UPDATES SINCE ORIGINAL NEWS RELEASE
- May 13, 2015: This release was revised to provide greater clarity on the panel decision.
- April 5, 2016: The stay of suspension has been extended until disposition of the review or further order of the review panel.
- October 3, 2017: The start date of the suspension has been changed to the earlier of March 1, 2018, or ten business days following dismissal by the Court of Appeal of Faminoff's appeal of the orders made by the Review Board
- October 26, 2017: The Court of Appeal has dismissed Faminoff's appeal and upheld the decision of the Review Board. His two-month suspension will commence on November 20, 2017.
Vancouver, May 1, 2015 – The Law Society sets standards of professional responsibility for BC lawyers and articled students, and upholds those standards through a complaints and discipline process. These standards and processes are important to maintain public confidence and trust in lawyers. Accordingly, the Law Society has ordered that William Terrence Faminoff of Vancouver be suspended for professional misconduct.
Before a hearing panel, Mr. Faminoff admitted to eight allegations of conduct occurring between January 1, 2007, and June 15, 2010, and the panel found those actions to constitute professional misconduct. The proven misconduct includes backdating clients’ statements of account with the intention of misleading the Law Society, improper handling of clients’ trust funds, withdrawing funds from a client’s trust account when there were insufficient funds in the client’s account at the time, failure to maintain accounting records, and breach of undertakings he made to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
The panel found that there was no loss or harm and no advantage gained by Mr. Faminoff by his conduct. Mr. Faminoff will be suspended for two months beginning July 1, 2015, and will be required to pay hearing costs of $8,430.
Written reasons for disciplinary action are available here.
The Law Society and Faminoff sought a review of the hearing panel’s determination with respect to the appropriate disciplinary action. The Review Board confirmed the hearing panel's penalty decision of a suspension of two months. Written reasons are available here.
The suspension was stayed pending his appeal to the BC Court of Appeal. On October 20, 2017, the Court of Appeal confirmed the Review Board's decision. Faminoff's two-month suspension will commence on November 20, 2017.
The Law Society of British Columbia regulates the more than 11,000 practising lawyers in the province, setting and enforcing standards of professional conduct that ensure the public is well-served by a competent, honourable legal profession.
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For further information or to arrange an interview contact:
David Jordan
Communications Officer
604.443.5708
djordan@lsbc.org
Vinnie Yuen
Communications Officer
604.697.5836
vyuen@lsbc.org
