Andrew Christopher Lee

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

Andrew Christopher Lee, a junior lawyer at Webster Hudson & Coombe LLP, admitted in an Agreed Statement of Facts to systematically submitting fraudulent expense reimbursement claims to his firm between November 2011 and October 2013. The fraud included claiming expenses never incurred, personal expenses, double-claiming via duplicate receipts, failing to account for refunds received from service providers, and inflating client disbursement amounts using forged/fictitious receipts. He admitted the conduct constituted professional misconduct on all allegations, expressly acknowledging the claims were fraudulent. He self-reported, cooperated, and made full restitution ($15,000) plus $22,500 for the firm's investigation costs. He had resigned and became a former member; as part of the resolution he gave a 7-year undertaking not to apply for reinstatement or to work at a law firm in BC without consent.

Duties found breached:

• No improper use of client money
• No baseless or threatened misconduct report

Aggravating factors:

• Sustained pattern of fraudulent conduct over approximately two years (Nov 2011 to Oct 2013)
• Forged and fabricated fictitious receipts to support claims
• Multiple categories and numerous instances of fraud totalling thousands of dollars

Mitigating factors:

• Self-reported his conduct to the Law Society through counsel
• Cooperated fully with both the Firm and the Law Society investigations
• Made full restitution ($15,000) to the Firm for improperly claimed expenses
• Paid $22,500 to the Firm for its forensic accounting and investigation costs

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_suspension_months=84"]