A hearing panel of the Law Society has ordered that Pitt Meadows lawyer Eric John Becker be suspended 14 months for professional misconduct, effective March 1, 2021.
Becker admitted to misappropriating small amounts of client funds and improperly withdrawing trust funds on several occasions, failing to report a trust shortage over $2,500, leaving blank pre-signed trust cheques accessible to employees and making charges to a client’s credit card that exceeded the authorized amount. He also admitted to falsely representing his firm as a registered trademark agent when it no longer was and providing misleading communications to the Law Society regarding his firm’s status. Becker also admitted that he did not notify clients or seek their instructions when he moved their files and records from another firm to his law firm.
The hearing panel accepted that Becker’s misappropriations occurred due to his gross negligence, as opposed to an intentional course of conduct.
In determining the disciplinary penalty, the panel considered the serious and repeated nature of the misconduct, the number of clients impacted by his actions, as well as his admission of the misconduct and his changes to administrative practices in his office to prevent future misconduct.
Written reasons for the hearing panel’s decision are available here.
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For further information contact:
Vinnie Yuen
Communications Officer
604.697.5836
vyuen@lsbc.org