BCCA Confirms Test for Reinstatement to a Profession

In Kay v. the Law Society of British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 303, the BCCA has confirmed that the test for reinstatement to a professional college after loss of registration due to misconduct issues is the test in Watt v. Law Society of Upper Canada [2005] OJ No. 2431. In this case a lawyer was disbarred after he left the jurisdiction in 1998 leaving unpaid debts to a client and a bank and without closing his law practice properly. He left B.C. in order to avoid his creditors. He moved to France where he worked in real estate, again wracking up debts and eventually declaring bankruptcy in 2010. He returned to B.C. and in 2012 applied for reinstatement in the LSBC. A hearing panel decided to reinstate him on the basis that had acknowledged his mistakes, was remorseful and was "currently of good repute". The LSBC appealed this decision to the Benchers who decided the panel had not applied the correct test and rejected the application. The applicant appealed to the BCCA. The judgment contains an excellent discussion about the law in this area and confirmed the decision must be based upon whether the applicant for reinstatement is of good character, as opposed to of good repute. Could the LSBC now trust him to act honestly, ethically and in the best interest of his clients? The BCCA held that applying the Watt criteria - was it extremely unlikely that the applicant would misconduct himself again? - it could not be said the applicant was rehabilitated and of good character. The Benchers' decision not to reinstate him was upheld. The case also contains useful analysis about the standard of review in a case of this kind.