Don't Feel Sorry for X-Copper

This entry was posted on 6/11/2008 9:49 AM and is filed under Criminal.

Although this may be a little late, a few weeks ago, "paralegal" firm X-Copper filed for bankruptcy. The official reason? They were unable to meet their current liability. The root of the problem? They were unable to secure licensing as a paralegal firm.

To combat the licensing issue, X-Copper attempted to work "under the supervision" of a lawyer, effectively using his or her license to circumvent paralegal licensing requirements. Despite having a legal mechanism in place, they were unable to stay afloat.

Based on some postings across the Internet and on several news articles, it seems to me that their problem stemmed from cash flow issues. New rules on paralegals prohibit them from using monies received until the work done on the matter has been billed. Since they had a motto of "we win or its free" (much like many other traffic ticket agents), the monies had to be held in trust pending resolution of the matter, which may be several months to several years. It may be that they were using monies received to cover immediate costs and expenses. If they did not win, then they would wait until money was available to send a refund out.

While I do see the licensing and rules as a slight hassle, I do not believe that it should be overly prejudicial to the firm to collect it's money later. The only problem is that there will be a period of several months where it has a negative cash flow since it will need to wait to collect the fees due to them. Given that X-Copper knew what to expect, they had about two years to prepare for the transition, but failed to make plans for that situation. Instead, David Matheson, co-owner of X-Copper, seemed more interested in spending his money on a 2007 Jaguar rather than on reinvesting on the business.

I'm not trying to put down paralegals in any way. I have referred out several matters to paralegals because it would be more cost-efficient for them to use paralegals rather than a lawyer. I've found paralegals to be a reasonable alternative for less severe matters, such as residential tenancies, small claims and traffic tickets. However, I believe that X-Copper's venture into more severe matters such as impaired driving is dangerous. Impaired driving and related offences are Criminal Code offences, meaning that they carry a criminal record. Judges will typically warn those accused of the crime that they are not using a lawyer. For a little bit more money, many capable lawyers will take on such a matter.

So don't feel too sorry for X-Copper or it's founders. There was a better way, but everybody involved chose not to do it.

 

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Comments

• 10/10/2008 4:24 PM Mel Gold wrote:
  So apparently XCopper is back with a vengeance... Just like a bad remake of a Die Hard movie... And XCopper managers (i.e. Jason Baxter & Tony Albanese to name 2) have bought the bankrupt XCopper and are now trying to "revive the old business..." Funny how that works... The guys that were so proud to be employee's of X-Copper suddenly went behind its back, helped it crumble and are revitalizing it? I would never make excuses for X-Copper’s old management... but next time you see X-Copper with it's new "revived" signs JUST remember it's the same old CRAP with a new website
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• 11/27/2008 2:02 PM Thomas J wrote:
  On May 26, 2008 the sole director and financial controller of X-Copper Legal Services, Johanne Labrie filed for bankruptcy, showing $15.00 in assets and $1,968,164.51 in liabilities.
  
  What many people don't know is that X-Copper Director, and CFO embezzled $100,000's into private family banks in Quebec, is now driving a $65,000 NEW 2009 Lexus, and managed to pay off most personal debts that totalled over $750,000 all while maintaining a secret personal bank accountant of +$50,000. She remains unemployed and enjoys a very affluent and comfortable lifestyle...
  
  I would like to know, where is the justice? How do we let criminals white-collard criminals like this escape jail?
  
  I thought we lived in a country where taxes were paid and people didn't leave 6000+ customers in the lurch in order to "start over" which so much plastic surgery they were unrecognizable.
  
  Shame on you Revenue Canada, shame on you Grant Thornton, shame on you RCMP for letting white-collard criminals such as Johanne Labrie live off of poor X-Copper clients and fill their faces full of Botox at Spa Medica.
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• 1/11/2011 10:38 AM nothappy wrote:
  I am extremely disppointed with the service i was provided through x-copper. They were extremely disorganized, no one kept me in the loop or told me anything. they told me i had to be present for the trial date when i didn't have to be and i took time off work, which i don't get paid for. And the only reason the case was withdrawn was because the officer didn't show up. so i would have been better off without them, since they did absolutely nothing with this case and i had no clue what was happening until the trial date, and even then i was out of the loop.
  i do not recommend this place to anyone at all. total waste of money. worst service i've ever had.
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