Vernon-based family lawyer Leonard Marriott has agreed to hand in his licence to practise law for 10 years following three findings of professional misconduct.
Marriott admitted to the misconduct via a disciplinary settlement, and agreed to the prohibition starting no later than July 1, according to an April 10 statement from the Law Society of B.C.
The admissions stem from two separate citations and hearing panel rulings.
A panel found Marriott liable in December 2024 for mishandling the execution of a will and improperly withdrawing funds as an executor.
The panel ordered Marriott to return the relatively “substantive” $71,149.12 in executor fees to his trust account.
A panel also found in February that Marriott misled the courts by knowingly filing false information pertaining to estate planning for an elderly client.
Marriott chalked it up to an “honest mistake.” The law society alleged incompetence.
The panel also found Marriott erroneously severed the client’s property in half, causing a legal headache at the land titles office. He also failed to properly communicate the error to the client.
The panel said it was at one point “flummoxed” by Marriott’s response, and ultimately found that he was not credible.
Marriott has agreed not to apply for re-instatement to the Law Society of B.C. Law – or elsewhere within Canada – for a minimum of 10 years, and not to act in any fiduciary roles or handle fiduciary property arising from a solicitor-client relationship without the prior written consent of the society.
