Former Kamloops lawyer ‘misappropriated’ $9,000, gets suspended

A former Kamloops lawyer has been suspended for 10 weeks after failing to return almost $9,000 to clients.

According to a Sept. 11 Law Society of BC consent agreement, Roderick Coston McLeod transferred $8,985 into his own account after finding small amounts of residual funds left over from 23 clients whose files were completed.

The issue came to light when McLeod closed his Kamloops practice in 2020 and he told staff to close all of his files.

"The majority of the residual trust funds were the result of the lawyer holding funds in trust for purposes such as payment of title insurance, utilities or property taxes. The lawyer either did not pay out the required amounts from trust, or did pay out the required amounts, but they were less than expected," the Law Society said in the decision.

For each client, McLeod then wrote up an invoice for legal fees to match the amount left in the trust account.

"The lawyer was not entitled to any of the residual trust funds," the Law Society said.

The Law Society said he had incomplete trust ledgers and failed to keep copies of cancelled trust cheques, invoices and general bank statements regarding the 23 clients.

McLeod also failed to pay $28,360 of GST he'd collected from clients between June 2019 and November 2020.

"The lawyer used the GST funds that were collected from clients to pay himself and other financial obligations of his firm," the decision read.

He paid the Canada Revenue Agency back in full by May 2023.

McLeod also admitted he filed three trust reports to the regulator that included false or misleading information.

One report said he'd paid GST "in full and on time" when it was outstanding, and another said he didn't have any stale-dated trust cheques.

"Although he had numerous stale-dated cheques during the relevant period," the Law Society said.

The lawyer was also disciplined for failing to pay $192 in property tax during a 2017 real estate transaction.

The decision said a notary wrote to McLeod saying the property tax was a condition of the sale and needed paying, but he didn't respond.

Nine months later, after the buyers covered the $192 property tax bill, McLeod sent them a cheque for the amount.

However, six months later he reversed the cheque, putting the $192 back in his trust account. He then transferred the cash into his bank account.

The decision said McLeod has been a member of the bar since 1979 and practiced through the 1980s and1990s in Kimberley and Nelson. He moved to Kamloops in 2003 and sold his practice in 2020 and moved to Delta. He now practices in Surrey.

He signed a consent agreement admitting to his conduct.

The Law Society said he's previously had two other conduct reviews, one of which involved trust accounting practices.

The decision said McLeod's conduct "was not intentional" but the "result of overlooking his responsibilities during a confluence of stressful circumstances."

"The lawyer experienced significant pressure due to a combination of an extremely stressful trial and appeal and travelling between practice locations (in) Kamloops and Delta," the decision read. "The lawyer’s stress exacerbated the lawyer’s medical condition, which indirectly contributed to his inattention to his practice."

McLeod is remorseful and acknowledges his misconduct, the decision said.

His 10-week suspension began on Oct. 1.

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