Lawyer suspended after representing husband and wife in same case

The Law Society of B.C. has suspended a Surrey lawyer for five months, for committing professional misconduct by representing a man, and later his wife, in the same family law litigation.

The Law Society's Tribunal Hearing panel has also ordered lawyer Pir Indar Paul Singh Sahota to pay the society almost $16,000 in costs and disbursements, saying his conflict of interest was obvious and "clearly cost the wife and husband wasted money, time, and emotional energy."

"The Respondent's actions in this case, taken individually and holistically, are frankly startling, especially for someone with his length of call," the panel wrote in a decision earlier this month.

"They strike at the core of a lawyer's undivided duty of loyalty to a client and show a complete lack of understanding by the Respondent of that fundamental duty."

Letter 'insufficient' to show consent to represent wife: panel

Back in the fall of 2020, Sahota began representing the wife of his former client in the same case after the husband retained a new lawyer.

The panel agreed that Sahota committed professional misconduct in the following ways:

• by having his former client sign a release letter without the client's new counsel's knowledge,
• by including misleading or untrue statements in the release,
• by falsely claiming he had witnessed the husband's signature on the release,
• by acting in a conflict of interest when he began to represent the wife,
• and by filing confidential information about the husband in an affidavit he wrote in response to an application by the opposing counsel to have him removed.

The release letter, which Sahota wrote and his former client signed, said the husband did not discuss matters related to property, finances or employment with Sahota, according to the decision. However, the panel found that that was untrue, because the client contact form showed the pair had previously discussed the man's employment.

When it came to sign the release letter, only the man and Sahota's assistant were present. Yet the letter stated Sahota witnessed the signature.

"It follows by implication that the Respondent [Sahota] did not honestly endorse the Husband's signature on the Release Letter," the decision reads.

The decision goes on to explain that the assistant had the man read and sign the release letter in English, without a translation, although the man could not read in English. 

The panel ultimately found the release letter "is 'entirely insufficient' to show the Husband's purported consent for the Respondent [Sahota] to act for the Wife."

Sahota has up to six months after the end of his suspension to pay the Law Society.

A practising lawyer in B.C. since 2006, Sahota has been reviewed by the Law Society in relation to five separate matters and was issued two prior suspensions. 

In 2016, he was suspended for 90 days due to his failure to maintain appropriate accounting practices. 

Then, in 2019, he was again suspended for a month over a failed real estate deal, where the Law Society found he didn't provide "a sufficient quality of service to a client," among other things.

Panel not convinced

Sahota didn't attend the initial hearing before the panel.

In a written submission during the disciplinary actions proceeding, Sahota said he accepted responsibility and that he would comply with all the rules and regulations of the Law Society in the future.

However, the panel wasn't convinced, since it found that Sahota barely acknowledged he had committed professional misconduct through the proceedings, and showed no understanding of his errors.

"He sees himself as the victim in what occurred, not the victimizer. The Panel sees it otherwise," the decision reads.