Kamloops lawyer Nickolaus Harold MacDonald Weiser has received a three-month suspension for professional misconduct and has been ordered to pay $11,384 in costs to the Law Society.
The hearing panel found that Weiser engaged in the practice of law while suspended in March 2021, despite being provided with detailed information that outlined activities that were prohibited during his suspension. The panel also found that during the course of a Law Society investigation into a complaint, Weiser repeatedly failed to respond to the Law Society’s requests in a timely manner and failed to provide full and substantive responses.
In ordering the three-month suspension, the hearing panel took into consideration Weiser’s professional conduct record, which shows a pattern of ignoring requests made by the Law Society. The panel also noted that practising law while under a suspension is serious misconduct and that when a lawyer does not comply with the Law Society’s orders and directions, regulation becomes ineffective and the public suffers harm.
Weiser will begin his three-month suspension on September 25, 2023.
The hearing decision can be found here.