In May of 2002, lawyer Martin Wirick resigned from the Law Society of British Columbia and ceased practising law. It became apparent that he had misappropriated trust funds on a massive scale in real estate transactions involving his client Tarsem Gill and the “Vanview group of companies”.

Every BC lawyer has been victimized, for we have been levied some $600 per year for the last five years, or $3,000 each, in order to make restitution to the victims of the Wirick/Gill dealings. Some $42.1 million has been paid by us to those victims, mostly financial institutions, who suffered losses.

As far as I am aware, no charges have been laid against anyone in this case. We have been told this by the Law Society; “The Vancouver Police and the RCMP, through the Lower Mainland White Collar Crime Unit, announced in early 2005 that they are conducting a criminal investigation of Mr. Wirick and Mr. Gill”.

More than two years have passed since that announcement, and more than five years have elapsed since the Law Society first told us about the misappropriations. What is going on here?

Is the “Lower Mainland White Collar Crime Unit”, whatever that is, asleep at the switch?