The member was retained by three clients to perform specified audit procedures and complete Law Society of British Columbia Trust Reports. The work in question was performed by staff under the member’s supervision. The Reports were completed and submitted to the Law Society without any exceptions noted. The Law Society subsequently conducted its own reviews of the lawyers’ trust accounts, and noted numerous breaches of trust accounting rules that should have been reported to the Law Society as exceptions.
The Investigation Committee determined that the member contravened the CPABC Code of Professional Conduct as follows,
201.1 – Maintenance of the good reputation of the profession
202.1 – Integrity and due care
203 – Professional competence
205 – False or misleading documents
206 – Compliance with professional standards
The Committee recommended the member:
- accept a reprimand;
- pay a fine of $3,000; and
- pay expenses of $4,062 plus GST.