Vancouver lawyer Steve Alexander Parr fined $20,000 for professional misconduct

Vancouver lawyer Steve Alexander Parr has been fined $20,000 and ordered to pay the Law Society $1,000 in costs for professional misconduct.

In a joint submission to a Law Society Tribunal hearing panel, Parr admitted to acting in a conflict of interest in the course of representing his clients. In May 2020, he represented two clients in relation to a partnership venture but failed to obtain written consent to a joint retainer, advise either client that both had asked to retain him, or explain that information shared by either client would not be confidential. Parr did not advise them that if an unresolvable conflict developed, he would have to withdraw from representing both clients. In addition, from July 2020 to July 2022, Parr continued to represent one client while acting against the interests of his former client in relation to the same partnership venture in which he had jointly represented both.

In accepting his joint submission, the hearing panel Law Society took into consideration an Agreed Statement of Facts, a letter from Parrrs containing his admissions, and the outcomes in prior, similar cases.

The full decision of the hearing panel can be read here.