Vancouver lawyer suspended for 2 months after admitting financial misconduct
The Law Society of British Columbia has suspended Vancouver lawyer Paul Doroshenko for two months for professional misconduct involving client trust funds.
In a consent agreement published on the law society's website, Doroshenko admits to a variety of incidents involving the funds, all of which he attributes to his inattentiveness to the administrative side of his law practice.
Doroshenko admits that the incidents constitute misconduct and that he is personally responsible for ensuring that his firm's accounting records are properly kept, but he also attributes the accounting issues to staff members, and says that personal injuries he suffered prevented him from adequately supervising his employees.
The financial issues listed in the consent agreement took place between 2013 and 2019 and include:
- 82 instances of misappropriating or improperly withdrawing funds, worth a total of $44,353.19
- 82 instances in which he did at least one of the following: failed to identify a trust shortage, failed to pay it back or failed to report it to the law society
- 65 instances in which he failed to maintain sufficient funds in trust for his clients
- 20 instances of failing to deposit trust funds - worth a total of $25,095.93 - as soon as practicable
- Failing to maintain accounting records in compliance with law society rules
- Failing to adequately supervise his staff
- Making false representations to the law society in his annual trust report
No clients were harmed as a result of the misconduct, according to the consent agreement, and all of the misappropriated funds were corrected or replaced.
In addition to his two-month suspension, Doroshenko must complete five hours of continuing professional development credits by Dec. 31. These credits are in addition to the 12.5 hours normally required of all lawyers in B.C.
Doroshenko's suspension begins on June 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.