Former U of Manitoba law dean's misspending breached 'duty of integrity,' amounted to fraud: law society

A former University of Manitoba law dean who misspent over half a million dollars in school funds repeatedly violated his responsibilities, including racking up charges that amount to fraud, a law society disciplinary panel has ruled.

Jonathan Black-Branch faced a Law Society of Manitoba disciplinary hearing over allegations that he misspent more than $500,000 of university and endowment funds on items such as education expenses, meals, accommodation and travel while he was dean of the U of M's law school, from 2016 to 2020.

In a 28-page ruling dated Dec. 15, the Law Society of Manitoba's disciplinary panel said those allegations are now considered to be proven, following several days of hearings this fall.

Black-Branch, who now lives in the United Kingdom, "on many occasions breached his duty of integrity and has therefore committed professional misconduct and/or engaged in conduct unbecoming a lawyer," the decision says.

The former law dean "devised a scheme" to wrongfully gain financial benefits "in a system calculated to avoid oversight," as his expenses were processed by staff who reported directly to him, the panel's decision says.

"This is the behaviour of a person who was clearly attempting to avoid detection for improper spending."

The largest sum of money misspent by Black-Branch — $472,000 — was associated with a U of M research and training endowment fund that he directed and chaired. He was also responsible for authorizing expenses from that fund, according to the ruling.

Black-Branch used some of the endowment funds for his own professional development coursework at Ivy League universities like Harvard and Yale, which the panel's ruling says was "morally reprehensible" or "at the very least dishonourable and questionable conduct."

Black-Branch also filed expense claims for about $50,000 in total on more than 200 meals at the private Manitoba Club. About $11,000 of that came from the endowment fund, according to the ruling.

One staffer noted that Black-Branch's actions are the most serious financial misconduct the law school has ever faced from any of its leaders, the law society's decision says.

Law society could seek disbarment

Black-Branch was hired as U of M's law dean in 2016, but suddenly went on leave in May 2020.

A whistleblower complaint led to an internal investigation by the U of M around the same time, which found that summer that a senior university employee misspent university funds.

The university didn't publicly name Black-Branch at the time, but filed a complaint with the law society in 2020. It previously said it opted to do so after deciding not to pursue legal action.

The law society hearings, which took place over several days in September and November, faced repeated delays as Black-Branch said he could not participate due to medical reasons.

The panel's ruling says it was decided to continue the hearings without him because it was in the public interest to do so, and Black-Branch "had ample opportunity to answer to the charges and he has failed to do so."

The fact that Black-Branch would have "engaged in this misconduct to this extent, for this length of time, on this many occasions, in this many forms, and involving this many others" is concerning and makes the proven allegations against even more serious, the ruling says.

"This egregious behaviour does not reflect well on [the University of Manitoba], the profession and on the administration of justice."

The law society said Wednesday it has not set a hearing date to determine a penalty for Black-Branch yet, though outcomes could include a law licence suspension, reprimand or disbarment in Manitoba.

Meal expenses 'amounted to fraud': ruling

University faculty, financial staff and three Winnipeg lawyers were among those who provided written and oral testimony, as well as evidence to the professional misconduct hearing panel.

One financial staffer who testified during the hearings alleged that Black-Branch told them to "stop asking questions" about his expense claims and process them.

Another staff member told the disciplinary panel she grew increasingly suspicious in late 2019, after finding issues while processing various expense reports.

The names of three lawyers turned up on dozens of meal receipts, or chits, from the private members-only Manitoba Club, which Black-Branch charged to the university from 2017 to 2019, the panel heard.

The lawyers testified during the hearings that in most of those instances, they did not dine with Black-Branch on the dates associated with the expense claims.

Black-Branch also charged nearly $3,800 in meals and expenses from Across the Board game café to the university endowment fund for supposed research interviews, but the café owner told the panel that he observed the former law dean eating alone for the majority of those visits.

Black-Branch's "false claims of entertaining guests at Winnipeg restaurants amounted to fraud," the ruling says.

It also says a $75,000 university payment that Black-Branch initiated to an international charity, which he was president of at the time, represented a conflict of interest.

Rocky Kravetsky, a lawyer representing the law society, said in his closing arguments last month that Black-Branch cannot be trusted as a lawyer and that the society would likely seek his disbarment.

CBC News has previously attempted to reach Black-Branch for comment but has been unable to do so.

Read the Law Society of Manitoba misconduct decision involving Jonathan Black-Branch below or here: