A group of academics, including law professors who worked under an ex-dean recently found guilty of professional misconduct for filing phony expenses to the University of Manitoba, is calling on police to launch a criminal investigation.
Jonathan Black-Branch, who oversaw Manitoba’s only law school from 2016 to 2020, was censured for repeatedly breaching his duty to act with integrity in a Dec. 15 decision issued by the legal profession’s watchdog.
The Law Society of Manitoba authorized a professional disciplinary charge against Black-Branch in 2021, one year after his mysterious departure from the U of M.
A group of academics is calling on police to launch a criminal investigation into the conduct of former law dean Johnathan Black-Branch, who was recently found guilty of professional misconduct for filing phony expenses to the University of Manitoba. (University of Manitoba)
It was later revealed the lawyer-academic had been dismissed as a result of an internal audit that concluded he misused upwards of $600,000 in faculty and endowment funds.
“In light of the Winnipeg Police Service’s recently publicized initiative aimed at combatting shoplifting, we want to ensure this fraudulent behaviour on the part of Dr. Black-Branch is brought to the attention of (WPS),” states a Dec. 21 letter signed by five members of the law school.
“After all, Dr. Black-Branch’s misconduct was found to have resulted in financial losses amounting to at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, which of course vastly exceeds the loss suffered in a typical shoplifting case.”
The signatories include professors Jennifer Schulz and Michelle Gallant, assistant professors Brandon Trask and Leo Baskatawang, and Yvan Larocque, a clinical instructor of law.
In their letter, the authors flagged the professional disciplinary committee’s recent findings.
A three-person panel concluded Black-Branch used public funds “exclusively for his personal benefit,” and initiated a scheme
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