A judge from another jurisdiction will be called in to hear Mayor Rob Ford’s conflict of interest case.

The hearing, which is expected to last about three days, could take place as early as September.

Lawyers for both parties appeared at 393 University Ave. Friday morning to set a date.

They are back on April 11 to hear the outside judge’s availability.

Last week, constitutional lawyer Clayton Ruby launched legal proceedings against Ford for allegedly breaching the municipal conflict of interest act.

If a judge agrees, Ford could be removed from office and prevented from running for up to seven years.

The case stems from an incident at February’s council meeting, when Ford spoke and then voted on a motion that Ruby alleges financially benefited the mayor. Ford asked councillors to remove sanctions placed upon him by the city’s integrity commissioner. Ford had been ordered to repay $3,150 of donations to his football foundation, which he solicited using his then-councillor letterhead. It passed.

Ford has hired one of the country’s leading litigation firms, Lenczner Slaght, to represent him.