B.C. lawyer disbarred for 2nd time, ordered to pay $45K in costs

A lawyer in British Columbia has been disbarred for a second time following a tribunal hearing panel by the provincial law society. 

Hong Guo was first disbarred in November 2023 when a Law Society of B.C. panel said she was incapable of rehabilitating her professional conduct.

On Tuesday, the society issued a statement saying Guo has been disbarred again and has been ordered to pay $45,497 in costs. 

"Guo has a lengthy and serious discipline history," the society said in its statement. 

In the latest instance, the panel found Guo misappropriated and mishandled trust funds — breaching trust accounting rules — and broke rules around conflict of interest, misrepresentation and false representation to both clients and the law society. 

In its finding, the society's tribunal hearing panel said Guo, who ran for mayor of Richmond in 2018, repeatedly failed to respond to its inquiries and, in some cases, it says she provided incorrect or misleading information.

The panel described Guo as "evasive and untruthful" and deemed her ungovernable — meaning she is unwilling or unable to accept the authority and direction of the law society.

Guo could not be reached for comment. 

Guo is not the first lawyer in B.C. to be disbarred multiple times. Aaron Murray Lessing was disbarred for a third time in 2022, in a decision that acknowledged the measure was largely symbolic.