I am writing this review because after speaking to my uncle I am extremely troubled, and since my uncle cannot seem to get through, and being an elderly man he is not that savvy with a computer but I felt that others need to be warned. Mr. Valkenier first met my uncle while he was incarcerate hired to assist him with a small claims matter. My uncle has a big heart, although he can be quite naive and trust people too easily, but he likes to think people are good. It is my opinion that Mr. Valkenier figured this out about him during their interactions as he knew that my uncle had trusted another inmate’s girlfriend with the keys to his condo so she would look after the place, but instead my uncle lost almost everything. After a divorce he was already trying to start over on a pension, but now he is having to start over again. After my uncle’s release Mr. Valenier comes and starts visiting him at his place acting friendly and eventually gives my uncle some story about needing money and promised him to write a promissory note for a loan that was quite substantial for somebody on a pension and fixed income with no extra coming in. Of course my uncle trusted him, even more so because he was a paralegal and according to my uncle went to the bank together and handed him cash. Mr. Valkenier has visited my uncle a few times at his place since receiving the loan, try to act friendly by starting to help with projects but never finishing, just causing my uncle more headache, I would later hear about. My uncle even gave Mr. Valkenier money to order a key fob for him on Amazon.
It has been 5 months now and my uncle is still trying to get the promissory note and even just a tracking number for the fob, no matter how many times my uncle has asked both verbally and through text Mr. Valkenier refuses to provide any of it. This behaviour seemed very unacceptable for somebody who is supposed to be representing the law. Not being from Canada I decided to go on the Ontario Law Society’s website and see what the rules of Professional Conduct was. Which I found in Chapter 3 under TRANSACTIONS WITH CLIENTS Section: 3.4-28.1:
”3.4-28.1 Except for borrowing from a regulated lender or from a related person, a lawyer shall not borrow from a client.”
I have already advised my uncle to contact the law society and will be making sure that he does.