Vancouver-Mount Pleasant NDP MLA Jenny Wai Ching Kwan has asked the president of the Law Society of B.C. to remove the premier's former deputy minister from two key committees.

The B.C. Liberal government appointed Ken Dobell, now a lobbyist and adviser to the premier, as a lay bencher [governor] of the Law Society of B.C. after he stepped down as the premier's deputy minister.

Dobell is now enmeshed in a lobbying scandal--the City of Vancouver hired him a year ago to lobby the provincial government on housing issues, but he only registered as a lobbyist in October.

Today, Kwan wrote to Anna K. Fung, president of the law society, to ask that she "consider removing" Dobell from serving on the Complainants' Review Committee and the Discipline Committee.

Dobell is vice-chair of the Complainants' Review Committee. It reviews complaints of those who are dissatisfied by the dismissal of their original complaints against lawyers.

Dobell is a member of the Discipline Committee, which "reviews complaints concerning lawyers or articled students that are referred by Law Society staff, the Complainants' Review Committee or any other committee", according to the society's Web page.

It can dismiss the complaint, order a further investigation, order a conduct review of a lawyer, or call for the issuance of a citation [the equivalent of being charged for violating law-society rules] against a lawyer for a formal hearing.

"It would enhance the credibility of the process if Mr. Dobell was not participating on the Complainants' Review Committee or the Discipline Committee of the Law Society of BC while his own actions are subject to a fact-finding review," Kwan wrote in her letter.

Here is the full text of Kwan's letter:

Anna K. Fung, QC,
President, The Law Society of British Columbia
845 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 4Z9

Dear Ms. Fung,

I am writing to you on a serious matter of public interest to the citizens of British Columbia with respect to the role of Ken Dobell who currently sits on both the Law Society's Complainants’ Review Committee and the Discipline Committee.

Mr. Dobell may have breached the Lobbyists Registry Act (the "Act") which raises many concerns regarding his role on these two very important committees of the Law Society. Mr. Dobell registered in October 2006 as a lobbyist for the City of Vancouver, but has actually been lobbying since April 2006. The Act clearly states that all lobbyists are supposed to register within ten days of entering into an undertaking to lobby on behalf of a client.

The BC Information and Privacy Commissioner has been asked to complete a fact finding mission but does not have enforcement powers related to this issue. Furthermore, the RCMP has launched an investigation in to the matter.

This raises many issues related to Mr. Dobell's role with the Law Society. Under Section 4-2(2) of the Law Society, the President of the Law Society has the power to remove any member of the Discipline Committee. Given the litany of unanswered questions regarding Mr. Dobell's situation, I trust that you will consider removing Mr. Dobell from the two committees that he presently sits on while the investigation proceeds. It would enhance the credibility of the process if Mr. Dobell was not participating on the Complainants' Review Committee or the Discipline Committee of the Law Society of BC while his own actions are subject to a fact-finding review.

It would also enhance the public's confidence that the Law Society has taken these allegations seriously and that a timely resolution and remedy can both be identified and implemented.

I look forward to your early response in this matter.

Sincerely,

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, MLA
Vancouver-Mt. Pleasant