Black Attorney Philton Moore faced discrimination and lawlessness even in the legal profession

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

When Philton Moore a Black barrister of Afro-Caribbean descent migrated to Canada he expected to continue in his profession uninterrupted. What he never expected was to be bypassed for employment in his field even though he was more qualified than many of the other applicants that got hired.

Let us have a look at Mr. Moore’s qualifications.

Moore had previously practiced as a lawyer for seven years in England, had been an associate University law lecturer in that country, and had re-qualified in Ontario (via Osgoode Hall Law School and the NCA), completing his legal apprenticeship with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and had also updated a section of the Encyclopedia of Local Government Precedents and Procedures as a writer for the UK’s then largest legal publishers, Sweet and Maxwell.

I spoke at length with Barrister Moore on the details of: what happened, the steps he took to address it, and his views on how this behaviour affects Black professionals and Black Canadians as a whole.

This all started when Moore applied for a position at a law firm named Lou Ferro Barrister and Solicitor in Hamilton Ontario.

“Tell me what happened,” I asked Moore.

“When I questioned the firm as to the reason I was not hired,” he said, “the respondent said they had concerns about my English language skills, and my ability to stand before a judge. This is the sort of indignity they subject our people to.”

Still, in doubt about the first interview, Moore requested a second interview only to be told this time by the wife of the principal of the law firm, “You are pushy, and I don’t like pushy people.”

Moore said it was clear that they were upset that he had the nerve to question their decision, “She did not want to reply to me via email because that kind of language would have incriminated the firm, so I was invited in person to be insulted.”

It is important to note here that this second interview took place six months after the first one. Moore later found out that he had outperformed all the other applicants, yet he could not secure the job, all this only came out after he sued the firm for discrimination and obtained all the legal documents.

Moore said he told the law firm that he would be traveling to the US just in case they needed him, however, after he reached the US, he suddenly got an email inviting him to a third interview at the firm the following morning.

A move Moore suspects was designed to get rid of him permanently as an applicant, knowing full well that he could not be back in that tight frame of time for this third interview.

He could not have been more right. The firm replied, thanking him for his time and letting him know that the position had been taken. All this took place over six months.

Meanwhile Moore said, “All the White candidates the firm hired were hired in a one-or two-week period after being interviewed.”

This was when Moore sent the firm an email to let them know that he believed their actions towards him were discriminatory. This is when the principal of the law firm accused Moore of coming to his firm with an agenda.

Barrister Moore said the principal of the firm told him “If you persist, you will face unintended consequences.”

The tribunal found that Moore was discriminated against, but only on account of the abusive emails, which were sent by the principal of the law firm.

The decision not to hire Moore was overlooked. Moore took his case to a Divisional Court, which upheld the original decision, and he is now trying to get clearance to let the Supreme Court of Canada hear his case in that capacity.

Interestingly enough, the Law Society of Ontario produced a report, which showed that even White lawyers agree and know that Black lawyers are being discriminated against by law firms. For example, the LSO Report found that:

“Three-fifths (or 62%) of non-racialized lawyers agreed that Black lawyers face much more challenges to their entry into practice and advancement in the legal profession compared with their White colleagues.”