Vancouver lawyer Paul Doroshenko has admitted to professional misconduct and consented to a suspension of two months, effective June 21, 2021.
Doroshenko admitted to misappropriating or improperly withdrawing $44,353.19 in client trust funds; failing to identify a trust shortage, pay funds to immediately eliminate the trust shortage and report the trust shortage to the Law Society; failing to maintain sufficient funds on deposit to meet his trust obligations; failing to deposit trust funds totaling $25,095.93 into trust as soon as possible; maintaining more than $300 of his own funds in trust; failing to maintain accounting records in compliance with the Law Society Rules; failing to adequately supervise his staff; and making false representations to the Law Society in his annual trust report.
The various accounting breaches resulted from Doroshenko’s inattentiveness to the administrative side of his practice and he placed too much reliance on his staff to ensure that his books were in order, which led to many of the issues with his accounting records. The misappropriation or improper withdrawals occurred because funds were withdrawn before the accounting mistakes were identified or corrected. Doroshenko admitted he failed to properly supervise his staff and no longer employs the individuals involved. He was also suffering from a concussion and other significant health issues due to an accident during that time, which affected his ability to function and work. No clients were harmed, and all funds were subsequently corrected or replaced.
Doroshenko acknowledged his responsibility in ensuring the accounting records are up to date and properly kept. In accepting the consent agreement, the Law Society’s Discipline Committee chair considered the factual circumstances and that Doroshenko does not have a prior professional conduct record. The chair agreed that the proposed sanction, consisting of a two-month suspension and five additional hours of continuing professional development credits, was appropriate.
For details, read the detailed consent agreement.
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For further information contact:
Vinnie Yuen
Communications Officer
604.697.5836
vyuen@lsbc.org