B.C. lawyer disbarred for keeping GST and PST

A B.C. lawyer who charged his clients sales tax but failed to give it to the government has been disbarred.

According to an April 6 Law Society of B.C. decision, between 2016 and 2019, Andrew Yat-Cheung Lau charged clients GST and PST but failed to give the money to the Canada Revenue Agency.

The decision says Lau received "at least" five notices from the Ministry of Finance about the outstanding tax bill but still failed to pay it. The Vancouver-based lawyer also failed to pay the Law Society trust administration fees on 33 occasions.

When the Ministry of Finance got a monetary judgment against Lau, he didn't tell the regulator and said he wasn't aware he had to.

"The (Law Society) found that (Lau's) failure to familiarize himself with the applicable rules once he became aware of the judgment against him was a marked departure from the conduct expected of lawyers, and as such constituted professional misconduct," the decision reads.

The Law Society says in 2018 he "misappropriated" client trust funds from four clients to the tune of $14,336.

The decision says Lau eventually paid his taxes and most of the Law Society fees.

The Law Society says Lau was called to the bar in 2008 and let his license expire Jan. 1, 2021, – a month after the Law Society had accused him of professional misconduct.

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Lau later did not make any submissions or respond to any communication from the Law Society regarding the hearing.

"Throughout the proceedings… (Lau) has not offered any acknowledgment of his actions. (Lau) in his responses to Law Society investigators, did not deny many of the facts material to the allegations in the Citation, however, he attempted to justify his actions on the basis that he was dealing with personal problems including financial difficulties," the decision reads. "He also tried to justify the misappropriation on the basis that in most cases, the services for which he withdrew trust funds were eventually provided to the client."

The Law Society says he can't justify his actions by saying he had his own financial difficulties.

It goes on to say there are no extraordinary circumstances in the case.

"The (Law Society) finds that in all the circumstances the only appropriate sanction on a global basis is that the (Lau) be disbarred," the decision reads.

READ MORE: B.C. lawyer 'misappropriated' $63,000 then 'failed to cooperate'

Ultimately, Lau lost his licence to practice law and also has to pay $5,500 in costs.

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