West Vancouver lawyer Donald Franklin Gurney has come out on the losing end of a Law Society of B.C. hearing involving a huge amount of money.

It involved his use of a trust account to receive and disburse $25.8 million for a client in 2013. 

According to the decision, the funds were transfered in transactions with companies identified as G Capital, I Ltd., A LLC, D Inc., and Q Group.

"This is a case in which the Respondent has shown a gross culpable neglect to his duties to make reasonable inquiries, and we also find that the Respondent used his trust account in the absence of providing legal services," the panel ruled.

In arguing its case, the law society maintained that "no substantive legal services" were provided when Gurney received and immediately disbursed this offshore money "by converting the funds into bank drafts".

The panel agreed, concluding that Gurney "provided no substantial legal services".

According to the ruling, Gurney's fees were "0.1 percent of the net funds received and disbursed through his trust account".

In addition, the law society claimed that Gurney "knew little about the borrower, its business, its principal, the purpose of the loans" and relationships between the borrower and lenders.

Gurney's lawyer argued that "money laundering was suggested by the Law Society, but the citation does not allege money laundering or any particular misuse of the trust account."

He also argued that panel members "must not legislate standards for practice after the fact but must adjudicate using standards that are known or ascertainable in advance".