Timothy Harmar has been immediately stripped of his licence after a tribunal found he did not cooperate with three Law Society investigations and withheld documents required under professional rules<\/p>\n
A tribunal has ordered the immediate revocation of a Sault Ste. Marie lawyer’s licence, citing findings that he practised law while under administrative suspension and failed to provide required documents.<\/p>\n
A Law Society Tribunal decision made Friday found that Timothy Harmar\u00a0has engaged in professional misconduct and immediately stripped him of his licence to practise law.<\/p>\n
“The respondent failed to co-operate and failed to respond to the Law Society regarding three investigations by failing to produce all the information and documents, including books and records required to be maintained under section 18 of By-Law 9, despite requests made by the Law Society between June 2025 and February 2026,” said the Law Society Tribunal in its decision.<\/p>\n
Harmar was also found to have practised law while under administrative suspension between April 28, 2025, and May 16, 2025.<\/p>\n
Harmar was previously employed by Wishart Law Firm in Sault Ste. Marie.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Wishart Law Firm office administrator\u00a0Mary Thibeault said the following: “Tim Harmar has had no association with Wishart Law Firm LLP in any capacity since October 2023. The firm has no knowledge of his professional status or activities since that time.”<\/p>\n
Two complaints brought forward against Harmar allege he used AI tools to write up factums for use in court. In at least one of those cases, the judge noted principles set out in Harmar’s factum did not match the actual findings of a real case that was cited.<\/p>\n
In that case,\u00a0Harmar conceded he had prepared the factum using\u00a0AI software\u00a0and admitted he had not verified the content by reading the case.<\/p>\n
Harmar was not formally tried or found guilty of misconduct for using AI software, but the\u00a0Law Society demanded explanations and client files while launching investigations into\u00a0whether his AI use meant he failed to act with honour and integrity \u2014 misleading\u00a0the court.<\/p>\n
Harmar\u00a0ignored those requests, the tribunal found.<\/p>\n
He also failed to cooperate with\u00a0investigations about\u00a0practising law while he was administratively suspended.<\/p>\n
The suspension is ordered until such a time that he complies with the tribunal’s requests. He also faces a two month suspension, to begin after any other suspensions are lifted.<\/p>\n
Harmar must comply fully with the terms of the Law Society\u2019s Guidelines for Lawyers Who Are Suspended or Who Have Given an Undertaking Not to Practise while suspended.<\/p>\n
He must also\u00a0pay costs to the Law Society in the amount of $4,292 by the deadline of July 10, 2027.<\/p>\n