Victoria lawyer Jack Woodward has been suspended for one month for issuing cheques with insufficient funds, the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) announced August 14.
Woodward’s firm, Woodward and Company, last year won a case at the Supreme Court of Canada that helped the Tsilhqot'in establish aboriginal title over 1,700 square kilometres southwest of Williams Lake. He is no longer listed on Woodward and Company's website.
The LSBC’s citation alleged that Woodward wrote a number of cheques between two personal accounts when he knew that there were insufficient funds in one or both of the accounts to satisfy some or all of the cheques. No client funds were involved.
The hearing panel gave oral reasons accepting Woodward’s admission that his conduct was unbecoming of a lawyer and proposed disciplinary action, with the suspension to start August 13. Written reasons for the panel’s decision have not yet been released.
The Law Society of British Columbia regulates the more than 11,000 practising lawyers in the province, setting and enforcing standards of professional conduct that ensure the public is well-served by a competent, honourable legal profession.
