B.C. woman allegedly posed as a lawyer, got client to clean and cook in exchange for legal services
CBC
The Law Society of B.C. is asking for a judge to step in and stop a Surrey, B.C., woman accused of posing as a lawyer and charging for legal services ranging from immigration claims to family disputes.
According to court filings, a former client says she did 140 hours of cleaning and cooking for Jasmeet Dhaliwal's family in exchange for help with several legal matters, only to find that no work had been done on her files.
The client wrote in an affidavit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday that Dhaliwal had promised to help with a family law matter in February 2023.
The affidavit alleges that when the client asked about the status of her case four months later, Dhaliwal threatened her.
"Ms. Dhaliwal would not give me any update and instead told me not to return to the house or office. She threatened me with her dogs, saying that they would bite me if I ever came back," the former client wrote.
"Ms. Dhaliwal ignored my phone calls after that."
The former client alleges that Dhaliwal referred to herself using the Punjabi word for lawyer, and gave her name as "Jaspreet" — the law society's registry lists Jaspreet Dhaliwal as a lawyer in good standing.
The affidavit says the client only learned Dhaliwal's real name and discovered she wasn't a lawyer after turning to a community legal clinic for help.
A petition from the law society asks for an order permanently prohibiting Dhaliwal and her company, Global Unity Consulting, from engaging in the practice of law, unless she becomes a member in good standing.
Dhaliwal has yet to file a response, but denied all of the allegations in an email to CBC.
"We are currently looking into this complaint as it was falsely brought on by someone. We were just aware of this complaint and will be contacting the law society against the same," she wrote.
She said she has reached out to the law society to try to resolve the matter.
The former client's affidavit says she turned to Dhaliwal for help after a legal aid lawyer allegedly agreed to a divorce order without her consent. A co-worker recommended Dhaliwal, calling her a "good lawyer," according to the affidavit.
The client writes that all of her dealings with Dhaliwal were in Punjabi. She alleges Dhaliwal told her she could reopen her divorce case, file a law society complaint and a defamation lawsuit against her original lawyer, and file two complaints against her ex-husband with Canadian immigration authorities.
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