Law Society of BC investigators allege an articling student at a Vancouver law firm discussed smuggling a contraband cellphone into a federal prison with an inmate.
In August 2019, investigators allege Rahul Wadhera engaged in activities that he knew or ought to have known “assisted in or encouraged dishonesty, crime, or fraud, contrary to” regulations.
Wadhera is said to have had discussions with a prisoner knowing the prisoner was on a contraband cellphone and then discussed smuggling a phone into the prison.
The April 16 citation does not name the prison and only refers to the prisoner as “AA.”
The society also made a second allegation — that Wadhera “engaged in activities that you knew or ought to have known assisted in or encouraged dishonesty, crime, or fraud,” by discussing trafficking marijuana with BB, a former client of the firm where Wadhera was articling.
A third allegation is that Wadhera made “representations to a law society investigator that you knew or ought to have known were misleading or false, or both.”
Those alleged false and/or misleading representations include: “That for a period of time before you communicated with BB, you received threatening phone calls from unknown persons who referenced AA; that you engaged in communications with BB because AA asked you to send text messages to them on AA’s behalf and dictated what to say; and that when you communicated with BB you did not know until the next day that you were engaging in a conversation about trafficking marijuana.”
The allegations are unproven and Wadhera is expected to face a hearing from an independent tribunal of the society.
Wadhera is not listed as a licensed member of the society. The citation lists Vancouver firm Warnett Hallen LLP where he was an articling student enrolled in the law society admission program. Wadhera never practiced law for Warnett Hallen LLP, which was not aware of the alleged misconduct, according to partner Paul Warnett.
