Image Credit: Cliff MacArthur/provincialcourt.bc.ca
November 12, 2022 - 8:02 AM
A B.C. lawyer who kissed a former vulnerable client while in a meeting room at a courthouse has been found to have committed professional misconduct.
According to a Law Society of B.C. decision, William James Heflin had been representing the unnamed client in a child and spousal support case since 2017 when the incident occurred in 2020.
Heflin argued that the kissing was consensual, but the Law Society didn't agree.
According to the decision, during a meeting at the Victoria courthouse, Heflin told his client he was no longer going to act as her lawyer because he was interested in having a sexual relationship with her.
He also said he was thinking of retiring and intended to run for city council.
During the meeting Heflin got his client to sign a form saying he was no longer her lawyer and left the room to file it with the court clerks.
At this point, the woman began recording on her phone.
He then came back into the meeting room and said, "Ok, well, I’m not your lawyer anymore... I can do what I want."
Heflin kissed the woman several times, hugged her, and touched her breast.
"At no time did (the woman) expressly consent to (Heflin's) verbal or physical advances," the decision reads.
The woman stated she turned her head to avoid the first kiss, and she crossed her arms and leaned into the desk.
"Considered together, all this evidence supports the finding that (she) did not communicate consent to (Heflin's) actions," the Law Society ruled.
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Heflin argued that they were "kissing each other" and the woman went to touch his penis over his clothes while they were kissing.
The decision says Heflin asked her if she "liked it" and she said "yes."
She later told the Law Society she didn't know why she had said "yes" and was thinking "I don’t know why I’m saying this, what the hell's going on."
The decision says the woman went numb and froze and could not process what was happening.
The lawyer argued that while consent wasn't verbal "our mutual conduct is so indicative of consent that consent at the time must be inferred in favour of myself."
The decision also says the woman had had a nervous breakdown earlier that year.
"He harassed and assaulted a client who was in a vulnerable state, in circumstances where the power dynamic was highly imbalanced," the decision reads. "(He) deserted his client at a time when she needed him most. He put his own interests ahead of hers by leaving her without legal representation in order to pursue his own sexual interests."
Ultimately, the Law Society found that Heflin sexually harassed the woman which amounted to professional misconduct.
Any penalty will be decided on at a later date.
READ MORE: B.C. lawyer who sexually harassed staff gets suspended
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