Can a lawyer be found guilty of professional misconduct for placing funds with a mortgage brokerage company when he knew that the registration of the company was under suspension?

This finding of professional misconduct is supported by the decision of Law Society of BC v. Grier, [1998] L.S.D.D. No. 122. In that case, the respondent admitted and the hearing panel held that the respondent’s conduct in placing investment funds with his client’s mortgage brokerage company when he knew that the registrations of his client and his company were under suspension constituted professional misconduct.

A lawyer’s underlying duty is laid out in Law Society of Upper Canada v. McKerrow, [2002] L.S.D.D. No. 61. That panel wrote: The professional misconduct in this case is a serious matter. Lawyers who operate trust accounts undertake concomitant duties. They must be vigilant to ensure that they do not use their trust accounts to assist unscrupulous clients. They must exercise great caution and skepticism. It should be obvious to any lawyer that it is inappropriate to use his or her trust account as a means to facilitate transactions for a client whose own accounts have been frozen by the order of a court or tribunal. …