Can a lawyer in Ontario help a friend sue someone on his own time?

My friend is being threatened with court from her ex's lawyer, who happens to be his old friend from school. The lawyer is using his personal email for their exchanges, even though he works for a law firm. It's obvious he's doing this work for free on behalf of his "friend". Shouldn't he be using his work email address for his threats? Or do you think he's afraid of his bosses finding out what he's doing?

Up to his employer; lawyers have a lot of leeway to act.

Maybe, maybe not. His employer may frown on doing work, even for no fee, on the side because of insurance liability issues. If he is just giving advice, it is probably OK, but if he formally represents him, that may not be OK.

lawyers can give away thier time as they chose. it is called pro bono work. His boss may not like the idea of Him doing pro bono on his time but legally he can do that if he wishes. profesionally it could cause him problems depending on how his associates feel about how he is using his time. This is possibly why he is using private email.