+) and Sebastian (20-) • (Founding) Chair of Mental Health Legal Committee for ten years (1997 to 2007) * Founding President of Law and Mental Disorder Association - LAMDA since 2017 * Founder and Secretary to Women in Canadian Criminal Defence - WiCCD - since 2022 • Counsel to clients with serious mental health issues before administrative tribunals and on appeals • Former Chair, current member of LAO’s mental health law advisory committee • Educator, lecturer, widely published author (including 5 text books on consent and capacity law, Canadian civil mental health law, the criminal law of mental disorder, a law school casebook and a massive Anthology on all things mental health and the law) • Thirty+ years’ experience as counsel to almost exclusively legally aided clients • Frequently appointed amicus curiae • Fearless advocate • Not entirely humourless