Edmonton Lawyer Accused of Self-Dealing and Overbilling in Lawsuit

Edmonton Lawyer Shane Stevenson and the Dentons law firm have been hit with a lawsuit alleging they engaged in a pattern of self-dealing, conflict of interest and overbilling for years.

Plaintiff Laurie Venning and his Venning Group of companies filed the lawsuit, which also alleges the Dentons failed to properly monitor Stevenson despite knowing about his serious substance abuse problem.

Venning’s allegations against Stevenson and the Dentons law firm date back to 2014 when Venning sold Regent Energy, a company he co-founded, to a private equity firm for $775 million. At this time, he had retained Dentons (which was previously known as Fraser Milner Casgrain) for legal services.

The Dentons allegedly billed Venning about $7.4 million between November 2014 and the middle of 2018.

According to the lawsuit, Dentons and Stevenson suggested that Stevenson would leave the law firm to become a full-time, in-house legal advisor for the Venning Group. Instead, Dentons reportedly made Stevenson the head of its energy group in Edmonton. Venning was the only client.

Venning alleges Stevenson was paid about $1 million per year from Dentons. He began investigating the legal services provided by Dentons in about March 2018 because he was “concerned regarding the enormity of the legal fees invoiced by Dentons and the lack of any real success in major transactions that were identified, sourced and promoted by Dentons,” CBC.ca reports.

Shortly after beginning the investigation into Dentons legal services, Stevenson was charged in a fatal hit and run. In April 2018, a truck was involved in a hit and run incident that caused the death of a teenage girl while she was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk with flashing lights.

An off-duty police officer followed the truck that left the scene and Stevenson was arrested and charged with impaired driving causing death and hit and run causing death. Stevenson’s trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 5 and is expected to last 10 days. He was subsequently suspended by Dentons and the Law Society of Alberta.

According to the lawsuit, Dentons failed “to ensure its partners were properly serving the Venning Group, in light of Stevenson’s ongoing substance abuse issues, despite their knowledge including having sent Stevenson to multiple stays in a rehabilitation facility and that Stevenson’s substance abuse was re-emerging in an alarming manner.”

Venning alleges that Stevenson provided advice to the Venning Group while he was impaired by alcohol and cocaine. He says the law firm owed a duty to Venning to monitor Stevenson’s work due to his history of substance abuse.

According to the lawsuit Venning argues that the Dentons “were aware at all times that Stevenson had a heightened risk to relapse,” but the law firm failed to warn Venning Group not to rely on Stevenson’s advice.

The lawsuit claims that because Venning had expected Stevenson to provide in-house legal advice, Stevenson became involved in nearly two dozen companies or trusts. According to the lawsuit, Steven issued shares in several companies to himself, in some cases without the plaintiff’s knowledge or consent.

Venning claims that, by failing to act on these conflicts of interest, Dentons “placed themselves in a web of conflict, which included self-dealing, and more, or gross negligence.”

The lawsuit also claims that Denning charged improper “success” fees and that Stevenson had prepared documents that would give him power of attorney over Venning’s estate and authorize him to be the executor and beneficiary of Venning’s personal will.

What do you think about the allegations against Stevenson and Dentons law firm? Tell us in the comments below!

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