Former Hamilton lawyer barred from practising after law society says she failed 'extremely vulnerable' clients

A Hamilton woman who for years has faced accusations of incompetence, abandoning vulnerable clients and misappropriating their money while she was practising law has had her licence suspended. 

The Law Society Tribunal made the decision Thursday in the case involving Victoria Bruyn, at the request of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), which regulates lawyers and paralegals in the province. 

As first reported by CBC Hamilton in 2023, and according to subsequent LSO investigations, Bruyn has a pattern of promising to help clients successfully navigate Canada's complicated refugee process, but then failed to complete their applications, show up for hearings or submit evidence, and in some cases lied about it.

The LSO has received nine complaints against Bruyn since March 2024, said Gloria Ushirode, who's conducting the investigations. Bruyn has not co-operated with the LSO, including providing any materials, and the investigation is ongoing, Ushirode said. 

"The complaints allege, among other things, a failure to serve extremely vulnerable refugee claimants and serious integrity breaches that seem to demonstrate a pattern of dishonest conduct in an attempt to cover up ineffective service," Ushirode wrote in an affidavit filed with the Law Society Tribunal. 

On Thursday morning, Bruyn attended the tribunal's virtual hearing.

She told the panel she isn't opposing her licence being suspended. She's no longer practising law and was appointed as an adjudicator to Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board last year, but is on a leave of absence. 

"I just want to put it on the record that I do have a response to these allegations ... I do intend to challenge these allegations." 

Clients seeking refugee status

In some of the cases, Bruyn accepted payments through Legal Aid Ontario, a provincial agency that helps people who need but can't afford legal assistance. She was suspended from the roster last year, said Ushirode in the affidavit. 

In two other cases, clients paid her a total of $10,500 in fees without completing any work and Bruyn never provided refunds, LSO lawyer Kristin Bailey said at the hearing.  

"All the clients involved in this are extremely vulnerable and face potentially dire consequences," Bailey said. 

They include people fleeing Lebanon, Angola, Colombia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, according to case documents the LSO provided to the tribunal. Once they switched from Bruyn to different lawyers, they were granted permission to stay in Canada. 

One of the clients, whose name has not been released, was connected to Bruyn through legal aid, to assist her with her refugee application in 2021, said the documents. She'd fled Mexico after witnessing a neighbour's murder, and almost being kidnapped twice. She'd also experienced domestic violence in Canada and mental health issues connected to trauma and abuse. 

Bruyn never met the client before the hearing for her refugee claim and never advised her to gather evidence such as a report from a mental health professional about what she's experiencing — a service that legal aid would have pay for, the LSO said. 

Bruyn didn't submit any evidence on behalf of her client, even after the Refugee Protection Division gave her an extension, said the LSO. As a result, the woman's refugee claim was denied. Bruyn told her she'd file an appeal, but never did. 

The woman was almost deported back to Mexico, but a new lawyer, retained through a local refugee organization, intervened and helped her get a temporary resident permit, said Ushirode's affidavit. She's currently applying for more permanent status. 

Number impacted remains unknown

Because Bruyn hasn't co-operated with the LSO's investigations, it doesn't know the true number of clients who've been impacted or the extent of misconduct, said Bailey. 

The complaints filed to the LSO concerned Bruyn's conduct between 2021 and 2025, and included CBC Hamilton stories about Bruyn, including one on client Sarah Arvanitis. 

Arvanitis's experience with Bruyn in 2023 almost left her stranded in the U.S., separated from her daughter and husband in Hamilton for months, she said. She filed a complaint shortly after, but LSO closed that file later that year, stating in its decision there was "insufficient evidence of professional misconduct to support further action."

Arvanitis's complaint is not included in the nine the LSO presented to the tribunal this week. 

She told CBC Hamilton in an email recently that the suspension was "a huge relief."