Joanna Mun-Ling Lee

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Joanna Mun-Ling Lee, a BC lawyer, entered a Rule 3-7.1 consent agreement admitting professional misconduct in representing herself in judicial review proceedings of Residential Tenancy Branch decisions between July 2021 and July 2022. She filed two nearly identical petitions without full disclosure, brought ex parte applications without informing the court of material facts or giving notice to opposing counsel, failed to sign orders in a timely manner, and failed to disclose that petitions had been scheduled. She admitted mistakes but denied any deliberate manipulation; the tribunal made no express finding of dishonesty. She agreed to a four-week suspension and to complete six hours of CLE on civil litigation.

Duties found breached:

• Full disclosure on ex parte applications
• No improper communication with the court
• Diligence and timeliness

Aggravating factors:

• Persisted with duplicative petitions despite Court of Appeal admonition and special costs
• Conduct caused a prolonged ordeal and significant costs to ordinary landlords

Mitigating factors:

• No prior professional conduct record
• Significant personal stress (caring for elderly disabled mother and ill pet dog; facing eviction)
• Heavy workload following departure of senior partners and failure of associate to join firm
• Paid/paying special costs ($9,078.45 and $42,840.61)
• Over 20 hours of continuing professional development taken since December 2022
• Remorseful and apologized to the Law Society