LAWYERS FOR PHARMACISTS

Professional regulations lawyers at Posner Craig Stein defend pharmacists before the Ontario College of Pharmacists. If you are the subject of a complaint, have been contacted by investigators, or fear you might be, then you should contact counsel right away. Choosing Posner Craig Stein ensures that you will have highly skilled and diligent counsel to help you navigate the discipline process. We understand that the stakes are high for you, and that your reputation and finances are at stake. We are determined to achieve the best results possible, and to work tirelessly for you. Posner Craig Stein provides carefully thought-out and legal services for Ontario pharmacists.

Our team of pharmacist defence lawyers will assist you during the investigatory stage of a college complaint or with a college audit. In an investigation, we will work to make sure that every piece of relevant information that shows that you are not at fault is put before the investigator. We will pursue any witnesses or documentation that might assist you. In an audit, we will work with you to make sure your practice is compliant and in order so that the audit process runs smoothly. The earlier a pharmacist retains quality counsel, the better, as that provides us with the time we need to make sure your practice is in order.

The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care will often audit pharmacists and pharmacies for their billings under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan. Our team of lawyers for pharmacists can will walk you through preparing for and responding to these audits, so that your business emerges unscathed.

Posner Craig Stein defends pharmacists at hearings before the ICRC. The ICRC is the committee responsible for screening complaints for pharmacist certain other health care professionals. The ICRC has significant discretion in deciding how a complaint will proceed. It can dismiss a complaint, order a pharmacist to attend before it to be cautioned, order a pharmacist to complete educational programs (known as specialized continuing remediation and education programs, or SCERPs), refer the complaint to the discipline committee for a full hearing, or take any other action it deems appropriate.

It is critical to meet with a lawyer before attending at the ICRC. Proper consultation and preparation with counsel can mean avoiding a hearing at the discipline committee. Even if the complaint does not proceed to the discipline committee, being ordered to attend for a caution or to complete a SCERP will result in the publication of the details of the complaint online on the college register. This can be highly damaging to your reputation and to your business.

Pharmacists can prepare and submit written submissions to the ICRC. Posner Craig Stein has extensive experience preparing elegant and persuasive written advocacy. Properly prepared submissions can mean the difference between dismissal and a complaint proceeding. It is important to invest the time and resources at the screening phase before the ICRC, at it can save you reputational damage and financial distress.

Our team of pharmacist defence and complaint lawyers represents pharmacists before the discipline committee of the Ontario College of Pharmacists. We are experienced defence lawyers, with decades of experience in the courtroom, cross-examining witnesses and persuading adjudicators to side with our clients. Our lawyers are capable and prepared to run contested hearings before the discipline committee. We pride ourselves in defending pharmacists and other health care professionals, and we ensure that your interests and position are protected.

The right cross-examination can result in the dismissal of the complaint against you. Our pharmacist defence lawyers prepare extensively, conduct skillful questioning of witnesses, and have the experience to adapt to a witness’ responses in the moment. We will bring these skills to the defence of your complaint before the Ontario College of Pharmacists.

Hearings before the Discipline Committee can be complex and require substantial preparation and skill to conduct. Our lawyers for pharmacists are well-versed in the legal landscape of the issues that arise before the committee, and are experienced at presenting the facts in a case in a persuasive manner.

If you have lost before the ICRC or the Discipline Committee, you still are able to appeal. Appeals for pharmacists occur before the HPARB. The panel of adjudicators at the HPARB will review the record of the proceedings that was before the ICRC or the Discipline Committee. Our lawyers for pharmacists will draft legal arguments on your behalf, and make oral argument before the panel.

We are highly experienced appellate counsel. We will scrutinize the record of proceedings in your case with an eye to developing the most persuasive grounds of appeal. Our ability to identify legal errors and develop those arguments before a panel is of the highest calibre. Our pharmacist defence lawyers will prepare sophisticated and refined written submissions designed to persuade. During oral argument, we will forcefully present your position to the panel in the most convincing way possible.

An appeal to the HPARB is not the last recourse for a pharmacist in Ontario who has lost their case. Our lawyers provide legal services for pharmacists at the Divisional Court as well. The Divisional Court of Ontario has the power to judicially review the decisions of the HPARB. Much like hearings at the HPARB, judicial reviews involve an examination of the record of the proceedings below, identifying legal errors, preparing and drafting written argument, and making oral submissions before a panel of judges. Our pharmacist defence lawyers have extensive experience arguing cases at the Divisional Court. We will pursue your case with diligence and care.

If a judicial review to the Divisional Court is not successful, a pharmacist in Ontario can seek leave to appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal. An application for leave to appeal involves written submissions to the Court. If the application is successful and leave is granted, then a full appeal will require written submissions and oral argument. The legal services we provide to pharmacists in Ontario include applications for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal as well as appeals at the Court of Appeal.

WE CAN ASSIST YOU

Posner Craig Stein has the right pharmacist defence lawyers to handle complaints made against you.

• We have a strong track record of winning;
• Our advocacy skills, both written and oral, are highly respected.
• Our fees are competitive.

If you are a pharmacist who is the subject of a complaint, you should not delay in retaining an experienced and capable pharmacist defence lawyer. We may be able to help you avoid serious consequences, including reputational and financial damage. Our wide array of pharmacist legal services in Ontario will cover your needs.

We invite you to meet with us in-person or virtually, to discuss your options confidentially.