Immigration lawyer guilty of professional misconduct
Catherine Sas mishandled funds in her care, panel finds
Catherine Sas, one of the country’s foremost immigration lawyers, has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the Law Society of B.C. for improper billing and misappropriating money.
A disciplinary panel — chairman Dean Lawton, public representative Dan Goodleaf and Prince Rupert lawyer Donald Silversides — concluded Sas had used bad financial practices and mishandled funds in her care.
Although some of the sums involved were trivial — one cheque was for 87 cents — the decision was a broadside to the high-profile Vancouver lawyer’s reputation.
While this panel was deliberating, Sas put herself unsuccessfully forward as a candidate earlier this year to be second vice-president of the Canadian Bar Association, touting her experience.
In 2011, Sas made international headlines when U.S. actor Randy Quaid fled to Canada seeking refugee status because “star whackers” were out to assassinate him. She represented Quaid and his wife Evi, a Canadian, in the battle over California charges of felony vandalism.
Called to the bar in May 1989, Sas had a specialized practice in immigration law until 2010 when she joined the big, 500-lawyer-strong national firm of Miller Thomson LLP as a partner.
The charges of misconduct arose from the changeover as her previous legal files and accounts were reviewed and closed or transferred to the new firm.
Sas was cited over the way she billed clients and used monies held in trust.
The lawyer blamed her legal assistant for the bogus disbursements and fees totalling less than $5,000.
After a six-day hearing last year, the panel rejected Sas’ explanations.
“We have concluded that the evidence establishes that, even if she did not actually know specific disbursements that were billed to clients had not been incurred and were not properly chargeable, Ms. Sas did not take any steps to determine what had been billed to her clients and whether all or any of those charges were properly billable before she took monies held in trust for those clients to pay those bills,” the panel concluded.
“This was not a situation involving a random or inadvertent error. Ms. Sas must accept responsibility for actions taken by those persons who were employed to assist her in the practice of law or to provide services ancillary to the practice of law.”
Sas and her lawyer are mulling the ruling with a view to asking the B.C. Court of Appeal for a review.
The disciplinary panel has not yet set a date to determine an appropriate penalty, which could range from a reprimand to disbarment.
The decision is available at http://bit.ly/1yRKjiZ.