The LSBC Tribunal has accepted joint submissions of the Law Society and lawyer Paule Fiona Seeger (Moore) and ordered a suspension of at least 18 months for professional misconduct. The suspension shall continue until she appears before a board of examiners and satisfies that board that her competence to practise law is not adversely affected by a health condition or substance use issue. If she returns to the practice of law, she will be subject to conditions, including entering into and complying with a medical monitoring agreement. The suspension takes effect September 1, 2022 and lasts until at least March 1, 2024.
Seeger acknowledged professional misconduct by misappropriating or improperly withdrawing client funds for the payment of legal fees before the services were provided. Seeger also admitted to improperly withdrawing funds from trust for disbursements that had not been incurred, representing completing work that had been performed by her articled student, leaving pre-signed trust cheques for use by an employee, and failing to notify the Law Society of a monetary judgement against her as required by the rules.
In determining the disciplinary action, the hearing panel reviewed the range of sanctions imposed in recent disciplinary cases in which medical evidence demonstrated that a lawyer’s mental health or substance use issues was a factor in the misconduct. The panel found the amount of client monies that had been misappropriated or improperly withdrawn to be serious, but considered Seeger’s admission of misconduct and remedial action she has taken to address factors that contributed to it.
Upon completion of the suspension and a satisfactory report from the board of examiners, Seeger may not supervise articled students, must practice under a supervision agreement, must practice law in a setting deemed acceptable by the Law Society and is prohibited from operating a trust account and from having any signing authority over a trust account.
The decision on disciplinary action is available here.
-30-
For media inquiries, please contact:
communications@lsbc.org