Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson at a news conference on July 15, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson's former lawyer is looking to the courts as he awaits payment for more than $30,000 in unpaid legal bills.

The last time David McMillan performed any legal services for the mayor was February 2024, but the bills started stacking up before Hamer-Jackson started his run for mayor.

McMillan filed court documents on Sept. 3 that detail the work he's done on Hamer-Jackson's behalf since May 2021. On five separate matters, he claims he is owed a total $35,312.

McMillan would not comment on the unpaid bills and said it's a "matter of professional courtesy" to allow Hamer-Jackson to take the next steps in court before speaking publicly.

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He did say the matter isn't simply going before a judge to have unpaid bills collected, but rather to have the legal fees certified and "settled" before any complaints arise. The same process, called an "appointment," can be used by clients who take issue with their lawyer's fees and want the court to review them under the Legal Profession Act, McMillan said.

'GOOD FRIENDS'

"The Act affords the same opportunity to lawyers to essentially have their bills certified, so any issues or disputes relating to the bill get aired out under oath in a judicial proceeding," he said. "The whole point of this is to settle any outstanding issues that arise from lawyer's bills."

Some lawyers sue their clients, but he said this process can "expedite" the court process and take fewer days of court time, although he added that it's his first time filing an appointment in a legal career that spanned more than 30 years.

Hamer-Jackson did not respond to a phone call from iNFOnews.ca, but responded in a text message to claim most of McMillan's work was being done pro bono.

The unpaid bills range from around $1,344 to $20,500 for representing Hamer-Jackson over the years.

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The earliest matter began in May 2021 when Hamer-Jackson was given a cease and desist letter from a lawyer for Alfred Achoba, the executive director for Canadian Mental Health Association Kamloops. The letter threatened a lawsuit and accused Hamer-Jackson of "racist conduct," according to McMillan's summary he submitted in court.

The dispute continued in April 2023 with email exchanges between either side, but it was closed without ever landing in court, costing Hamer-Jackson $4,480.

Others include $6,300 in legal services throughout the Integrity Group investigation that found the mayor bullied and harassed City employees, $1,344 for responding to threats of a defamation suit from ASK Wellness, and $2,688 for representing Hamer-Jackson during a code of conduct investigation which concluded earlier this year but remains under wraps.

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The largest bill is for $20,500 related to McMillan's work on Hamer-Jackson's defamation lawsuit against Coun. Katie Neustaeter. McMillan was replaced by another lawyer, Daniel Coles, in October 2023 for that lawsuit and took on no new work for the mayor since.

"Dave McMillan and his family have been good friends of ours for many years. Any defamation case with Dave would have been on a contingency basis. He said he was doing work for free (pro bono). The city work and code of conduct files city has still not paid as they said they would," Hamer-Jackson's text message reads.

'EVIDENCE WILL SPEAK FOR ITSELF'

McMillan said he thinks Hamer-Jackson is wrong about the City promising to reimburse code of conduct-related fees, but he said it's not his concern either way because his legal work was done on Hamer-Jackson's behalf. As for the claim of a contingency fee or pro bono work, he didn't offer specifics on his agreements with Hamer-Jackson, but he did not waver in his claim that the mayor owes him.

"I think the evidence will speak for itself," McMillan said.

City of Kamloops chief administrative officer Byron McCorkell said there is "no decision to report" when asked about the mayor's claim he would be indemnified by the city.

City bylaws stipulate that a council member, including the mayor, can apply to be reimbursed for legal fees so long as they are absolved in the code of conduct investigation. Although the full investigation in this case hasn't been released and specifics aren't known, it did find the mayor breached the code of conduct by "misleading the public."

Earlier this year, the mayor told iNFOnews.ca he considered selling his downtown business property to pay for his mounting legal fees. It's listed for $5.6 million, but Hamer-Jackson didn't respond when asked if the sale is related.

— This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, with a comment from Byron McCorkell.

— This story was updated at 9:52 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, to correct the amount Reid Hamer-Jackson allegedly owes after taxes. A previous version used the pre-tax amounts.

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