FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HALIFAX, NS, March 11, 2024—In a bold and unwavering stance against systemic discrimination within the legal profession, controversial black lawyer Lyle Howe is seeking monetary compensation from the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (NSBS). Despite the NSBS publicly proclaiming its commitment to combating anti-black racism, Howe’s experiences reveal a disconcerting incongruity.
Despite the society’s avowed efforts, including hiring more black members, they seem reluctant to acknowledge and rectify the discrimination Howe has faced as a black member of the bar. “Black people that rise the ranks, including ones that become judges, tend to be people that are not pro-black. The powers that be deliberately choose people—even if they are black—who make decisions that do not benefit black people.” said Lyle Howe.
Howe’s ongoing litigation against the NSBS underscores a disconcerting reality – the society’s willingness to address discrimination only to the extent that it shields its members from scrutiny. Despite public posturing, the NSBS’s actions suggest a reluctance to confront and rectify the systemic issues affecting black members of the legal profession. Lyle Howe’s experiences, meticulously detailed in the Halifax Examiner’s two-part series, ‘Who is Lyle Howe?’, reveals Howe has been a target for prejudice, an example being that while some of his white counterparts faced suspensions for a certain breach, Howe’s career has been irrevocably dismantled.
“They just wanted to lynch me,” said Howe, “I know in my heart this was all connected to my race. Our system is broken and while we have some people trying to repair it, it’s not enough.” Howe’s pursuit of justice extends beyond mere acknowledgment, as he seeks monetary compensation for the profound losses he has endured, and true, measurable equality.
“For over the past 11 years, I have compiled evidence of investigations and procedures tainted by systematic racism in various public and private Nova Scotian institutions. My case is an example of a larger and ongoing national problem: the negative impact of the system’s discrimination on the integrity and functioning of the Justice System and the bodies tasked with its oversight.”
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MEDIA:
Challenging The Bar – The Lyle Howe Legal Odyssey
Who is Lyle Howe? (Part II)
N.S. Court of Appeal allows disbarred Halifax lawyer to proceed with lawsuit
FOR MEDIA INQUIRES, please contact:
Lyle Howe
Former Lawyer
lyle.howe@eastlink.ca
902-499-1597
Anna J. James
Private Investigator & Journalist
anna@recoveragency.com
250 858 663
