2015 : No. 1 Spring
Vancouver, BC
Called to the bar: January 14, 2011
Ceased membership: November 25, 2013
Counsel : Carolyn Gulabisngh for the Law Society and Ravi Hira, QC for the Respondent
In 2011, after Andrew Christopher Lee started working for a law firm, he began submitting claims to the firm for reimbursement for out of pocket expenses that were fraudulent. Between November 2011 and September 2013, he was reimbursed by the firm for the fraudulent expenses totalling about $15,000, including claims submitted for:
• expenses that were never incurred;
• taxi and meal expenses that were never incurred or that Lee was not entitled to claim reimbursement for because the expenses were personal in nature;
• expenses that he was also later reimbursed in whole or in part directly by the service provider;
• reimbursement for refreshments for the office, where he used duplicate receipts to be reimbursed twice for the same expense; and
• client disbursements, where the amount he was reimbursed exceeded the amount of the expense actually incurred.
Lee admitted that his conduct constituted professional misconduct and gave an undertaking. His admission was made to the Discipline Committee under Law Society Rule 4-21. This rule provides for a process whereby a respondent can admit misconduct and the citation is resolved without a hearing.
The Discipline Committee accepted Lee’s admission and his undertaking for a period of seven years, commencing on January 29, 2015, to:
1. not apply for reinstatement to the Law Society;
2. not apply for membership in any other law society (or like governing body regulating the practice of law) without first advising the Law Society; and
3. not permit his name to appear on the letterhead of, or otherwise work in any capacity whatsoever for, any lawyer or law firm in BC, without obtaining the prior written consent of the Law Society.
Lee was a former member and had no professional conduct record.