Manitoba lawyer must pay $3.5K in fees after failing to respond to law society investigations

A Manitoba lawyer has been punished after he failed to communicate with his regulatory body as required during investigations.

Dave Boyechko pleaded guilty to professional misconduct in March after he failed to respond as required to the Law Society of Manitoba regarding three investigations they were conducting, says a written decision by a law society disciplinary panel dated April 10.

Members of the law society must respond in writing within two weeks if the law society sends them written notice of an investigation, the decision says.

Boyechko and a law society disciplinary panel jointly recommended that he pay a $1,500 fine as well as $2,000 in costs, the decision says.

He has been a member of the law society since 1989 and represented himself during the hearing.

Boyechko showed genuine remorse for his behaviour, the panel's decision says.

"He explained that when the investigations began, he was plagued with overlapping business and health issues, including two very serious medical incidents," the decision says.

Boyechko has also taken steps to focus on his legal practice and make it smaller and more manageable, the panel wrote, adding that they were "impressed" by Boyechko's accountability for his actions.

Boyechko was previously ordered to pay $5,000 in costs and given a one-month suspension by the law society in 2013, after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for sharing a hotel room with one of his clients in 2008, according to the law society.