Life for Robert Miller was a bit of a blur from 2005 to 2007, with the long-established criminal lawyer handling 50 per cent of all cases in L’Orignal on his own while quietly dealing with depression.
The high-volume lawyer left the bookkeeping — and notably the legal aid billing — to his administrative assistant who worked in another office in another town. The legal aid billing had recently moved online and the lawyer, now 59, had enough on his plate so his assistant went about the work unsupervised, and in those two years, she overbilled legal aid $207,646.
The Law Society of Ontario accused Miller of billing legal aid for dozens of trials and bail hearings that never happened, and earlier this year he pleaded guilty to conduct that undermines the integrity of the profession, and failing to keep “contemporaneous detailed records in support of his accounts to the (Law Society of Ontario).”
In an Aug. 9 decision, Miller was suspended for four months. The criminal lawyer has already paid back the money to legal aid, including the half that went into the pockets of his former law partner, according to the law society disciplinary decision.
Miller, who has done everything from drug to homicide cases, has always vehemently denied that he defrauded legal aid and he’s pleased the law society found no evidence of dishonesty.
Reached on Thursday, Miller politely declined to comment beyond saying he was happy with the resolution, and confirmed that no major cases will be affected by his suspension.
In a statement to this newspaper last year, Miller said he was innocent and always held himself to the highest ethical standards.
“I have never defrauded Legal Aid Ontario in any way. The allegations of professional misconduct made by the law society arise from allegations going back to 2005 through 2007. I have retained counsel and have instructed him to contest these allegations vigorously,” Miller said.
“I am presumed to be innocent. I am confident that the hearing panel will find that I am not guilty of any regulatory offences,” he said.
In the 2018 interview, Miller said overbilling happened between 2005 and 2007 and blamed his own inadequate supervision. He said he was working 80 hours a week and had management issues that were a direct cause of what he described as billing irregularities.
Miller was also suffering from undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which contributed to his inadequate supervision of his law firm, according to the law society which reviewed a psychiatrist’s report.
Miller fully co-operated and pleaded guilty to misconduct and immediately started repaying the money back. He took out a personal loan to cover the last payment.
At the disciplinary hearing, lawyers including Mark Ertel and John Hale, testified on Miller’s behalf and documented the lawyer’s top-shelf reputation. Several judges also submitted personal character-reference letters in support of Miller.
