The Law Society of New Brunswick has disbarred a Fredericton lawyer found guilty of multiple professional misconduct offences, the regulator confirmed in a notice sent Sept. 10. Stephen Hill is no longer able to practise law in the province as of Aug. 31 after a discipline committee panel found him guilty of 29 counts of professional misconduct.
Allegations and findings
The charges against Hill included allegations of misappropriating more than $1 million in client funds, failing to complete required work and not following client instructions. Hill was suspended from practice in February 2025 after the law society received multiple complaints, and the matter progressed to a discipline hearing earlier this year.
The law society's registrar of complaints, Joleen Dable, said the regulator waited to release full details until the investigation and all complainants' matters were fully addressed. She said the decision to disbar followed thorough investigation and adjudication of the complaints.
“We wanted to ensure that all complainants that came forward, that their complaint was looked at thoroughly investigated and brought to the very end so that we could dispose of it,”
Financial consequences and precedent
In addition to losing the right to practise, Hill must pay the Law Society a record-breaking $1,477,763.48. The society said the amount covers payments made from its compensation fund to affected clients, investigation and hearing costs, legal fees and other associated expenses.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total ordered to be repaid to Law Society | $1,477,763.48 |
| Previous largest payout (2023) | $700,000 |
The law society indicated the previous largest payout was $700,000 in 2023 in a separate matter, underscoring the scale of the current repayment. The regulator said details that underpin the discipline decision will be released to the public within the next month.
Impact on clients and local legal community
The law society's compensation fund is intended to make clients whole when a lawyer's dishonesty or misuse of funds causes loss. The society did not disclose how many clients were affected in this case in the initial notice, but the size of the payout suggests multiple claimants and substantial losses.
- Clients who suffered financial loss may have received compensation from the law society's fund.
- The law society will publish further details of the discipline panel's findings in the coming weeks.
- The disbarment ends Hill's ability to represent or advise clients in New Brunswick.
For Fredericton residents, the case is a reminder of the protections and limits within the province's legal regulatory framework. The Law Society is empowered to investigate complaints, suspend practitioners and, where warranted, remove the right to practise and order repayment to its compensation fund.
The society's public notice and Dable's comments aim to balance transparency with the need to ensure all complainants' matters were fully adjudicated before releasing particulars. The additional documentation when published should clarify the timeline of events, the number of victims and the specific trust-account breaches found by the discipline committee.
Local lawyers and clients will be watching the law society's forthcoming public release for more detailed findings. In the meantime, the regulator's actions underline its willingness to pursue large recoveries when serious breaches of professional obligations are found.
