Suspended head of Quebec bar association quits following mediated settlement

MONTREAL – The suspended head of the Quebec Bar Association stepped down Tuesday, ending her attempt to regain the position after being suspended weeks into her mandate.

Lu Chan Khuong made it official in a joint statement with the professional order, which suspended her July 1 after media reports she had been the subject of a shoplifting complaint at a clothing store in April 2014.

She was never charged in connection with the incident and the matter was dealt with non-judicially at the time.

The statement came after both sides reached a mediated agreement last Friday over her suspension.

“In order to preserve this institution, which is more important than the people who run it, the president made the decision to quit her post immediately after having received assurances that the program on which she ran would be taken into consideration and, when possible, put into effect,” the statement said.

Both Khuong and the board of the bar association had been suing each other — she was seeking $95,000 from nine members who suspended her, while they filed a $90,000 lawsuit against Khuong for allegedly damaging their reputation.

Khuong also lost a bid to force the court to reinstate her while the legal battle played out.

In the end, Francois Rolland, former chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court, helped the sides come to an out-of-court agreement that puts an end to the legal battles.

Khuong was elected last May with more than 60 per cent of the vote. The order represents 25,500 lawyers working in the province.

Sixty-nine per cent of bar members voted late last month in favour of reinstating her.

Earlier this month, four former Quebec premiers — all lawyers — weighed in, supporting the board’s decision to suspend her pending the outcome of the proceedings.

Lucien Bouchard, Bernard Landry, Daniel Johnson and Pierre Marc Johnson said in a jointly submitted letter they wanted to protect the credibility of the order and maintain the public’s confidence in the institution.

Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee says one lesson to be learned from the affair is that dispute resolution works.

“(Mediation) is an alternative that can be a solution, even for issues and cases that are the most delicate and the most mediatized,” she told reporters in Quebec City.

On the heels of Khuong’s resignation, the board announced the appointment of Claudia P. Premont as the new head, effective immediately.

The Quebec City lawyer, who served as president in 2007-2008, will take over until 2017.