A former B.C. lawyer has received a six-month suspension and ordered to pay $4,348.57 after sexually harassing one of his clients at the Victoria courthouse.
William James Heflin sexually harassed a client through unwelcome comments, advances and physical contact on Oct. 1, 2020, according to a decision by a Law Society of British Columbia tribunal.
The harassment occurred during a meeting Heflin requested with his client, who he was representing in a family matter, at the courthouse. Heflin told the client he could no longer act as her counsel because he was interested in having a sexual relationship with her, and he planned to run for city council and possibly retire.
After asking the client to sign a form saying he was no longer her lawyer without fully explaining the implications of it, Heflin filed the form and told the client he was no longer her lawyer. “Now I can do what I want,” he said, according to a Nov. 7, 2022 decision by the tribunal.
The client recorded the conversation that followed between herself and Heflin without his knowledge.
Heflin straddled the woman while she sat with her arms crossed and moved closer to a table looking away from him. He kissed her several times, hugged her and touched her breast, according to the tribunal decision.
Prior to the meeting, the woman had not given Heflin an indication she was interested in a romantic relationship, and she did not expressly consent to his verbal or physical advances during the interaction, the tribunal decision said. She filed a complaint with the law society a week later.
Heflin called the woman, leaving voicemails, and visited her home once.
He admitted to the behaviour but argued the interaction was consensual, despite acknowledging the woman did not give overt consent.
“Our mutual conduct is so indicative of consent that consent at the time must be inferred in favour of myself,” he told the tribunal.
The woman told a law society investigator that she felt frozen and incapable of moving during Heflin’s advances, and explained she didn’t physically push Heflin away because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“The incident brought up suppressed trauma about an incident that happened to her as a child. She suspects the way she reacted to [Heflin] was because it brought back all of those feelings of not knowing what to do, what to say, or how to act,” the decision said.
A panel found that Heflin’s behaviour amounted to professional misconduct and was a breach of trust.
“[Heflin] deserted his client at a time when she needed him most. He put his own interests ahead of hers by leaving her without legal representation in order to pursue his own sexual interests. He harassed and assaulted a client who was in a vulnerable state, in circumstances where the power dynamic was highly imbalanced. Although he has admitted his actions, he refuses to acknowledge the impropriety of them,” the tribunal decision said.
Heflin is required to pay $4,348.57 for costs incurred for the proceedings.
He is a former member of the law society and is not currently seeking reinstatement. His six-month suspension will start on the first business day after he is reinstated as a member if he reapplies.
