News Release
July 19, 2017

Vancouver, July 19, 2017 – The Law Society sets standards of professional responsibility for BC lawyers and articled students, and upholds those standards through a complaints and discipline process. These standards and processes are important to maintain public confidence and trust in lawyers. Accordingly, the Law Society has ordered that lawyer Gregory Samuels of Vancouver be suspended for 30 days, from July 21 to August 20, 2017.

The Law Society found that Samuels committed professional misconduct by:

  • improperly withdrawing US$9,690.05 from his trust account and transferring it to his general account, which was not rectified for five years;
  • failing to forward the funds to the Ministry of Health, despite his agreement with his client and the ministry that he would do so;
  • failing, for over five years, to correct a representation he made to his client that that these funds would be paid to the Ministry of Health; and
  • commencing an action in the Superior Court of Washington State on behalf of his client without her instructions and without having had any contact with her for over five years.

The decision on facts and determination is available here and the decision on disciplinary action is available here.

The Law Society of British Columbia upholds and protects the public interest in the administration of justice by ensuring the independence, integrity and competence of lawyers, establishing education and professional development standards for lawyers, regulating the practice of law and preserving and protecting the rights and freedoms of all persons.

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For further information contact:

Vinnie Yuen
Communications Officer
604.697.5836
vyuen@lsbc.org

 

David Jordan
Communications Officer
604.443.5708
djordan@lsbc.org