Password Unprotected
The Law Society of British Columbia Hearing Panel found professional misconduct by a real estate attorney
The Law Society issued a citation against Amarjit Singh Dhindsa (the “Respondent”) on November 1, 2017. The citation contained two allegations of misconduct. The Respondent was alleged to have committed professional misconduct by:
(1) disclosing his Juricert password to his staff and permitting them to affix his electronic signature to documents filed with the Land Title Office, contrary to Rule 3-64(8)(b) of the Law Society Rules [formerly Rule 3-56(3.2)(b)] or rule 6.1-5 of the Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (the “BC Code”), or both ; and
(2) entering into Minutes of Settlement that included a term that a complaint made against him to the Law Society would be withdrawn, contrary to rule 3.2-6 or rule 7.1-1 of the BC Code or both.
The Law Society elected not to proceed with the second allegation part way through the hearing. Consequently, that allegation is dismissed.
There was evidence from non-attorney employees
CW testified that she was given the Respondent’s Juricert password during the first week she started at the firm. She was not certain who gave it to her, but she recalled that the prior conveyancer showed her how to enter the Respondent’s Juricert password to affix his electronic signature to Land Title documents on the Respondent’s computer. She was also given the Respondent’s password to enter his computer. It appears almost the entire office had the password to enter the Respondent’s computer.
CW testified that, during the time she worked for the Respondent, she routinely used the Respondent’s Juricert password to digitally sign Land Title documents. She used it when he was not in the office or when he was in the office but was too busy to do it himself.
CW testified that, to her knowledge, three other conveyancers also had the Respondent’s Juricert password.
CW estimated that she used the Respondent’s Juricert password on at least ten files per month, with an average of two or three documents per file.
When asked on cross-examination why she did not text or send an email to the Respondent to come into the office to digitally sign a document, CW replied, “Because I had the password, and I would just sign it myself.”
And
KS testified that, shortly after she started working at the Garden Street office where the Respondent was located, she went into his office to get him to sign a document and he gave her his Juricert password and instructed her “to go ahead and sign on, on his behalf” if he was not in the office. She testified further that the Respondent showed her how to use his Juricert password on his computer.
KS testified that she used the Respondent’s Juricert password on about 15 files per month and that, in her view, the Respondent would have known she used it as he had to know how many purchases were completing that day, and if he was not in the office, someone had to sign them.
In violation of this rule
The implementation of systems for the electronic registration of documents imposes special responsibilities on lawyers and others using the system. The integrity and security of the system is achieved, in part, by its maintaining a record of those using the system for any transaction. Statements professing compliance with law without registration of supporting documents may be made only by lawyers in good standing. It is, therefore, important that lawyers should maintain and ensure the security and the exclusively personal use of the personalized access code, diskettes, etc., used to access the system and the personalized access pass phrase or number.
Conclusion
We find that the Law Society has proven allegation 1 in the citation on a balance of probabilities and that the Respondent committed professional misconduct.
No sanction has been imposed as yet. (Mike Frisch)