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Appeal concerning lawyer administrative penalty and client-verification rules

The B.C. Court of Appeal largely upheld a judicial review decision setting aside a $5,000 administrative penalty imposed on a lawyer for alleged breaches of client identification and verification rules. The Court agreed that there was only one reasonable outcome. No breach had occurred—so the matter did not need to be remitted to the Law Society for reconsideration. However, it overturned the lower court’s special costs award against the Law Society.