Abbotsford lawyer Gerald Edward Palmer will have to pack up his law office for a second time in less than a year after admitting he was inattentive to his client’s divorce case.
In fact, the delays Palmer caused in finalizing a separation agreement led his client to miss out on purchasing a new home during a run-up in real estate prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The admittedly frustrated client subsequently complained to the Law Society of BC and on Jan. 24 a hearing panel accepted Palmer’s admissions of professional misconduct and suspended his practice for three months.
Palmer’s male client, referred to as “BR,” said Palmer took little action on his file and failed to adequately communicate with his spouse’s lawyer after hiring Palmer in December 2020.
The society accepted Palmer’s submission that he failed to keep BR reasonably informed and ensure BR’s case was attended to in a timely manner. The society ruled Palmer was incompetent with respect to BR’s file.
This is not the first time Palmer has faced such scrutiny as he has “demonstrated a pattern of delay and non-responsiveness” through his career, the panel noted.
In June 2023, Palmer was suspended for one month for his “inexcusable” failure to finalize another client’s divorce in a timely manner, a society panel ruled.
Palmer had received a citation from the society on that case in February 2021, two months after BR hired him.
The 68-year-old was called to the bar and admitted as a member of the society on May 12, 1981, according to the ruling.
The society panel noted Palmer had a “lengthy professional conduct record.”
In 1986, he admitted to professional misconduct “for unreasonably failing to respond promptly” to society investigators and had to undertake remedial course work; in 1995, he had practice restrictions placed on him for reasons that are unstated; and in 2014 to 2016, he had referrals and oversight by the practice standards committee for reasons that are unstated. These matters are not shown on his online profile with the society. Nor are Palmer’s two administrative penalties in 2021 and 2022.
“The Respondent’s [record] is a highly aggravating factor. Of particular concern is the issuance of a previous citation during the same period as the events leading to the current Citation,” the panel wrote.
Palmer’s record demonstrates a “repeated failure to meet his professional duties as expected as well as a lack of positive response to remedial and disciplinary measures to address his conduct.
“It is apparent, based on nearly 40 years of non-responsive behaviour, that progressive discipline has not effectively addressed [Palmer’s] repeated failures to meet Law Society expectations of its members,” the panel concluded.
