A hearing panel of the Law Society Tribunal has ordered that lawyer Peter Darren Steven Hart be disbarred for professional misconduct. The disbarment takes effect immediately.
The panel found that Hart committed professional misconduct by misappropriating $4,000 in trust funds that he used to pay into a lending company he owned and controlled, as well as by acting in a conflict of interest when he transferred a total of $531,000 entrusted to him as lawyer and/or executor to his lending company, which in turn was loaned to his law firm. He also breached the Law Society’s rules when he failed to notify the Executive Director of the Law Society of two unsatisfied monetary judgments against him.
In determining the disciplinary penalty, the panel considered the seriousness of misappropriating clients’ funds, the intentional and self-serving nature of Hart’s conduct, and that his actions undermined the public’s confidence in the legal profession.
Written reasons for the hearing panel’s decision on facts and determination are available here and the hearing panel’s decision on disciplinary action are available here.
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For further information contact:
Vinnie Yuen
Communications Officer
604.697.5836
vyuen@lsbc.org