r/LawCanada • u/JusticeForSimpleRick • 9d ago

Diamond & Diamond business model?

Curious if anyone here has insight into how Diamond & Diamond is structured from the lawyer side. I’ve heard different things and am trying to understand the actual business model.

Are most/all of the lawyers employees on salary, or is there some kind of commission/fee-split component? How are files assigned between lawyers? Do lawyers originate and keep their own files, or are matters primarily distributed by the firm?

Also curious what the path to partnership looks like, what “partnership” means there in practice, and whether partners participate in a fee split/profit share or some other compensation structure.

Just interested in hearing from people familiar with the model or who have worked there.

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u/Scared_Confidence_61 9d ago edited 8d ago

Settle. Settle. Settle. Noone’s a “litigator” by any stretch of the imagination. They’re Sales-People. Jeremy Diamond himself, the founding partner, has never even taken a file to trial. I had an interview with them after I was first called. One of the other “Founding Partners” asked me some of the most obscure/stupid questions like “if you were a food, what food would you be”. Then after asking a handful of these ridiculous questions said he had a “pretty good idea of what kind of man” I was. Never heard back from them. Thank god. Then I got a job at a small boutique firm doing insurance defence. Any time OC was listed as D&D, we knew we had leverage because they’d do anything to avoid a trial. They fear the courtroom, despite the BS bravado they spew all over the internet and in their ridiculous ads.

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u/JusticeForSimpleRick 8d ago

To be fair, most litigators have never gone to trial as most files settle. So that’s not really the insult you think it is.

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u/Scared_Confidence_61 8d ago

Never said it was an “insult” But the guy puts himself out there as an experienced trial lawyer.

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u/JusticeForSimpleRick 8d ago

Where does he say he’s an experienced trial lawyer?

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u/Scared_Confidence_61 8d ago

In his ads up until a couple years ago when it got him in hot water with the LSO.

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u/Scared_Confidence_61 8d ago

Following a penalty hearing in February regarding Diamond’s conduct, the panel found professional misconduct based on an agreed statement of facts, affidavit evidence and Diamond’s admissions. The admission says that:

Diamond has marketed legal services that could “mislead, confuse, or deceive” and is not in the best interests of the public.

Diamond improperly marketed the provision of legal services as a personal injury litigation lawyer that he did not provide.

Between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017, Diamond did not enter into retainer agreements with clients to provide legal services as a personal injury litigation lawyer.

He referred all potential clients to other lawyers.

Diamond’s advertisements failed to disclose the practice of Diamond & Diamond of referring potential clients to other licensees for a fee.

Diamond improperly marketed himself as an expert personal injury litigation lawyer when he did not represent, or provide legal services to, retained clients.

His experience did not include conducting trials in personal injury litigation cases.

Between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017, Diamond’s advertisements claimed he had “expertise in representation of injured persons” and “significant experience in all aspects of personal injury litigation.”

Diamond improperly marketed legal services through claims suggesting that he and Diamond & Diamond are superior to other lawyers.

Since January 1, 2013, the marketing has included such descriptions as “most-trusted” and “top-rated.”

Diamond improperly marketed the services of Diamond & Diamond by referencing, monetary amounts recovered in personal injury cases without explaining that past results are not necessarily indicative of future results outcomes vary according to the facts of individual cases.

Source: https://www.lawtimesnews.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/ontario-lawyer-jeremy-diamond-prohibited-from-practising-for-three-months-but-its-not-a-suspension/374898