Image Credit: Shutterstock

A former Kamloops lawyer already disbarred for being "ungovernable" has been found to have committed professional misconduct again.

The BC Law Society suspended Nickolaus Harold MacDonald Weiser more than a dozen times before it finally disbarred him in March.

According to a Nov. 6 BC Law Society decision, Weiser has been found to have committed professional misconduct for not following previous orders levied against him.

In the decision, the Law Society acknowledges that Weiser is no longer licenced to practice but concludes it still has a duty to continue the disciplinary action even though he's not a member of the Law Society anymore.

Weiser was called to the bar in 1984 and worked for a law firm in Kamloops until 2016 when he began working for himself.

He was disbarred for using his trust account to disguise money coming in from an unlicensed cannabis business, and receive and disburse almost $200,000 of his own money.

He also failed to keep records and was dishonest with the Law Society.

"(Weiser) misled the Law Society repeatedly, for over one year during the investigation into his conduct so as to conceal the misuse of his trust account," an earlier decision reads.

He was also suspended multiple times and then penalized for working while suspended.

The decision says the Law Society was concerned about his wellbeing as he was dealing with significant personal and professional challenges.

"These included ongoing complaint investigations, several outstanding citations, the loss of a long-standing personal friendship, involvement as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against former friends, and the departure of a long-time assistant," the decision says.

READ MORE: BC man allegedly confessed to two killings originally ruled as accidents

In 2022, Weiser was made to comply with several orders by the end of the year.

However, the Law Society says he didn't comply with any of them.

"There is no evidence before (the Law Society) to suggest that (Weiser’s) breach of the order was intentional. However, there is also no explanation for his failure to comply with the order within the specified deadline," the decision reads. "(Weiser) did not acknowledge or communicate with the Law Society regarding the competency concerns for 10 months, engaging only after the issue was referred to the discipline committee."

The Law Society goes onto say his conduct was "cavalier... at best."

The decision says Weiser didn't take part in the hearing and mail sent to his business address was returned as non-deliverable.

The Law Society ultimately found he'd committed professional misconduct and that any penalty will be decided at a later date.

It's unknown what sanctions the Law Society will take, but the former lawyer currently owes at least $17,000 which remains unpaid which the Law Society is pursuing through the courts.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2024