Challenging the Bar: The Lyle Howe Legal Odyssey

Former Halifax lawyer Lyle Howe says he was investigated by the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society in 2011 by way of a practice review. Then, in 2014 Howe was convicted of sexual assault before then having that conviction overturned. Howe was initially suspended following the criminal conviction but went back to practicing law once the conviction was overturned.

It was then, Howe says, that the Society laid their own set of serious charges against him and Howe was suspended a second time. Howe attempted to sue the society over that decision, but his lawsuit was initially dismissed. Recently, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned that decision, meaning Howe can proceed with his lawsuit.

Howe said that the legal professionals who he said acted against him in bad faith will now be compelled to testify under oath by way of the discovery process in his lawsuit. In an interview with Community Update, Howe says the Society intended to collect as much evidence as they could to use it against him. Howe, who is Black, says he has evidence and transcripts that demonstrate he was singled out and targeted by former members of the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society and by current members of the legal community because of his race.

When giving examples, Howe says he was accused of double booking himself in court, something he says is a common and accepted practice among all lawyers in the local legal community. “I’m literally the only person that’s been charged with it in Nova Scotia.”

Speaking with Community Update, Howe also talked about the nature of systemic racism in the legal and justice system in Nova Scotia, he names specific names of people he’s dealt with who, through his experience, he feels are guilty of upholding the system of racism and white supremacy, and he talked about some things he feels need to happen to build on improvements he feels are taking place.