Former lawyer Merle Evelyn Campbell suspended for one month

Former lawyer Merle Evelyn Campbell has been issued a one-month suspension and ordered to pay $15,000 in costs after committing professional misconduct.

Campbell admitted that in December 2023, while at a Vancouver courthouse, she communicated with the opposing party in a highly contested family law matter in the absence of their lawyer and in a discourteous manner.

In accepting a joint submission on sanction, the hearing panel took into consideration, among other things, the sanctions imposed in similar cases, the seriousness of the conduct and the impact of the sanction. Campbell retired in May 2024 and her suspension will commence immediately in the event she ever returns to practice.

The full decision of the hearing panel can be read here.