
Picture Credit history: Facebook: Paule Moore



April 02, 2022 – 7:00 AM







A Kelowna lawyer has been discovered to have committed qualified misconduct for misappropriating clients’ funds on numerous situations.

Kelowna attorney Paule Fiona Seeger, who now goes by Paule Moore, admitted to skilled misconduct for a sequence of situations surrounding the finances of her exercise amongst 2015 and 2018.

In accordance to a recently posted Mar. 4 Legislation Society of B.C. selection, Seeger established up her Kelowna observe in 2014 ahead of closing it in 2019.

The decision suggests the observe was “fiscally precarious” and the firm’s financial institution account was typically empty leaving Seeger to count on a line of credit rating.

In 2018 Seeger hired a bookkeeper and quite a few months later the bookkeeper complained to the Regulation Society alleging financial improprieties at the business.

In the selection, the bookkeeper says the attorney was “usually” transferring funds from the firm’s have confidence in account to its basic account to deal with expenditures.

The bookkeeper also reported that whilst Seeger was on vacation in the Caribbean, she left a packet of blank cheques for her to use.

“The Legislation Culture purchased a forensic accounting investigation of (Seeger’s) follow. The investigation report presented proof of a selection of complications on the financial side of the… observe,” the selection reads.

Seeger has been registered to practise regulation in B.C. given that 2004 and at the time of the gatherings was enduring severe private challenges, which include a marital breakdown and id theft.


“The id theft brought about important money concerns for (Seeger),” the choice states.

On 37 events in between January 2017 and September 2018, Seeger misappropriated or improperly withdrew cash from her firm’s have confidence in account.

On one particular event, Seeger took $460 from a rely on account devoid of her client’s authorization to do so.

“An unauthorized use of customer trust cash is misappropriation, no matter of whether or not the volume involved is smaller or large,” the final decision says.

On a further event, she billed a shopper $1,400 for get the job done she hadn’t completed however.

“This behaviour produced from the fiscal strain bearing down on (Seeger),” the determination reads. “The ‘pre-billed’ services ranged in benefit from fewer than $200 to approximately $14,000.”

The selection claims most of the “pre-billed” providers had been eventually performed but factors out that “a law firm is not entitled to monthly bill a shopper for authorized solutions until eventually all those expert services have been performed.”

According to the decision, on 4 instances, Seeger billed clients at her amount of $300 an hour but then had an articled scholar do the perform but didn’t cost the reduced $200 an hour rate.

“She concedes that her invoices to the customers have been false or misleading and that, in overall, she overcharged the customers by $1,710,” the conclusion says.

The Regulation Culture also reprimanded Seeger for not telling them about a $117,097 courtroom judgement in opposition to her from the Canadian Revenue Agency above an unpaid tax bill.

“The Respondent did not ever – permit by itself straight away – notify the govt director of the unsatisfied judgment or her proposal to satisfy it,” the determination reads.

In 2018, Seeger refinanced her house to pay out the tax bill.

What penalty Seeger receives is likely to be determined in the long term.


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