Vancouver lawyer fined $12K for misconduct involving 30 clients over 5 years

The downtown Vancouver skyline is seen at sunset with English Bay and Vancouver Island in the distance, as seen from Burnaby Mountain on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A Vancouver lawyer is facing a $12,000 fine over professional misconduct spanning five years and 30 immigration law clients.

Kashif A. Ahmed has entered a consent agreement with the Law Society of B.C., which he’s been a member of since 2011. In the agreement, he admits to failing to provide his clients with “the quality of service required of a competent lawyer.”

According to a notice of the deal, which was posted online Monday, Ahmed’s misconduct took place between January 2012 and May 2015.

During that period, an unnamed company referred 30 clients to Ahmed, all of them foreign nationals seeking to immigrate to Canada under the Yukon Business Nominee Program (YBNP).

Through the program—which is designed to attract and retain international entrepreneurs to the territory—the Yukon government can nominate individuals for work permits in Canada, and nominees gain support in their application for permanent residency (PR).

After submitting a total of 30 PR applications to the federal government on behalf of his clients, Ahmed “was surprised” to learn 29 of the submissions included fraudulent YBNP certificates, according to the agreement.

It’s believed his clients were victims of a fraudulent scheme, but the Law Society of B.C. says Ahmed “ought to have known” his clients were receiving unauthorized assistance or advice regarding their immigration applications—potentially from the unnamed company who referred them to the lawyer.

His misconduct includes not reviewing the clients’ PR applications with them directly and without third-party representatives present.

In addition, when notified by the federal government that dozens of his clients were required to attend interviews over their fraudulent applications, Ahmed communicated that information with the company—not directly with the individuals.

As a result, seven of his clients missed their meetings, had their applications denied and were deemed inadmissible to Canada for five years.

According to the consent agreement, another 11 clients were denied permanent residency, but did not receive a five-year ban on reapplying.

The law society found Ahmed also failed to confirm retainer agreements directly with clients, and did not identify potential conflicts of interest.

On top of paying a fine, Ahmed must complete six additional professional development credits by the end of this year. He also has to meet with a bencher to discuss his misconduct.