Ottawa lawyer Luc E. Barrick allegedly on the lam with clients' cash.

OTTAWA - A Superior Court judge stripped an Ottawa lawyer of his practice and assets Tuesday amid allegations he vanished overseas with hundreds of thousands of his clients' cash.

Clients of Luc Barrick are missing at least $315,000, as well as original documents crucial to pending cases, according to affidavits filed with the court.

Toronto Judge Alexandra Hoy handed control of Barricks LLP to the Law Society of Upper Canada, as well as giving the society all money and documents linked to Barrick's practice.

Barrick allegedly waltzed off with a $200,000 deposit in a 2009 real estate transaction. The closing was rescheduled for March 21, 2011, but Barrick remained unreachable, according to a June 1 affidavit written by forensic auditor Prospero Vito.

Vito examined Barrick's subsequent purchase of a spacious condo on Laurier Ave.

"This information shows (Barrick) may have used a portion of the $200,000 to purchase the above noted condo unit," Vito wrote.

Barrick's clients still haven't received credit for the money and are preparing a civil suit.

A British Columbia client alleges he paid Barrick a $10,000 retainer and sent him original documents in December 2010 but has been unable to reach him.

Another client alleges he was shortchanged $27,000 in a matrimonial settlement, while still another claims Barrick has been stalling on payment of a $78,000 trust.

Barrick promised to return on May 15 to deal with that matter, but he has not.

He is believed to be in France. A new bio on his website - lucbarrick.com - has him living in Paris and lists a European cellphone number.

Calls to the number failed after several rings. E-mails sent to his posted address bounce back, though a French Yahoo address appears to still be active.

The phone number for his firm, Barrick Domey Tannis, is no longer in service and calls to several of his former colleagues were not returned.

A program director at CHIN radio in Ottawa said Barrick co-hosted a show called Legal Talk until just over a year ago. Staff hadn't heard of the accusations.

Barrick's law student has been ordered to help.

An intern since fall 2010, he described depositing cheques into Barrick's personal account on the boss' orders. Interaction, however, is via e-mail and Barrick "rarely" responds to requests, the student told Vito

In 1997 Barrick ran as a federal Progressive Conservative in a doomed bid to unseat the Liberal incumbent in Ottawa-Vanier.

He retained his Tory ties, serving as legal counsel to Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre in 2006, according to his resume.

The Law Society is to issue a report to the Superior Court in January.

tony.spears@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @ottawasuntonys