A gavel sits on a desk in Ottawa, Feb. 13, 2019. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
A lawyer in the Southern Interior of B.C. who was previously found guilty of embezzling funds from elderly clients has since been found guilty of misappropriating $117,000 from a female client with progressive dementia.
A Law Society of British Columbia tribunal found in a Sept. 24 ruling that former Vernon lawyer Leonard Hil Marriott misappropriated $116,866.16 from the client and breached his fiduciary duties.
Marriott was previously found guilty of professional misconduct in December 2024 and February 2025 in cases involving two unrelated elderly clients.
Misappropriation, also known as embezzlement under the Criminal Code, occurs when a person in a position of trust with lawful access to funds, takes the money for their own unauthorized use. The Law Society has defined misappropriation as “tantamount to theft.”
Marriott agreed to resign and it prohibited from practising law for 10 years, beginning in 2025.
The ruling says Marriott has yet to repay the money.
Findings
The September decision was made in the case of a third client who was 84 when Marriott began handling her finances in 2017.
He prepared a power of attorney agreement in 2018 that allowed him to make financial decisions on the woman’s behalf, according to the tribunal’s ruling.
The woman suffered from progressive dementia and, by 2022, the dementia had become severe. Marriott told the tribunal he believed she was unable to understand or manage her affairs by mid-2023.
The ruling found that he used his power of attorney to move $116,866.16 out of his client’s trust account and into his own numbered corporation.
He used part of the money to purchase a $340,000 apartment for himself and the rest to fund the payout for an unrelated client’s estate.
To disguise the theft, Marriott had his cognitively impaired client sign two promissory notes mapping out “loans” to his company at a 5 percent interest rate, the ruling said.
Marriott argued he had a “close familial-like relationship” and was simply following his client’s instructions. The tribunal found, however, that the client’s progressive dementia left her completely incapable of providing informed consent by 2022, so he lacked authorization for the withdrawals.
“The purported loan was contrary to the respondent’s duty of loyalty and duty to not use his position for personal advantage,” the tribunal wrote. “The panel finds in these circumstances the respondent must have known that the transfers were not within his legal authority under the power of attorney and were therefore for a purpose unauthorized by the client.”
The tribunal also found that Marriott withdrew the funds specifically to enrich himself as well as to solve his own financial issues.
Marriott admitted to the facts but argued the tribunal should label his actions as an “improper withdrawal of funds.” This is typically classified as a less severe offence than misappropriation because it lacks the elements of dishonesty, theft, or intent to convert client money for personal gain.
The panel rejected his argument, saying the lawyer’s dealings with his client “lacked integrity and is clearly professional misconduct.”
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