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A Kamloops lawyer who was suspended from practicing law for not cooperating during an investigation he was under has been found to have committed professional misconduct for working during his suspension.

According to a Dec. 7 Law Society of B.C. decision, veteran Kamloops lawyer Nickolaus Harold MacDonald Weiser was suspended for five days in March 2021 but continued to work during that time.

The decision says Weiser, who has been practicing law for almost 40 years, did not respond to more than a dozen phone calls and other correspondence from the Law Society while it investigated a complaint against him between August 2020 and March 2021.

"The (Law Society) finds that over three requests in two separate investigations, (Weiser) consistently failed to provide complete and timely responses to requests, except where sanction was threatened or imposed," the decision reads.

After not cooperating in the Law Society's investigation and ignoring a warning letter, Weiser was suspended.

Weiser contacted the Law Society five days after being suspended and his licence to practice was reinstated.

However, the Law Society says he continued to represent clients during his five-day suspension.

According to the decision, Weiser was suspended for a second time on May 5, 2021, for failing to produce copies of files related to an investigation he was under. He finally responded a week later and the suspension was lifted.

"The (Law Society) finds that (Weiser) either failed to respond or failed to provide complete responses, to requests by the deadlines imposed by the Law Society, despite both written and telephone reminders," the decision reads.

The decision does not say why Weiser was under investigation, however, an earlier decision from June accuses the lawyer of using his trust fund to hide cash from an unlicenced cannabis company.

"Using your trust account would conceal or disguise the source of those funds," a June 22 B.C. Law Society citation reads.

READ MORE: Kamloops lawyer accused of hiding cash of unlicensed cannabis company

It's unclear how much money is involved but the Law Society says Weiser paid almost $200,000 of his own money into the trust fund.

The Law Society said Weiser failed to respond to legal documents outlining the allegations and by not responding is deemed to have admitted to the entire contents of the documents.

At the hearing, Weiser then attempted to produce new oral evidence of the circumstances surrounding his conduct.

However, the Law Society refused to allow the oral evidence because Weiser didn't follow the correct protocol for submitting such evidence.

Weiser then asked for the hearing to a adjourned the Law Society refused.

The Law Society said Weiser's conduct was a "marked departure" from what it expects of lawyers and was professional misconduct.

Any sanctions or penalties will take place at a later date.

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