Family lawyer in Surrey faces assault charges

Aaron Murray Lessing, a Surrey family lawyer who was previously disciplined by the Law Society of B.C. for professional misconduct, has been charged with assaulting someone almost two decades ago.

Lessing, who has practised law for almost 30 years, is due to go on trial in B.C. Provincial Court in May for one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of assault with a weapon, a horse whip. The assaults are alleged to have happened in Surrey between Jan. 1, 1999 and Dec. 31, 2002, according to court records.

Lessing is also charged with breaching his bail conditions on Oct. 30. He is currently free on bail.

Lessing could not be reached for comment, either by phone or email. A call to his Surrey law office, Lessing Brandon & Co., was answered by a woman who said Lessing no longer worked in the office, although he is still listed as a member of the legal team on the company’s website. Lessing is temporarily disqualified from practising law after the Law Society of B.C. put him on an indefinite administrative suspension, effective Dec. 2.

Lessing has run afoul of the regulator before, receiving two citations in 2011.

In one case, he failed to notify the society that there were numerous monetary judgments against him totalling more than $187,000. Some were the result of marriage breakups — he had been married five times — and others were related to tax and property debts.

In the second citation, Lessing failed to comply with three court orders during a family case between him and his former spouse, in which Lessing was representing himself.

He was found in contempt of court, but the contempt was later purged.